Something new.

[Zerofox]

I started a new tank about two months ago. Today i started cleaning the glass on my tank and while doing so i noticed dozens of translucent "flaps" "crawling" along the glass. ranging in size from about 2-5 millimeters. I tried to take pictures but they were too small and clear to come out in them. So all i can do is describe them best i can and hope someone knows what they are. the front end, when flattened seems to be saucer shaped and slightly wider then the rest of the animal, with a small orange dot being the only color, and it seems to be inside the animal towards the center of the front. the tail end is slightly more clear and shaped like a crescent moon with two points pointing away from the animal and curving towards its body in the middle. they seem to be eating the algae off the glass but i can't be sure. I don't know if they're all just baby something or just a smaller creature, but with the amount of them i noticed overnight I'm leaning towards young. can someone tell me what this is.. if its harmful to my tank or if i can just leave it?

 

[HN1]

Sounds like flatworms. Do they look like the first picture here.

FltwmID

 

[fishmonkey]

if they are flat worms, they should go away by themselves.

 

[melosu58]

If they are flatworms

Melevsreef.com - Flatworms | How to eliminate them!

 

[Zerofox]

Perfect

That is exactly it. Thank you very much. This is my fourth tank I've started. It just reminds me no matter how many times you do this, you're just never going to know everything that pops up in there. Any recommendations on what to do with them if i wanted to keep the copepod population intact? or is there just nothing to do?

 

[HN1]

If you want to get rid of them, you can check out the link that Mike posted. There are also quite a few products, but IME they've just disappeared over time. The ones pictured aren't "bad" as compared to some others that can really damage your system and coral.

 

[Zerofox]

thanks everyone. this is all good information. i just wanted to keep as many of the copepods as possible because i have a dragonet i was planning on moving into this tank. and with this hopefully i'll be able to get it good for the fish as soon as possible.. again, thanks.