Water Bugs?

[Cherry Barb]

Well, now that I have a computer again (been without one for several months) I can get back online with my fishy friends! And here ladies and gentlefish is something I have not seen before: Bugs in my tank?

So here I am this weekend watching my tank (I can't stay away from my little critters) and I notice something tiny and fast moving in my gravel. I get down to eye level and sure enough, there are very tiny, gray-white, round....critters of some sort....in my gravel. I'm only assuming they're bugs because I know they're not snails. (I have snails and fish that keep their numbers in check.)

So, I call my favorite lfs who says, "Oh yeah, could be anything. Don't worry about it, if they were parasites they'd be on the fish and that would be a problem." Well, no kidding! :?

So, has anyone else had this and should I be worried or not? I do small weekly water changes anyway, but should I be changing my gravel out? This is the first time I've seen this and I've had my tanks for over a year. Any advice is much appreciated.


Rose

 

[RogerMcAllen]

I had them before, and had a thread about it somewhere. I forgot what they are called but they are harmless. I'll do some searching and see what I come up with.

 

[RogerMcAllen]

Try this

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=21738&highlight=isopod

 

[Cherry Barb]

I read the thread, (very good to know) but mine don't look like that. Let me see if I can describe better. They are small, sort of round or oval looking, light grayish in color and they are crawlers from what I can see. They do move very fast. They almost remind me of....I hate to say this, but ticks or fleas or something like that. Maybe even like a tiny role polie bug except in the water. Does this ring a bell with anyone?

 

[TankGirl]

Well, I can't come up with the specific name for them, but the treatment is going to be the same no matter what they are: Water changes and gravel vac's, religiously. You need to remove their food source, which is going to be detritus of all kinds, and I am positive you can eliminate them. Creepy as they may appear, I agree that they are not particularly harmful to your fish, but I would not want them in there! 8O

You might also try heat treatment, similar to what you would use for ich, since they likely can't tolerate that.

Welcome back, BTW

 

[Fruitbat]

Cherry Barb....

Based on your description it is very likely that what you're seeing are 'ostracods' which are aquatic crustaceans that have a bivalve shell. They are fast little monsters and are commonly found in the gravel of aquariums. Sometimes you'll even get such a population explosion that they seem to be everywhere!

They are harmless but few fish can eat them because of their hard shells. Bring out the ol' gravel vacuum and have at it! Take away their food and the population will plummet.

Here's a link with an enlarged picture of Cypris, one of the most common fresh-water ostracods: http://www.micrographia.com/specbiol/crustac/ostraco/ostr0100/cypris00.htm

 

[An t-iasg]

Hi Cherry Barb -- welcome back!

I've never had what you describe, but with the others' excellent advice, hopefully you can get them under control soon!

 

[Cherry Barb]

Thanks guys its good to be back!

Fruitbat you're brilliant! That's what I have! Thank goodness, I now know what's going on. I'm going to vaccuum again this morning to see how many little critters I can get outta there. Whew, thanks guys I'm glad you folks are around to help me out!

 

[PrettyFishies]

What about snails? My tank is new and I just noticed a large number of snals. Do they eat the live plants? Should I use additives to kill them?

 

[TankGirl]

Snails can eat plants, but it depends on what kind of snails they are - for the most part small snails come in on plants and just eat the decaying leaves, but you can have a real problem if you leave them.

Do not use additives, if you can help it. Get a piece of romaine lettuce and sink it into the tank, and in the morning there should be quite a group of snails on the leaf, which you can then remove. Do this over and over until you have them. Take care not to overfeed the fish and the snails should decline in numbers, but my guess is you will always have just a few

 

[Cherry Barb]

PrettyFishies please don't use additives in your tank. However, you can add one or two fish called Skunk Botias and they will keep your snail population manageable. I have two in my 20g and they are hard working little critters. By the time I realized my snails had become a problem they were getting out of hand.

A word of caution however, Skunk Botias are not compatible in tanks that have shrimp or other crustacean populations, because obviously, they will eat them. That little bit of advice came from my specialty lfs. Otherwise they are neat little fish.