Strange Bugs

[OrbMan]

My tank recently got invaded by some strange little critters, they are roughly .5mm so I haven't really seen exactly what they are, but they are out and about and free swimming, until i shine a bright light on the tank, then they disappear under the gravel.

i have seen other sites that describe something called copepods, but they sure don't look like that (and according to these sites they are not a threat to the fish), although i can't see them in detail, i know they are round bodied and they actually are hard as i took a few onto a piece of paper and they roll if the paper is tilted, hence a 'spherical' type body, they swim rather fast for their size, and seem to me like an engorged tick and the color is somewhat brownish.

i have vacuumed the tank several times and get what look like hundreds or thousands of them in the waste bucket, but of course they are multiplying like crazy in the tank, the fish seem stressed or getting sick by eating them (i think)
the photo doesn't really help a lot but its right there in the middle of my finger tip

 

[Lcouturewine20057]

Get some nerite snails they will eat them, if they don't eliminate them entirely they can at least provide population control. I had these same bugs can't remember what they are called but the snails cleared them up

 

[FishEggs]

I hope they are not Argulus aka Fish Lice.

 

[OrbMan]

I hope they are not Argulus aka Fish Lice.

oh wow, although the ones i saw never went past the .5mm mark and i never saw any attached to the fish, it is the only one that looks kind of like what i saw in my tank, anyhow i got desperate cause my fish started dying so i placed them on a spare tank and bleached the ceramic media and the tank, since its the only thing that i saw will kill these, i will leave the bleach solution in for 24 hrs, then wash, wash, wash, and wash both tank and media, then leave for 24 hrs in a dechlorinator solution, and hopefully that tank will be suitable again for my fish (which i will need a new tank probably anyway, as i found about 40 fry among the ceramic media when i was emptying)

 

[OrbMan]

27 days later i come to find out the absolute truth:
Happiness is a bright yellow dot