# Tiny white 'bugs' in tank?



## wystearya (Sep 27, 2010)

I plan to do some internet searching after I post this, but I just now noticed some extremely tiny white moving specs on the inside of my tank. They are on the acrylic. I'm hoping they are not harmful. I know some 'bugs' can be found in healthy aquariums, but I can't help but to be concerned. 

Anyone have any idea what these tiny white specs could be? They are very, very tiny and look a bit like a dash mark. -

Thanks for any help!
~Wystearya


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

I don't know of any bugs that'll harm an aquarium, besides hydra which can eat baby shrimp.
They are probably water fleas, mine will sit on the glass sometimes, but they also enjoy free swimming above the substrate.
Or do they look more blobish? If so they could be limpets. 
Here a good article with some photos:
http://www.planetinverts.com/what_is_that_bug_in_my_aquarium.html


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

If they look small and "flat" they may be planaria. I have seen them in some tanks, and I believe MrV mentioned that he occasionally gets them in his spawning tanks, without much harm. In fact his fry enjoy them as between meal snacks!

I found a couple of centimeter long, wriggling, thread-thin worms floating their way around my cycling aquarium. They probably hitched as eggs on some plants I added to the tank.

Someone else can tell you for sure, but I don't think they, in themselves, are a problem. Rather, I believe they can be a sign of over feeding or maybe not siphoning the gravel enough.


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

I had a ton of pests during fish food cycling- nematodes and water fleas..
After cycling I only see the occasional water flea.


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## wystearya (Sep 27, 2010)

My tank is newly cycled. Just last week it finally reached that point. I can check it again, but it was fine just the other day.

I never feed too much.

I'll try some gravel cleaning and try to suck then up with my siphon.

They are so extremely tiny that they don't look like anything in the pictures. They are just tiny white lines. Literally like a dash -

I guess they might be a kind of copepod. It is too hard to tell as they look like nothing. Just teeny tiny white lines. They are nearly microscopic. Extremely tiny!


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Well, on a newly cycled tank remember not to go nuts with gravel siphoning as it has a chance to mess up the cycle.

I think most pests will either make a fine betta meal or will self-regulate once the cycle is established.


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## wystearya (Sep 27, 2010)

sparkyjoe said:


> Well, on a newly cycled tank remember not to go nuts with gravel siphoning as it has a chance to mess up the cycle.


Exactly this! I have only siphoned a small section of gravel at any one time for this very reason. 

I just tested my water, and everything is 0, including my nitrAtes. I think this is because my plants are sucking up most everything right now. 

Anyway, I might do a small partial water change, siphon just one small section of gravel, and try to suck up some of the 'bugs' too.

At least they don't seem to be anything harmful. *whew*


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## freemike (Feb 3, 2012)

It's most likely planaria and will go away I have it in my cycling tank right now. They aren't harmful to the fish, but will eat fish eggs. They most often show up in cycling tanks. If your tank is mature and you have this problem it can be signs of bigger problems that could hurt your fish such as elevated ammonia and nitrite levels hence why they showed up when you cycled the tank. In a mature tank they can also be a sign that you are overfeeding your tank.

They should disappear when the tank is stocked and being fed properly because they will not have a food source. They will not infect or hurt your fish.


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## MistersMom (Aug 9, 2011)

I have some of the exact same things, i thoguht they may be baby shrimp... i may be just dumb tho lol... :/


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## jaela (Feb 22, 2012)

These could also be copepods -- I have some in my tank and they look like that, like tiny white bugs. But on closer inspection they are moving with little swishy tails, which you have to look EXTREMELY close to see. I can only see 'em because I'm insanely near-sighted. The males are just a tiny white dot with an almost invisible tail, and the females are tiny white dots with what looks like a forked tail -- but I looked up pictures of them under a microscope and those are actually egg sacs, one on either side. So cute! And they're apparently harmless to my fish. =]


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