Tiny Creatures Growing In Cycling Nano Tank

[sebbutcher]

I'm in the process of performing a fishless cycle of my 5g nano tank in preparation for a new Betta.
 
The tank was setup 3 weeks ago and I've been cycling it with fish flakes alone for a few weeks and it's going well, water tests indicate the cycle is nearly complete which is good

 
However, tonight I've noticed lots of tiny white "things" on the glass, looking closely, some of them are moving so they are alive. I've put no snails, shrimp or fish in the tank, it just has some bog wood and a few live plants.
 
Does anyone have any idea what this could be - the only thing I can think is snails, but there's a lot for the number of plants I've added?
 
Here's a photo of the whole tank - you might just be able to make out the white dashes on the glass.

 
Here's a close up which shows them more clearly.

 

[Chad]

It's hard to see anything in your picture, but it's likely copepods. They are crustaceans that live in both freshwater and marine. Many fish eat them and they are able to breed in a tank. They are harmless and work as tiny little scavengers and a food source for fish. 

 

[Ch4rlie]

Agreed its likely to be copepods, tiny white creatures with what looks little wings that flick about the tank, but also could be planeria, tiny worm like creatures.
 
A closer up photo would be better if thats possible but these two are likely suspects, look them up online and see if you can find same photos of what is in your tank.
 
By the way, can I ask why you are cycling the tank with fish flakes, thats not a particularly good way of adding ammonia, its messy, its unpredicatble how much you put in to translate to ppm amounts, and also its a likely source of food for thse little white creatures you speak of.
 
I would suggest you read and follow this article - http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/421488-cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first/
 
And get a test kit to test what your water parameters are if you have not already got one. Post your results here so that it can be checked if you are indeed nearly finished as you say, unlikely after just a few weeks but certainly not impossible.

 

[sebbutcher]

Thanks for the replies, I've tried taking another photo, closer up, but I can't get one which makes the creatures easier to spot. They are very small, I've looked up both copepods and planeria online, it could be either, quite difficult to tell at the moment owing to their small size, but I'll keep an eye on it over the coming days and weeks.
 
I accept that using fish food is not the best or most accurate way of cycling the tank, having done it this way, I wouldn't do it again. Last time I cycled tanks I was a beginner and used filter boost, this time I was keen to learn from mistakes and do things better. I had planned to buy some household ammonia after setting up the tank and just put a few flakes in to start things off in the meantime, but I never got around to buying the bottle and continued using flakes. I've got the API liquid test kit which I use to test my other tank (2ft tank, 60 litre capacity.)
 
I've not kept a diary of test results, so I can't provide exact figures. I didn't test the water for the first 5 days and then tested every 2 - 3 days, I initially only tested ammonia and was getting readings of between 2 and 4 ppm. After 10 days I also started testing nitrite as well, which was high, definitely 5 ppm, I continued adding flakes every couple of days and the ammonia level had dropped to between 0.5 and 1 ppm last week whilst nitrite remained high. I was away at the weekend and after testing last night, the ammonia was 0 and nitrite was also 0, nitrate between 20 and 40 ppm which is first time the parameters have been stable so I'm going to keep testing throughout the week to see if it stays low, whilst continuing to drop flakes in to the tank.
 
I'm in no hurry to put a fish in the tank, I want to ensure it's fully stable first, so if I have to restart the cycle I will, but it seems to be doing OK so far.

 

[Ch4rlie]

Sounds good
 
It does indeed sounds as if you are on the way to completing the fishless cycle, congrats.
 
Dose again to 3ppm max and if you get results of zero after 24 hours, you're cycled
 
But yes, don't try cycling with fish flakes again

 

[sebbutcher]

Cheers - and don't worry I won't! Far too much mess with flakes rotting in areas that are difficult to vacuum up with the gravel cleaner!

 

[Munroco]

Copepods are free swimming while planaria tend to move about on the tank glass.

 

[Chad]

One way to tell is their movement. Copepods tend to move more quickly and in a slightly jerky fashion. Almost like twitching. 
 
If your phone or camera has a macro mode try taking the picture in that mode. It allows you to take photos of things that are small and close up. If not, try to obtain a magnifying glass and take the photo through that. 
 
Copepods are beneficial and something you want around. Planeria can be harmful and even those species that aren't specifically harmful can cause problems in an aquarium because they multiply so quickly. It's best to determine for sure what you have so you know if you want to take any actions or not.