Pods

[CluelessInNY]

Clearly, I should've read up more on this hobby before starting up, and now I am finding that what was intended as a relaxing hobby has me more concerned for my fish than relaxed.
Lately, I've been noticing these white critters on my glass and some scurrying about on the LS. At first I thought nothing of them, but now some are getting big enough to see with the naked eye all the way on the back of my tank. They started as thousands of tiny little guys and are now a select hundred or so larger dudes moving about mostly on the glass. Near as I can tell, they are Isopod-like in form, and whenever I reach into my tank, I do get itchy afterward...although I can't see anything latched onto my skin. My snails have been dying off and while my water parameters are all in good shape, I wonder if these little critters are really parasites eating my livestock? None have attached themselves to my fish as far as I can see.
I guess all of that to ask, how common is it to have parasites in your tank? Do they live outside the tank? Do they crawl out of the tank?
Bettween this and my nightly mantis shrimp patrols, I am finding this hobby has become a chore and a worry

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Most likely they're copepods. Larger ones are probably amphipods. Both are good to have. I doubt that's what's doing in your snails.

 

[roka64]

They look anything like the ones on here:
Xtalreef

 

[CluelessInNY]

They seem squat in shape, not longer like the Copepods. They haven't latched onto my fish at all though. I wish the goby would come out of his cave more so I could inspect him, but he seems fine.
I'm kind of a neat-freak, so stray critters like these make me nuts.

 

[CaptainAhab]

I remember when I went from a FO to a FOWLR I was on the net w/ WWM and a semi local FS all the time. It's simply amazing the amount of life that gets introduced once you add LR. Pray you don't get red bugs. Had em and it ain't perty

 

[mr_X]

they are nothing to be concerned with. their numbers will grow and fade with the amount of nutrients in the tank, along with the amount of predators. think of them as a free cleanup crew, and free food source for any mildly predatory fish you might purchase, like a wrasse for instance.
they aren't what is making you itch either, nor can they leave the tank.

 

[cmor1701d]

Most likely they are amphipods and copepods. I remember seeing my LR covered with these tiny white specks. I don't see them anymore, but I do see various critters in my sump and pod pile. As long as they don't look like these (isopods) you should be fine.

 

[CluelessInNY]

See, I can't tell because they are so tiny. Maybe I'll buy a magnifying lens. None have parked themselves on my fish, so I am happy about that. I am also seeing curled up white guys on the glass and rocks, which I know are harmless, but they are proliferating.

 

[mr_X]

those isopods in the above pictures aren't as common in reeftanks as the creatures you are describing.
i'm willing to bet this is the guy you speak of right here-

 

[mr_X]

 

[cmor1701d]

I tend to agree with Doug that what you are seeing are the GOOD pods. Great to have and the population will ebb and flow. Stop worrying and start enjoying yoru tank

 

[Fierro Nights]

my tank is just over 2 months old and i have literally hundreds of pods on my glass, i got one of those magnet cleaners for my tank, works a charm but i think i may have killed off hords of them when i cleaned the glass.

there are some warm type looking things that hang around my pods too, they are about the thickness of a pod and about the length of 4 pods and i think they have legs, anyone know what these are, and some of my pods have what looks like an egg on their back, and pods are now on the glass in my fuge, i just installed the fuge this weekend and already these things are growing, i dont even know how they got in there because my water first goes through a filter.

i was about to ask a question about this but i did a search first, i went to the link that someone posted on the second reply to this thread, ( the guy w/ the dog ) and i also have those worm things spionid worms, misid shrimp and some other thing that looks like a silver fish.

after looking at that link i dont feel like putting my hands in the tank as much.

 

[roka64]

LOL! You will be fine!
I'm the one with the dog....
You should get a flashlight with a red lense and watch after lights out. You will see a heck of a lot more!

 

[Fierro Nights]

what if i have an isopod? i read they are not good, all these new things make me feel like things are on my skin as i read them.

i know i have seen something grayish in my tank moving really, really fast, too fast to get a good look at it, they are about the size of the entire word ( one ) on a penny, the side that has the " one cent " on the bottom.

how can i confirm? one was out the other day running around in the sand and my clown fish chased it but left it alone and the thing went under a rock.

 

[roka64]

That sounds like a beneficial pod. The nasty isopod would have chased the clown.

 

[Fierro Nights]

im going to have to be alot more cautions when im at the store, i had no idea about these parasitic worms and bugs and those little things that might even get inside of me.

the only thing if heard rumors of are something called ick.

the spionid worms that i have, i thought i had just one but i after i went to that link i recognized it right away and i looked in my tank and counted i have 5 little rought tubes w/ two hairs in each one, can i give these guys brine shrimp? i think they are why brine shrimp wont blow off the rock when i use the power head to clean it after spot feeding my polyps.

btw, i had my first attempt at propagating my corals today, i used a razor to remove polyps from the rock which didnt seem to even be holding on to it much but accidentally super glued a polyp to my finger, im not sure if its going to make it, it got alot of super glue on its sides but its starting to open a little, so are the other ones. i have them in the main tank w/ acrylic tubes around them to protect them from snails and water current for now.

 

[Innovator]

You are better off not using the tubes or using a less lengthy tube since stagnant water will aid bacteria in forming around the coral tissue where it was fragged; water circulation is imporant. If you used a crazy glue/super glue gel then drying time should have been brief and should suffice against water movement for those particular coral frags.

 

[CaptainAhab]

Just for the record. I love this thread. Gotten several chuckles reading it (though I know it's not funny..really.. I guess)

 

[Fierro Nights]

in one of the pictures, do you see that snail starting crawl in on the tube? thats why i wanted a large piece, i can take them off though my snails are in my fuge for now.

very offen i find snails in my polyps, i dont know what they are doing there but i dont like it, they keep climbing up to get to them then sit there.

do they eat these things? i dont know if im missing any, but they like it up there. i have turbo and nirite snails.

 

[cmor1701d]

I'm with you Captain. I just read it again from the beginning and I'm still chuckling...