krill in my tank?

[ericosuave]

I think i have a crap load of small krill's running around in my tank.. im not too sure.. they look like small tiny shrimps and have lines on thier back and antennas on thier heads.. they move fast as well..

are these krill? do i need to get rid of them if they are? i dont have much in my tank right now.. just some cured fiji rock and live sand and some snails and hermits.

TIA

 

[snapcrackler]

Sounds like amphipods, a sign of a healthy SW aquarium.

You can just let them run and play, no problem

 

[ericosuave]

haha cool.. they run and play alot btw.. i think one played a bit too hard.. now its dead and floating around..

just wonder though.. will they eventually die off? or do i need to buy a fish to eat them up or something? will all types of fish eat em or only certain ones?

 

[snapcrackler]

Lots of fish eat em but especially gobies like the mandarin goby... they will live with you as long as your tank is healthy. You might have population "booms" and "dieoffs" but all in all they will never go away.

In fact copepods/amphipods are pretty important little guys. They are scavengers and also a great food source.

I see my perculas picking them off of rocks in my tank when they are hungry/bored.
(edited to add important note)

I forgot, if you decide to get a pod-eater like a mandarin (not that you need to do this anyway), you need to make absolutely sure that you have TONS of pods and preferably a refugium that is generating lots of pods otherwise they will not have enough pods to eat.

I will avoid getting a mandarin for specifically that reason until I get a big honkin fuge and I have millions of pods waving signs that say "eat me"

A mandarin can eat a lot of pods in one day.