I have...things in my planted tank!

[Allivymar]

Ugh. Something came in with my latest bunch of plants that a bleach dip didn't kill off. I have NO idea what they are. They are teeny tiny (a little smaller then this zero: 0), white on the bottom (where I can see them thru the glass) and have a darker dot (maybe a shell type thing?) on the top. Not snails, not nematodes, not hydra. I've dealt with them and know what they look like. I find these things all over the glass when I turn on the lights in the morning; most of em seem to migrate to the bottom once the light is on. They are also on the plants although I haven't seen any damage yet. The fish don't seem to be affected.

When I had snails and nematodes, the clown loaches ate em; when I had hydra I treated the tank with Panacur which was very successful. I don't know how to deal with these things; the fish are not interested in eating them, and until I find out what they are I'm not going to put the Panacur in the tank. I'm thinking maybe a limpet, but its a wild guess.

I'm trying to get a pic but they are SO small I'm having a hard time getting a good shot.

 

[Terry]

Hiya Allivymar

I have not got a clue what it is, but i have done a little reading and found COPEPODS they are free swimming and harmless. That is all i have at the moment but i will investigate more.

 

[Dr.Danio]

this may be similar to my current dillemna. I can't find anything close to what I would describe it as.

It started with a dried krill that I found floating on the water a few days after I had fed them Krill. It was covered in a ball of what seemed to be little clear mushrooms about 2 mm long. I fished it out, put it in a little jar for observation, and thought nothing of it. two days later, I notice that the plants look a little dirty. I do the usual and blow the bubbles really hard, but nothing moves... I looked from the side and was shocked to see little clear mushrooms on every leaf and stem of every plant in the tank! I treated the tank with a mild anti-fungal and followed up with some cultured bacteria so I didn't get a nitrite spike. It did nothing. three days later and a few more attempted treatments, the plants are healthy, but the stuff is more dense now and they'll be sure to start losing nutrients soon. I added some more plant food to try to keep them healthy and its working, but I still don't know whats going on!

 

[Allivymar]

Ok. I got a few halfway decent shots of the "things". Maybe someone will be able to ID so I can figure out how to get rid of em! You'll notice theres a ton on the plant leaves, but the leaf doesn't look damaged. I'm guessing maybe they actually eat algae and not plant material?

Do they look like your lil buggers Dr Danio? I'm sorta guessing not; these aren't found on the water column, just on surfaces but one never knows.

 

[Allivymar]

One more pic; this is what I see when I turn on the lights. They slowly migrate down to the substrate once the lights are on, although a few remain on the glass.

 

[jsoong]

Alli,

This is just a wild stab in the dark, but they looked a bit like mussels/limpets I've seen in one of our mountain lakes, so I did a bit of digging & found this picture of fresh water limpet at:

http://members.aol.com/mkohl2/Fwlimpets.html

Looks kinda like your picture ... anyone has any ideas?

 

[vega]

Fish lice?

 

[Allivymar]

Oh jsoong you are awesome! That's the closet pic I've seen to whats now living in my tanks; have a few kudos for being such a great sleuth

Heh, don't think its fish lice vega, mostly because they aren't found on the fish, just the plants and the walls. Thanx tho

 

[jsoong]

Oh Alli, you are making me blush! That was just a wild guess.

You deserve all the kudos for being so helpful on this board.

BTW, I was also interested in a pond & was reading some pond threads. I can't remember if it was here or elsewhere, but I read someone had limpet problems in their pond - apparently they have 1/4 or 1/8 " limpets plugging up the wet/dry.

If your things are limpets, the pond people may have some more ideas.

 

[Dr.Danio]

well i think that my mushrooms spawned worms that are now living at the top of the glass along the water line. i'm still working on a solution... but as for the question at hand, I've found another possible culprit.

Ostracods- These are small bean shaped organisms. They are entirely harmless. They may be brought in with live foods, plants, or even through water supply. They live in an opaque shell that may be whitish yellow to brown or sometimes green in color. They are 1-3 mm long. The most obvious protrusions from the shell are two antennae and a pair of slender legs, which are withdrawn rapidly if danger threatens. They feed mainly on decaying matter. They provide a someone useful function. Some fish will eat them, and unless they become an unsightly problem, there is not a need to remove them!

got the info at like goldfish.com and the pic off google. but anyway, since they seem to be more mobile than something like a limpet i'd lean more towards copepod than to gastropod. i'm starting to get interested though...

 

[Terry]

Allivymar,

I have an idea and i think it will work. Over here in the UK we have got a couple of really good Public Aquariums, one of them being the London Aquarium. I know that in the States you have the same, I think it would be a good idea to send an e-mail to one of those, with the pictures of your unidentified invaders. If anybody is going to identify this it will be one of the biolagist at one of those Big Public Aquariums.
I will send them to the London aquarium for you, and if you send them to one of the places over there we can see what we come up with.
It would be easier for me if you could send me the pictures to my e-mail address and i will pass them on to the London Aquarium for you.

This is only an idea but it might work.

 

[Allivymar]

Dr Danio:

That ALSO looks like the lil buggers in my tank. I went n looked ostracods up tho, and apparently they have 2 shells; the ones in my tank only have one. Maybe theres a species with only one? Where did you find that pic? Id like to check out the page and see what it says.

Terry:

*slaps self in head* Duh! You're a genius! We have the Cornell Cooperative Extension here in NY which is THE place to go ask these kinda questions....never even occurred to me to ask them. When I get back from work I'll email you the pics and send an email off to them as well.

Oh and BTW Terry, hubby and I should be in the UK around xmas. LondonGman owes me a drink; think I owe you one for the suggestion *grin* I think perhaps we all will need to meet up.


Ever notice I HATE mysteries? LOL

 

[Terry]

Thats sounds great, will be great to meet up. Keep me posted when your coming over, and we will have to sort something out.