Orange Spiders in tank :S

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norbie

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I have recently found tiny tiny orange things that look like spiders but when aproached they jump like fleas in my troppical fish tank. They are mainly located on the plants but i've also found them in with my baby fry in a hatchling tank within the bigger tank.
Anyone have any idea of what they are and if they are harmful? :S
 
sorry not rpelying sooner - i never get emails to say theres been a reply!

they're on top of the water, kinda sat on the floating plant leaves, or just inside the floating baby tank on the dry parts.

when you go near them or get them wet they jump around like tiny little fleas.

i've never seen a flea before so not sure what one would look like!

they kinda look like mini orange spiders or bloodlice, but jump veey well
 
:/ The only thing I can really think of is something like a Water Strider is it anything similar to that ?
 
oh no, theyre really really tiny.

very much like a flea in that theyre tiny and jump around a lot!

thanks for looking anyway! :)
 
Do you feed any live foods to your fish ?
 
sorry mate :/ I really don't have a clue then !
 
Almost impossible to be sure as there are any number of mites that could be described as orange and spider-like, but they sound a lot like Red Spider Mites, a common houseplant pest.
They eat decaying plant matter and plant sap and are therefore totally harmless to your fish.

If they're not Red Spider mites, then be assured that most mites eat either plant matter or animal detritus (like dead skin) so it's very unlikely that these little beasts are harmful in any way.
 
UPDATE!

Don't thank me too soon!

Again, there's no certainty that this is your critter, but I've found a creature called the Red Water Mite Acari: Hydrachnida which is a fish blood sucker and therefore IS harmful to your fish.

In addition to this, they secrete a foul tasting substance which stops the fish from eating them.
 
Red water mite:
red%20water%20mite.jpg

look similar? :)
 

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