Help! White microscopic bugs in my tank!

[Val]

I have got these tiny little microscopic bugs clinging to the glass in my tank, and they multiply at an incredible rate. Has anyone ever had to deal with this? I need to know what I can put in my tank that will eat or kill these things. I don't think there is anyway to post a picture where you can see what they look like, but they do move around some on the glass, and in one day they seemed to increase in numbers about 10X. I have been using my magnet glass cleaner to swipe over them and remove them from the glass, but I don't know if it kills them or not. Any info will be greatly appreciated!

[jgf86123]

LOL first off, welcome new toad, and secondly, you have nothing to worry about, those are, I'm 99.9% sure, nothing but copepods, quite beneficial to your system and having an abundance of them is a sign of a fairly healthy system.

[Rick]

We really need to see a pic of them. They are probably just pods that will be fine (Actually a good thing) but without a pic we can only guess. If your tank was just set up recently then it's normal to see a pod breakout after a couple of months that lasts a couple of weeks.

[Val]

Thanks for the info! I looked copepods up online and it sounds like that's what it could be, but the pics that I saw, it was hard to tell if it was the same. I will try to get a pic of mine tomorrow, and will do some more research. I now have a good starting point.... thanks again!

[CA2OR]

Re: Help! White microscopic bugs in my tank!

 

This is exactly what I was referring to when I mentioned "benefitial pests" for the pest ID section....

 

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[USCG CWO]

Val, how old is your tank? If your tank is fairly new than I would think some kind of Hydroid. Are they white and have a pen size body with what looks like legs all the way around, move very slow clinging to the glass of your aquarium? Then I would say Hydroid.

 

If your tank is a few months old and they look like insects and move very fast then I'd say copepods.

 

Either way I wouldn't worry.

 

Need a pic to be sure though. I could be way off in left field.

 

Shane

[dsoz]

If you have a magnifying glass, you can try to use it with your camera to take a better picture. It takes some getting used to with using both hands.

 

Also, if you step back a bit and use the zoom on your camera you tend to get clearer pics. There is a minimum focus distance on most cameras. The other trick if it is not a DSLR is to put it into "macro" mode. On most cameras you turn the knob to what looks like a flower (I think).

 

If you have a tripod, use it to make the camera steady (#1 best tip I ever had given to me for aquarium photography).

 

dsoz

[Val]

My tank is a couple of months old, but the insects showed up at about a month and a half. They normally sit pretty still on the glass, but when they want to move, they can move very quickly. They are so tiny, it is very hard to tell what they look like exactly. They just look like a white speck, so I'll try the magnifying glass idea and see if I can come up with a good picture. Thanks!

[Rick]

My tank is a couple of months old' date=' but the insects showed up at about a month and a half. They normally sit pretty still on the glass, but when they want to move, they can move very quickly. They are so tiny, it is very hard to tell what they look like exactly. They just look like a white speck, so I'll try the magnifying glass idea and see if I can come up with a good picture. Thanks![/quote']

 

At that age for the tank it's really pretty normal to see this. Chances are they will dissipate quite a bit after a few weeks. Then as long as you don't put any heavy pod eaters in the tank (wrasse, mandarin, scooter blenny, etc.) they will build up slowly over the next year or so. A heavy pod population is good for the tank (expecially if you have a mandarin goby) however the outbreak you have at this point is probably not an indication that the tank is ready for one. (Wait until the tank has been up for about a year before putting any heavy pod eaters in)

[jackaninny]

My tank is a couple of months old' date=' but the insects showed up at about a month and a half. They normally sit pretty still on the glass, but when they want to move, they can move very quickly. They are so tiny, it is very hard to tell what they look like exactly. They just look like a white speck, so I'll try the magnifying glass idea and see if I can come up with a good picture. Thanks![/quote']

 

I saw them in my tank at about the same period of time. The ones on the glass were some type of Hydroid but they don't move fast. The copepods were really easy to see after the lights went out (using a flashlight) and they do move fast. I recall another white speck (smaller than a copepod) that I used to see even with the lights on and they moved pretty well.

 

If you started with 'new' live sand and 'new' live rock your tank is almost too young to have anything really bad that would be that small (more experienced people feel free to correct me).

[Ocean In a Box]

I'll bet there flatworms. Look at this pic and see if thats what they are.

 

[Ocean In a Box]

If it is flatworms you can get some "Flatworm Exit" at almost any LFS and use as directed.