Question about possible parasite problem

[stephen]

A friend of mine has a 5 gal tank holding a beta and has developed a multitude of tiny white worm like insects on the glass. I am wondering what they might be are they harmful and how do I get rid of them

[eklikewhoa]

a good picture of them would aid in I.D.ing said problem.

But to take a wild guess I would say planeria caused by overfeeding, poor water conditions etc.

[stephen]

Don't have one handy but the google pics do look similar she thinks

[mnemenoi]

+1 likely Planaria, an active water change routine with good water (allowed to get to room temp and dechlorinated) and cutting back on feeding should solve the issue. They thrive in poor water conditions, especially with an available food source (extra food from the betta). With those two things you should see a dramatic decrease in their population. They are otherwise harmless to the fish.

[stephen]

I appreciate it guys. She is supposed to send me a pic so I can post it on here later but at least we have an idea. When it comes to over feeding, she feeds her beta twice a day per the instructions that come on the bowl she bought the fish in. I would think that once a day if not every other day would be fine but I'm not sure when it comes to betas.