I have a 10 gallon invert tank only. Today i noticed hundreds of these little little white specs on the side of my tank. when i looked more closely, i saw they were little living "things". sometimes they would swim around but then they would dart right back to the side of the tank!!! anyone have a ny clue what the hell these things are and if i am in trouble or not????
Help!!!
- Thread starter cbrand
- Start date
They are most probably 'pods, Amphipods or Copepods. They eat algae and are a food source for many tank inhabitants. They are a good thing and should be nothing to worry about. I have a pic of some of the different species somewhere, will post it if I find it. If you are concerned about them, put a coupla small occi clowns in there, they love them, or a pair of manderin gobys (synchiropus Splendidus), they also love them.
do these look familiar?
http://www.museum.vic.gov.au/crust/amphigal.html
also a wiki link to the copepods:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copepod
http://www.museum.vic.gov.au/crust/amphigal.html
also a wiki link to the copepods:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copepod
Andy37 is right, they are 'pods, a good thing to have. There is a great hitchhiker FAQ section here at RDO...
http://www.reefs.org/hhfaq/
Lots of good pictures of the various critters that are on liverock.
Also, FYI cbrand there is also an entire forum devoted to hitchhiker ID ...
http://www.reefs.org/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=22
http://www.reefs.org/hhfaq/
Lots of good pictures of the various critters that are on liverock.
Also, FYI cbrand there is also an entire forum devoted to hitchhiker ID ...
http://www.reefs.org/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=22
Well Andy is sort of wrong. Please do not put a S. splendidus or any type of Mandarin in a 10 gal tank. They will deplete the pod population rapidly and will starve to death unless you have a ready supply of pods to feed it. They should only be put in a well established larger tank.
Regards,
David Mohr
Regards,
David Mohr
so this is a good thing then huh? they look really really small like the size of an ich sore on a fish but they swim. obviously it can't be a fish parasite, but i just didnt want any of my precious inverts to perish!!!!! thank you guys so much for putting my mind at ease. i am going to my lfs to get some percs today!!!! (that tank needed some fish anyhow!!!) :lol: :lol: :lol: thanks guys....this place is a godsend!
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