copepods

[Quest84]

hey everyone, So i come home from shopping today and look at my planted blood parrot tank and there is about 100 or so what i believe to be copepods on the glass and on some of the aquarium decor. I did a little research online and it says that this is a sign of a healthy tank? I will be cutting back on the food

it says that they are harmless to fish, but i do not want these things in my tank and all over my glass. How do i get rid of them? What kind of fish or snails will eat them? There is 2 blood parrots and 1 rainbow shark in this tank..all about 1 yr old

 

[Quest84]

no one here has ever had an issue with copepods?

 

[Cammywammy]

May we see a picture of them? They shouldn't be a problem your fish will probably eat them too.

 

[Quest84]

i will try to get some pics but they are very tiny and almost clear in color. It looks like the have tentacles on the top of them if i look closely. I know these are not planaria. I just don't want these things in my tank. I know some saltwater people breed them to feed their fish. I want to know what kind of fish eat them

 

[Cammywammy]

Hmm I know scarlet basis eat microorganisms a lot but your parrot fish might harm them

 

[imtcurveball]

Use a gravel vacuum to suck the majority of them up. Also keep the gravel very clean. They live of of the fog waste. You can get certain medications to get rid of them but I'm not sure what they are.

 

[imtcurveball]

If they are no other inverts in your tank you can try a copper based Protozoa medicine.

 

[Quest84]

there isn't any other inverts..just 2 blood parrots and a rainbow shark. I was thinking about trying some meds but i was concerned for my rainbow shark, he's been with me for quite a while. I tried to take pics but they just show up as a white/clear blur

 

[aqua_chem]

i will try to get some pics but they are very tiny and almost clear in color. It looks like the have tentacles on the top of them if i look closely. I know these are not planaria. I just don't want these things in my tank. I know some saltwater people breed them to feed their fish. I want to know what kind of fish eat them

Sounds more like Hydra

 

[Quest84]

here's a pic of my 2 blood parrot's in their house lol
and a pic of my rainbow shark, he doesn't like the camera too much

 

[Quest84]

Sounds more like Hydra

i googled hydra and they don't look like the pics..also it says hydra needs to be introduced into the aquarium from an outside source. I have not added any new fish or plants in almost a year. As far as water quality goes I do a gravel vac once a week, stir up the sand, and do a 50-60% water change

 

[Quest84]

after examining them closely i think these are actually baby MTS snails. I guess its possible they were in this tank and i never saw them. I did turn over the sand the other day when i was doing a water change