From what I know of 'em they live in natural (not man made) ponds eating the uh.. detritus. They get into man made outdoor ponds that get extremely scuzzy or, for those of us that like to go dig out a cat tail or two from the big pond to put into the pond on the deck.
The ones I have around here, look and act like mini earthworms. They get eaten like mini earthworms too. I am *sure* there are some still in the plants in my pond and the goldies are still pumping out babies like there's no tomorrow.
That being said, the fish in that pond are feeder fish, so while I don't think it's any problem (and the ones I have aren't) I'm not 100% sure and did I mention they're feeders?
If you're concerned your best bet may be to just test out a handful of fry in with 'em and see what happens.