Oh no... What is this in my tank?!

[Swimmer32]

Hi everyone.

I'm around four weeks into my fishless cycling, and I've only just begun to see real progress in the past few days.

I was watching the air bubbles floating around the tank this morning and then I saw what I thought was just a little bit of decaying matter floating about - but it was moving against the current!

Then I look at the glass, and see these tiny white things moving around on the inside surface.

What on earth could this be, and how could it even exist as one single fish hasn't even been in the tank yet.

They're very small, no bigger than the tiniest air bubble floating around.

The only thing inside that tank (bar gravel and a couple or ornaments) was the one live plant I put in to help with the cycle.

I know something could always hitch a ride with the plant, but whatever it is, how can it even survive in there? The water is very toxic with ammonia around 2, nitrite around 5, and nitrate over 10.

It would just destroy me if I have to start the process all over again to get rid of whatever this is.

On a closer look and there are heaps of them - mostly on the glass. One thing I noticed is it seems to have the tiniest little tail of some sort on them. Hope that helps to identify whatever it is.

Any ideas/suggestions to what it is, and how to get rid of them? Are they snails or parasites?

 

[src]

I'm cycling my 125 with ammonia now, and put some plants in that came with snails. My initial dose of ammonia took me over 5 PPM, and I re-dose to keep it between 2 and 4. Nitrites are rising (1 now, not as high as yours). The snails are growing and reproducing rapidly. By the time I'm cycled, I'll be having serious snail control problems at this rate.

There's just no predicting what will thrive in a given environment.

 

[Gloomy]

Hi....In reading through forums allll day...I've seen a few posts about planted tanks that get tiny white worms called planaria...They like plants but everything I've seen says they are harmless....Don't know if that is any help or not.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Freshwater hydra/hydroids?

http://www.planet-pets.com/plnthydr.htm

Are they stationary or mobile?

 

[Swimmer32]

I'm cycling my 125 with ammonia now, and put some plants in that came with snails. My initial dose of ammonia took me over 5 PPM, and I re-dose to keep it between 2 and 4. Nitrites are rising (1 now, not as high as yours). The snails are growing and reproducing rapidly. By the time I'm cycled, I'll be having serious snail control problems at this rate.

There's just no predicting what will thrive in a given environment.

I'm still not sure these are snails. They're no bigger than, say, a grain of sand. Still, I would prefer them to be snails that some parasitic organism.

Surely, there must be a way to get rid of them with minimal damage to the bacterial colonies in a fishless tank. High, or low temps possibly??

Hi....In reading through forums allll day...I've seen a few posts about planted tanks that get tiny white worms called planaria...They like plants but everything I've seen says they are harmless....Don't know if that is any help or not.

I don't think they are. Googling seems to suggest Planaria are largely carnivores.

EDIT:

Freshwater hydra/hydroids?

http://www.planet-pets.com/plnthydr.htm

Are they stationary or mobile?

They're quite mobile actually, and in free water they seem to move pretty quick! They look ljust like a grain of sand, with the tiniest little tail on them. If they touch or get too close to eachother, you can actually see they have a bit of a sqobble, and one shoots off.

 

[An t-iasg]

Here are a few articles on planaria:

http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/qa/f/faq0050.htm
http://www.fishpondinfo.com/micro.htm under "Worms"

Although they are unsightly, they are usually harmless. As your cycle completes, and the excess ammonia and nitrite levels decrease, the planaria should "burn out" on their own.

 

[An t-iasg]

The second link I supplied above does have a description of hydra too. I thought they were too big to be what you were describing, but take a look at the pictures and compare to what you have.

 

[Swimmer32]

They don't look like that at all. These are tiny, tiny things.

The best I can describe them is they are just like a grain of sand with a small, thin, short, string of a tail. They also zig zag around sometimes, and they can move quite quick when they're off the surface and ifree in the water.

I wish I could show you, but I can't even take a pic. It just looks like a dot, even on full macro and full resolution on my camera.

Please tell me I don't have to pull the whole lot down and start again.

It's taken me so long just to get to this stage.

 

[Dominick]

im not sure what they are but i think i have seen them before in my tank
only happened when i over feed my fish tho

 

[Devilishturtles]

Please tell me I don't have to pull the whole lot down and start again.

There are so many things that it could be. Just some sort of nematode/planaria/or thing that happened in on your plant. I wouldn't worry about it. When you add fish I'm sure they'll take care of whatever it is.

 

[Swimmer32]

Please tell me I don't have to pull the whole lot down and start again.

There are so many things that it could be. Just some sort of nematode/planaria/or thing that happened in on your plant. I wouldn't worry about it. When you add fish I'm sure they'll take care of whatever it is.

I really hope you're right.

Do you think it could be something parasitic that could attack, or harm the fish? Are parasites that big anyway?

That's what I'm really worried about I guess, as I'm so close to completing my cycle after sooo many weeks.

 

[Jchillin]

Perhaps nematodes? http://nematode.unl.edu/

 

[Swimmer32]

Perhaps nematodes? http://nematode.unl.edu/

Nope.. Doesn't look like them at all.

I've done a fair bit of research on the net, but I'm unable to draw a comparison to anything I've seen yet.

I think I might see the point devilishturtles made.

I'm guessing it can't be a parasite (which is what I'm really worried about) because they need a host to breed and survive.

As there hasn't even been a sniff of a fish in my tank, I may discount the possibility of it being that.

That leaves a harmless, whatever it may be. I hope...

 

[Devilishturtles]

I think so. Considering there are probably well over 15,000 species of nematodes alone, it's impossible to pinpoint any one thing. Flatworms and roundworms (nematodes and planaria) are pretty much inevitable in our tanks. It's just when they survive that we actually see them. I think you'll find with the addition of fish, their numbers will go down significantly.

 

[NoSvOrAx]

Could be Daphnia. They like plants and get around pretty well. Not sure of the size of the dots your seeing but daphnia run between 1 and 3 millimeters.

http://www.caudata.org/daphnia/

If it is, be happy your tank came with free food.

 

[CHBGator]

You can safely assume that they are not Hydras or Planaria while they both do move around they arent free swimmers like you have discribed even of they were your fish would enjoy the snack. I would be more inclined to say they could be as stated earlier Daphnia, Scuds or some other type of crustaceans.

 

[newfound77951]

Sounds like a copepod to me. Google "calanoid copepod" and see if that looks like what you've got. If that's what they are, they are harmless and your fish will likely eat them when you get the fish in there.