Hundreds of white specs on glass are moving!!

[monkeysinacan]

Ok so I just did a water change and I was looking at the tank and noticed hundreds of little white specs on the inside of the glass. I assumed this was just some stuff that got stirred up from the bottom when i was using the gravel vac. However upon further examination I noticed that they are moving. Does any one know what this stuff is. I just had a major algae die off recently if that helps.

 

[HN1]

Copepods?

 

[Barnature]

Probably copepods, just like HN1 said.

 

[RazorbacksFan]

Probably copepods, just like HN1 said.

Are these harmful to a freshwater eco system?

 

[peaceablegarden]

I had the same issue about a year ago when my tank was new and uncycled (newbie and got bad advice about cycling with fish). I did daily water changes and eventually they disappeared. No harm to the fish.

 

[HN1]

Not harmful at all. Don't sweat it, the fish will probably graze on them. When they start looking more "worm-like", then worry. Do you test your water? What is your water change schedule like?

 

[RazorbacksFan]

Not harmful at all. Don't sweat it, the fish will probably graze on them. When they start looking more "worm-like", then worry. Do you test your water? What is your water change schedule like?

The reason for me asking was after the water change in my convict tank I noticed what looked like extremely tiny worms floating in the tank.

 

[HN1]

White worms are different. They are most likely planaria that were feeding in the substrate. They are usually a sign of degraded water quality, but are easily erradicated by increased water changes and lowered feeding.

 

[monkeysinacan]

White worms are different. They are most likely planaria that were feeding in the substrate. They are usually a sign of degraded water quality, but are easily erradicated by increased water changes and lowered feeding.

After further examination with a magnifying glass I have concluded they are in fact Planaria. Looks like I'll be doing daily water changes until this clears up. I also scraped as much as i could off the glass.

Anything else I ought to know about these little critters.

 

[HN1]

Not really. They are harmless, but a very good indicator that your maintenance routine needs adjustment. They are pretty common in invert tanks. I've had them a couple times in my shrimp tanks after neglecting them for short periods. Just change water and they'll disappear.