10 gallon help!!!!

[IvanSanchez]

I just saw my substrate and it looks to be inhabiting small white worms and flea looking things. I thought, well maybe the flea looking things are just baby snails.... well i don't know how fast baby snails are but these guys are fast!
The white worms are very thin and seem to just wiggle through the water and i see them resting inside my substrate.
HELP?

10gallon high light, high co2, macro/micro 2x a week.
aqueon quietflow 10 w/ aquaclear sponge on intake. Sponge and peat moss in filter.
50% water change (every other week i gravel vac due to babies.)
temp is 75 PH - 7.4 ammonia/nitrates - 0 nirtites ~ 5.0

stock... 2 otos and 10rsc + 15+babies.

I dosed fenbendazole the beginning of this month. Should that've helped?

P.S. - I feed about 3xs a week spirulina flake, algae waffers or veggies.

[Mrs. Tittles]

wardley parasite sweep is a good place to start

[IvanSanchez]

wardley parasite sweep is a good place to start

invertebrate safe?

[Mzungu]

Have you tested your water? Sounds like tubifex worms or something similar. Not sure what the flea things are, but could be cyclops or some other tiny organism common and completely normal in freshwater - especially if there are no fish that eat them.

[IvanSanchez]

yes i have tested my water. Everything is clear. I'll probably water change tomorrow and gravel vac. Hopefully i don't lose any babies!

[Krisvalkyrie]

You might be overfeeding - I find that I get more "critters" in the tank if I feed too much - cut back on feeding and there will a) be less for the critters to eat and b) the fish might eat them - I am pretty sure both of these are generally benign for the fish to eat.

[mnemenoi]

I had the same sort of critters in my shrimp/planted tanks, I added micro fish and they were gone in no time with some fat and happy fish afterwards. I'd recommend some Ruby Tetra, Ember Tetra, CPD's, or the various micro rasbora. If there is a worry of them eating the baby shrimp then just remove them after they have eliminated the populations of macro-organisms. I left them in and have never seen a decrease in shrimp population or offspring.

[IvanSanchez]

I still have them in the tank and have grown accustom to them all over the place.

I feed veggies, NLS thera+a or Algae Wafers once a week. The shrimp don't need much prepared food; they like grazing on the fissidens/intake sponge/najas grass.

I actually own three ruby tetras and embers! I bought 7 and they died and were eaten by the amanos before I could even notice their death. Mnemenoi.... How many do you suggest i stock the tank with to help with the problem? All three?

[mnemenoi]

Three would be a wonderful start. I would just add them and keep a watchful eye on the tank and them. I myself keep 6 rubies in my 10 gallon shrimp tank, especially with their small size and mouths. They just devoured all that small miniscule live food and with three you should certainly see a dramatic difference in the span of a few days. Let us know if you see the same results and what fish were most effective. I only see the critters every once in awhile now in my tanks and I assume they manage their populations with small daily feeding supplements.