Strange little worms

[Franky099]

Hey folks...can anyone tell me what these little worms are?  They look like a catipillar....but they are only about an 8th of an inch long and they live between two little pieces of broken off plant matter.  I have seen a few of them in my 55 gallon tank.  At first, I thought it was just a piece of plant stuck to the glass, but I looked closer and saw a little head sticking out.  I took it out of the tank and between the leaves was a little bity worm!  what on earth is it?  And is it harmful to my plants?  I would assume they eat plants.  right?  They must have came in with my plants that I ordered from Aquatic Plant Depot....since thats the only place I have gotten my plants from.  

please help!!

Thanks everyone

Amy

 

[dattack]

I am not sure what color your worms were but I have a lot of small white worms in my gravel also.  They could be Turbellarians which are good in a sense that they dig in the gravel and are beneficial to plants.  Or could be planaria, a worm, that feeds on plants also but wouldn't affect your plants to much if there are only a few.  The worms are should be controlled to some extent with the fishes you have since they see it as a snack.  I think my clown loaches kinda got rid of most of them.
If you are unhappy with them, you can siphon them out or get some loaches to munch on them.  Or do a lot of water changes till you get rid of them.  
Overall, worms usually help you loosen up the gravel and substrate and make good fish food unless of course if it's some kind of parasitic worm like leeches?  hehe

 

[Franky099]

I've only seen like 3 or 4 of them, so I assume they wont pose much if any threat then.  They are white.

thanks
AMy

 

[dattack]

Yep, they are harmless.