What Are These "bugs"

[HHH]

So i noticed that in my 55 gallon planted and in a fry tank if you look closely you will see little whitish "bugs" dancing around on the glass and leaves of plants. They are extremely tiny and dont seem to bother fish. I really dont have a problem with them i just want to know what these are
Thanks

 

[laurac94]

Are they like little white worms really small and thin?
If so they are called planaria, they are harmless to your fish and are in most aquariums but go unnoticed, if you are seeing them in your water column and on your glass it usually indicates a build up of waste. I had this problem because I own really messy fish. I solved it by doing regular gravel vacuuming and buying a much bigger filter. You could also feed less to lessen their breeding and do larger water changes regularly for the next few weeks.

Check your ammonia levels in your tank too because a build up of waste usually results in an ammonia spike too.
Hope this helps.

 

[HHH]

hello and thanks for the response but no they are not like worms. i would best describe them as tiny shrimp. They dont exactly look like shrimp but its the best thing i can describe them as. They have a roundish body and a small tail... Sorry for not giving the best details

 

[laurac94]

Could be a long shot but any chance of pics??

 

[Chad]

Chances are they are Copepods which are tiny little crustaceans that have freshwater and marine varieties. They are harmless and some fish eat them. They are nearly microscopic and appear as tiny white dots that often move in a slightly jerky fashion. They are the primary food source for marine mandarin and frewshwater scarlet badis both of which I currently own. I have tens of thousands of copepods in my 210 gallon tank.

 

[haleem8777]

could they be baby brine shrimp

 

[Noahsfish]

Chances are they are Copepods which are tiny little crustaceans that have freshwater and marine varieties. They are harmless and some fish eat them. They are nearly microscopic and appear as tiny white dots that often move in a slightly jerky fashion. They are the primary food source for marine mandarin and frewshwater scarlet badis both of which I currently own. I have tens of thousands of copepods in my 210 gallon tank.

Interesting, how would I go about growing these? Are they in every tank? Did you buy them separately? The only thing that I can get mine to eat are frozen bloodworms or live daphnia/worms.

 

[Chad]

They seem to do especially well in reef tanks and planted tanks. It's the environment. Growing out copepods on purpose is actually a little bit of a process. Usually it's not necessary unless you want to sell them or if you have a copepod eating fish in a tank that's too small. You will often see sites that recommend a tank of 75 gallons for a mandarin, this is becuase in a 20 gallon tank they would totally commit genocide on the pod population. Pods are one of the main reasons reef keepers have refugium.

 

[HHH]

Thanks for the info! Thank you for letting me know what these are and telling me i dont have to worry about them