Dear Cecil,
A short time back I went to move my 2800 gal plastic tank that’s 8 foot tall and wide. I bought it new a year ago. To my surprize there was about three inches of standing water in it even thought it was semi-sealed. The manhole was riveted on at a angle so dust bugs and rain can’t get in. Well I sumised that being I live on the edge of the rain forest that it rains cats and dogs here so the heavy rain splashing around the manholes raised riveted area must have splashed it’s way up hill over the rise (like a water lock ) and into the what was an empty tank. This raised slope on the tank was covered by the matching sloped manhole, the sanwitched area between them had a gap the thickness of paper, approxmintly.
If that don’t surprise you try this.
It was mid summer, the water in the tank was above ground and exposed to the suns wormth.
A close inspection reveled three inch long red worms in clear warm standing water. When I nudge them with my finger these red worms laying at the bottom of the water wiggle around as if I’m disturbing their sleep.
Okay, I can except the idea rain can find it’s way into about anything but how do red worms get into what was a perfectly clean tank
2. what are they living on in there. I alwas thought worms drown in water.
Here is a brain storm my dad told me.
He says he sees these red worms in buckets and other containers including folding plastic or tarps anything with traped rain water after it rains.
After hearing that, I to remember see red worms in containers with standing water but not thinking much about it. In fact I remember seeing these worms as far back as I can remember.
It seem the rain is seeding these worm that live in water.
Have you or your readers any rhyme or reason on this?
[ol]
[li]Saying “Worms drown in water” is like saying “People speak English” or “Animals eat meat.”[/li][li]I suppose the reference is to Why do worms crawl on the sidewalk after it rains?[/li][/ol]
I used to get small shrimp-like creatures in my old pool in Florida (also next to a major river) once in awhile after hard rains.
Mosquito larvae, probably
Is it possible they’re tubifex or sludge worms?
From their Wikipedia article:
Hmm–I guess that’s possiable, seeing standing rain water in a clean tank can build bacteria from the rain or the air.
Thanks for that info.
If birds are carrying these worms in their digestive system then their droppings would explain how they were able to get 8 ft above the ground and if their micro in size to start then they could swim up stream in the paper thick size space to get into the tank.
This makes good since. 