What in the world is this?

[hulkamaniac]

I wish I had pics, but I don't. Even if I did, I'm not sure they'd be high enough resolution to do any good. I have a 29 gallon fry tank that I recently cleaned out. I had tons and tons of hornwort in there as shelter for the fry, but I got rid of it all since the fry are getting big enough to fend for themselves now. Anyway, when I turn the lights on in the morning there are all kinds of little things floating in the tank. They almost look like grains of dust or maybe bbs (though I know they're not bbs). As the day goes on, they settle on the gravel and you don't see them again. The next day, they're back again at the top of the tank.

Is it just dirt that needs to be cleaned out of the tank and is somehow stirred up by the night time activities of the fry? Or is it something else?

 

[Devilishturtles]

Really hard to tell from your description. Are they moving or just specs of stuff? Maybe your gravel needs a good vaccuming?

 

[jsoong]

Can you look uder a magnifying lens & see what the specks look like?

I once had specks floating in the tank (with my goldies in QT) that turned out to have segmented bodies under a magnifyer (and grew into no-see-um type flies). Problem solved when the golds got back into the tank & ate the offending bugs.

 

[hulkamaniac]

They do appear to be moving. As I mentioned, they disappear after the lights go on. When I come home from work they're completely gone. The next morning when I get up, they're back again. I don't have a magnifying glass and I confess that my normal vision isn't that good at all.

 

[fish_4_all]

Sounds like an insect larva or a parasite. Kind of surprised the fry don't eat them. Swords and other live bearers I have take top water food all the time. They actually love flightless and wingless fruit flies.

 

[hulkamaniac]

I think whatever they are they're definitely alive. They do seem to settle to the bottom as the day goes on.