Little “parasites” living in my fish tank gravel?
OK I have a 10 gallon guppy tank and every time I clean my tank these little bug looking things are living in my gravel. I have been searching everywhere online for these bugs and I still have no idea what they are.They have a lot of legs and they swim in a circle.There are I bet 1,000s of them living in my tank and no matter how much I clean it I cant seem to get rid if them.Every time I clean my tank the water comes out gray cuz there are 100′s of them in the water..that’s all you can see.Also they are laying eggs in my tank and the eggs are all over my plants and the tank.They are little creme/clear looking dots.They are about the size of the tip of a pencil or a little bigger.Some of them are at the waterline at the top of my tank.I try to pry them off and they are suctioned onto the glass.It is insane! and you can crush them and they pop. I have no idea what these things are! I need help to get rid of them immediatly!! I could take some pictures of these things the next time I clean my tank but I am probably going to change out all the gravel so I can get rid of these critters, but I would love to know what these are! Thank you!
They also come out at night or in the dark only and are scared of light.I come home,turn on the lights in my tank and the little eggs are everywhere! then they just set there until light then they go in the gravel…
I have no idea what they could be but a change out of gravel should solve the problem. That’s what I had to do when I had an infestation of those little snails that come from the pet store by accident.
Treat the entire tank. Any internal parasites that are passed from the body will remain in the substrate for quite a time until the can infect other fish, and will need to be killed there.There isn’t really a benefit. They will be a bit stressed from the treatment, but any parasites in the tank will also be killed.
They could be copepods. I had them in my betta tank. They feed off excess debris in the tank. They’re harmless to the fish. You just gotta keep your tank clean and siphon them out regulalry to dwindle the population.
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Freshwater-Aquarium-3216/Parasites-1.htm
Could be any plethora of aquarium bugs though. Here’s a list of some that might be helpful.
http://www.petfish.net/articles/Aquarium_Basics/bug-worm.php
http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/pond/x_index.html
If one matches your decription, google it for a pic
Most of those bugs listed are harmless.
Don’t medicate for anything until you find out what they are. Shotgunning for meds is BAD.
OK! I was wrong they are not brine shrimps at all. I suggest you use a gravel cleaner and that will suck up all those critters!! You should scoop some out of your tank if you can and take it to the nearest aquatc store or vet so they will identify what they are. Good Luck!
You’re problem is called Planeria.Its caused by over feeding or food trapped in the gravel. I’ve been trying to figure out what the same things are for years now and not many people know what what to say when I describe a tiny white worm on the glass. I found a website with some pretty good info on it. Some other sites may instruct you to not feed your fish for a few days and they will just simply eat the worms…but that really doesn’t make sense if the problem begins with dirty gravel which can kill your fishes. Anyways,Good Luck…Here’s the site. ^_^
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