Naididae

These worms can vary in size, from centimeters to millimeters, depending on the subfamily. They are all hermaphroditic and lack a larval stage.{{cite book|last=Brinkhurst|first=R.O.|title=Guide to the freshwater aquatic microdrile oligochaetes of North America|date=1986|publisher=Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans|location=Ottawa|isbn=0-660-11924-2|page=1}}

Analysis of 18S rDNA sequences revealed that the traditional family Tubificidae is not monophyletic, with the traditionally circumscribed Naididae nested within tubificid taxa.{{cite journal|last=Envall|first=Ida|author2=Källersjö, Mari |author3=Erséus, Christer |title=Molecular evidence for the non-monophyletic status of Naidinae (Annelida, Clitellata, Tubificidae)|journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution|date=August 2006|volume=40|issue=2|pages=570–584|doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2006.03.021|pmid=16684611}} To avoid paraphyly the naidid and tubificid taxa were included in a combined family, which took the name Naididae because it has priority under International Code of Zoological Nomenclature rules as the senior synonym of Tubificidae. A proposal to the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature to suppress Naididae, because the "tubificids" are the more well-known group of the two, was rejected.{{cite journal|last=Erseus|first=Christer|author2=Mark J.Wetzel |author3=Lena Gustavsson |title=ICZN rules—a farewell to Tubificidae (Annelida, Clitellata)|journal=Zootaxa|date=2008|volume=1744|pages=66–68|doi=10.11646/zootaxa.1744.1.7|url=http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2008/f/zt01744p068.pdf|access-date=23 May 2014}}

The family Naididae is divided into six subfamilies, arranged here in the presumed phylogenetic sequence:

• Tubificinae Eisen, 1879, containing (among others) the genus Tubifex
• Naidinae Ehrenberg, 1828
• Telmatodrilinae Eisen, 1879
• Limnodriloidinae Erséus, 1982
• Phallodrilinae Brinkhurst, 1971
• Pristininae Lastočkin, 1921, often included in Naidinae
• Rhyacodrilinae Hrabě, 1963

In an aquarium, numbers of naididae can increase rapidly. When their population becomes high, the worms migrate toward the surface of the water for access to higher concentrations of oxygen.{{Cite journal |last=van Cleave |first=C. D. |date=1937 |title=A Study of the Process of Fission in the Naid Pristina longiseta |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/30151414 |journal=Physiological Zoology |volume=10 |issue=3 |pages=299–314 |issn=0031-935X}} Although detritus worms may not cause harm to aquarium fish, their appearance is an indication of poor water quality mainly due to overfeeding and lack of good water sanitation.{{Cite web|url=https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyNET.exe/91013MSD.txt?ZyActionD=ZyDocument&Client=EPA&Index=1976%20Thru%201980&Docs=&Query=&Time=&EndTime=&SearchMethod=1&TocRestrict=n&Toc=&TocEntry=&QField=&QFieldYear=&QFieldMonth=&QFieldDay=&UseQField=&IntQFieldOp=0&ExtQFieldOp=0&XmlQuery=&File=D:%5CZYFILES%5CINDEX%20DATA%5C76THRU80%5CTXT%5C00000022%5C91013MSD.txt&User=ANONYMOUS&Password=anonymous&SortMethod=h%7C-&MaximumDocuments=1&FuzzyDegree=0&ImageQuality=r75g8/r75g8/x150y150g16/i425&Display=hpfr&DefSeekPage=x&SearchBack=ZyActionL&Back=ZyActionS&BackDesc=Results%20page&MaximumPages=1&ZyEntry=5|title=Document Display {{!}} NEPIS {{!}} US EPA|website=nepis.epa.gov|page=3|language=en|access-date=2019-08-26}}

Improvement of water quality, filtration, gravel cleaning, and the reduction of feeding, may be performed to bring detritus worm population back to normal. Detritus worms feed on excess food and waste, thereby contributing to the ecosystem of an aquarium.{{Cite web|url=https://www.aquarium-pond-answers.com/2007/03/trematodes-and-nematodes-in-fish.html|title=Aquarium, Fish Parasites, Worms; Planaria, Nematodes, Detritus, Anchor|last=PM|first=Carl : 1:54|language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-26}}{{Cite web|url=https://thatlovelypet.com/worms-in-a-fish-tank/|title=Worms in a Fish Tank (Updated) - Types & How to Get Rid of Them?|date=2019-05-07|website=That Lovely Pet|language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190826184131/https://thatlovelypet.com/worms-in-a-fish-tank/|archive-date=2019-08-26|url-status=dead}}

File:Tubifex02.jpg|Tubifex in sediment

File:Naididae.jpg|Naididae in sediment - subject from Muddy River, Boston

File:Naididae swimming 2.jpg|Naididae swimming - subject from Muddy River, Boston

File:Naididae swimming.jpg|Naididae swimming - subject from Muddy River, Boston

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Category:Annelid families

Category:Taxa named by Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg

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