jdsunflower
Aquarium Advice Activist
Yikes, unwelcome visitors! And just when I thought we were off to a good start...so just how concerned (and how much actionis needed) with respect to changes in my 2 month old tank.
stats that may be helpful:
40B tank, 2 40w Cool White, weak co2 Injection (about 1 drop--12 seconds)
pH 7, nitrites 0, nitrates barely visible, ammonia barely visible, 3 KH 3 GH.
Tank temperature is higher than usual at 82F due to high summer, even with vented tank top and AC...
Plants: cabomba, hornwort, elodia c, water lettuce.
Lifestock: 5 Harlequin rasboras and 5 corys apparently doing fine, 1 Golden Apple snail, many smaller snails from live plants initially.
I don't feed live foods, but do feed frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp, in addition to micropellets for rasboras and sinking tablets for the corys.
What I'm seeing is tiny dots 'skating' in the water, and an occasional micro-worm like creature. The rasboras seem to eat the dot-like creatures with somje relish, but I haven't yet sen them eat any of the worm-like creatures (they are much more rare). I have seen 2 planerium worms (yes, I see that I have been overfeeding--guilty as charged!)
My inclination is to nuke (breakdown tank and disinfect all but will lose my biofilter). I find books unhelpful with such tiny creatures (it really could be any of the smallish creatures), and don't have access to microscopic analysis.
Right now I'm trying to settle for daily (1/3) water changes emphasizing gravel cleaning (black Flourite)--not sure whether these creatures are part of the natural ecosystem (I've got good eyes and am always on the lookout for infestations in my tank due to the yuk factor). I'd hate to lose the fish due to neglect, or to over-medicating, and don't want to overreact.
So far I've stopped all feeding to encourage the fish to eat whatever it is, but this might be terrible if they are parasites, right? They do seem to munch on them...and the wormlike threads concern me the most...
Even if I put the fish into a clean QT tank, they are 'colonized' now, aren't they? Will this just start it all over?
And I realize that scrubbing and disinfecting plants and bogwood separately just allows things to get re-infected, but I am concerned about my biofilter...
Any advice welcome!
JD
stats that may be helpful:
40B tank, 2 40w Cool White, weak co2 Injection (about 1 drop--12 seconds)
pH 7, nitrites 0, nitrates barely visible, ammonia barely visible, 3 KH 3 GH.
Tank temperature is higher than usual at 82F due to high summer, even with vented tank top and AC...
Plants: cabomba, hornwort, elodia c, water lettuce.
Lifestock: 5 Harlequin rasboras and 5 corys apparently doing fine, 1 Golden Apple snail, many smaller snails from live plants initially.
I don't feed live foods, but do feed frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp, in addition to micropellets for rasboras and sinking tablets for the corys.
What I'm seeing is tiny dots 'skating' in the water, and an occasional micro-worm like creature. The rasboras seem to eat the dot-like creatures with somje relish, but I haven't yet sen them eat any of the worm-like creatures (they are much more rare). I have seen 2 planerium worms (yes, I see that I have been overfeeding--guilty as charged!)
My inclination is to nuke (breakdown tank and disinfect all but will lose my biofilter). I find books unhelpful with such tiny creatures (it really could be any of the smallish creatures), and don't have access to microscopic analysis.
Right now I'm trying to settle for daily (1/3) water changes emphasizing gravel cleaning (black Flourite)--not sure whether these creatures are part of the natural ecosystem (I've got good eyes and am always on the lookout for infestations in my tank due to the yuk factor). I'd hate to lose the fish due to neglect, or to over-medicating, and don't want to overreact.
So far I've stopped all feeding to encourage the fish to eat whatever it is, but this might be terrible if they are parasites, right? They do seem to munch on them...and the wormlike threads concern me the most...
Even if I put the fish into a clean QT tank, they are 'colonized' now, aren't they? Will this just start it all over?
And I realize that scrubbing and disinfecting plants and bogwood separately just allows things to get re-infected, but I am concerned about my biofilter...
Any advice welcome!
JD