Copepods..?

[aadair22]

I added some chaeto to my Refugium a couple of weeks ago and have been waiting to see pods swimming around in my tank.. Well I was just searching around in my Refugium and saw a bunch of little... Things... Crawling around my return pump.. There is a bunch of them, but only crawling.. Haven't seen anything swimming.. Are these copepods or amphipods?

 

[aadair22]

Can kind of see one of them

 

[Convict2161]

I can kinda see it, looks like it. One way is to shine a light in there at night, cover the light with something red, go stealth and you'll see them all over the place.

 

[aadair22]

Ok I was going to try that.. I would be really surprised if I don't have some kind of pods in my systems since I added the chaeto.. Just haven't seen anything swimming, just crawling, and every video I have looked up on YouTube has them, for the most part, swimming.

 

[Convict2161]

Mine are usually crawling on the sand bed or on the glass.

 

[cashmoney6980]

Mine are usually crawling on the sand bed or on the glass.

X2

The only time I really see mine "swimming" is when a powerhead catching them and blows them around the tank. Otherwise I just see them crawling around my rock, chaeto, sand, and glass

 

[aadair22]

After looking at more pics on google, I'm pretty sure I am looking at copepods (it would make sense after all) but a couple months ago I did find a copepod in my canister filter.. Until now that was the only time I had seen one in my tank

 

[Spotted]

Those are amphipods. Copepods are really small, but you probably got them too.

 

[kdpuffer]

Those are amphipods. Copepods are really small, but you probably got them too.

Actually they are copepods, amphipods don't have a tail like that. The way I easily tell them apart is like this, copepods tend to walk on all legs upright and have a tail similar to a shrimp or lobster, isopods look the same without the tail and amphipods look like a freshwater shrimp- they have an arched back and tend to scurry around on their sides.

 

[aadair22]

Actually they are copepods, amphipods don't have a tail like that. The way I easily tell them apart is like this, copepods tend to walk on all legs upright and have a tail similar to a shrimp or lobster, isopods look the same without the tail and amphipods look like a freshwater shrimp- they have an arched back and tend to scurry around on their sides.

Thank you that's what I thought... When I found an amphipod in my filter the first time I actually thought it was some sort of baby shrimp.. What I tried to take a picture looks like what I've seen on google and what you just described.

 

[tchampion]

Not Copepods, but maybe Amphipods.