What are these Bugs?

[tenwhiteduke]

Last night I fed my tank Frozen Mysis Shrimp, and put too much in the tank. This morning I woke up and there was a small clump of the shrimp in one corner of the tank, and surrounding them was hundreds of white micro bugs climbing on the walls inside the tank.

WHAT ARE THEY???

[Aliie]

I call them aquapods, just because I put them in there from a bottle for my goby and that's what they were called. I have a lot also in the tank not seeded. It's a food source and not to worry I have been told about having an abundance.

[Icefire]

amphipods

[tenwhiteduke]

So they are good for my tank? But there are so many? Its like a swarm of them. Which goby is good for eating these. I am wanting a yellow watch goby, does this one eat those too?

[Travis L. Stevens]

It could be a wide variety of things. Most likely it was some type of 'pod, but without a better description of the organism you're up the proverbial creek. :)

[Slphappy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9635099#post9635099 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tenwhiteduke
So they are good for my tank? But there are so many? Its like a swarm of them. Which goby is good for eating these. I am wanting a yellow watch goby, does this one eat those too?

There's a good chance they're "pods"... most likely copapods. Yes, they are good for your tank. They are a small crustacean (sp?), kind of like a miniature shrimp. They feed on detrius (left over food and fish poo and such). Some people set up refugiums just to give the pods a place to procreate and multiply.

They are a food source for many fish. I think the most well known pod eating fish is the Mandarine Goby (which feeds almost exclusively on pods). But I wouldn't get one unless your tank is at least a year old. Mandarine's require a large, sustained, population of pods. Which usually requires a decent sized, mature tank. Be sure to research mandarines before you get one by the way... ;)

In your case, the pod population will eventually drop back down to a level that your tank can sustain. Since your tank is still "imature" it can't maintain a large pod population. Pod population explosions will occur occasionally if you overfeed. But, the tank can't maintain that population for long. Some people add pods to the tank to feed their mandarines, because their tanks can't maintain a pod population large enough to keep it full and happy (they eat constantly).

There are other good pods like amphipods, that mostly crawl (I think :rolleyes: ). And then there are the Isopods. A good chunk of which are rather nasty buggers. Some are like ticks and latch onto your fish to have lunch. :mad2: They can eventually kill an otherwise healthy fish. On the bright side they are pretty uncommon in our aquariums.

Anyway, that's the rundown on pods... Good luck, with the new tank...:D

Todd

[tenwhiteduke]

Thanks Todd, Is there a way to tell the difference from the amphipods and the isopods?

[Slphappy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9635454#post9635454 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tenwhiteduke
Thanks Todd, Is there a way to tell the difference from the amphipods and the isopods?

Definately... But it would take a while to try to write it all out. :rolleyes: The easiest thing to do would be to do an image search on Google to see what they look like (there are some giant isopods that I HOPE you never get in your tank:D )

You can also do some reading here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_2/cav2i1/Pods/pods.htm
or here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/isopoda.htm
Good article:
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-05/rs/index.php
another good one:
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-08/rs/index.php
A nice article on small critters in your tank:
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-02/nftt/index.php

Here's a FAQ:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/podreprofaqs.htm

Hope this helps... :cool:

Todd

[Paintbug]

my favorite site for IDing:
http://home2.pacific.net.ph/~sweetyummy42/hitchhikers.html

look under zooplankton. :D

[mcwl]

They are good to have

[Aliie]

Oooops!

[tenwhiteduke]

OK Now today 4/4/07, they are everywhere, all over the place in my tank. THere must be a thousand of them in my 24G tank. So now what? They are tiny, and pure white. I cannot make heads or tails of them due to their size, but they are everywhere. Doesnt that bother the fish at all?
Is there a way for me to control them? There are too many!!!!
HELP

[Slphappy]

I've read that it is possible that having too many pods in your tank might irritate the fish. Just due to the pods always bumping into the fish and "tickling" it. But, I guess it takes a fenominal number of pods to do so.
It really IS a good sign that you have pods. For now I would recomend just keeping an eye on things and see if the pod population drops in a few days. I don't know how much you are feeding the tank, but you can try cutting back on the food a bit and see if that makes difference.

[tenwhiteduke]

I guess I will try that, cutting back on the feeding. I am feeding once a day. One clown is eating immediately, the other stopped about three days ago. I am a little concerned about him, and the flame angel, i really dont see him eating much either.

When I feed, i am giving small pinch of flakes, clowns like it. Mysis shrimp, which I dont see any of them eating accept for the hermit crabs. Some other frozen food for the angel, that I dont see her eating that either. I notice the food swirls around till it hits the bottom of the tank. I do think I have been over feeding, but I worry my fish are not eating.

[Lpabsolute]

Most likely they are some type of POD

[Slphappy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9644238#post9644238 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tenwhiteduke
I guess I will try that, cutting back on the feeding. I am feeding once a day. One clown is eating immediately, the other stopped about three days ago. I am a little concerned about him, and the flame angel, i really dont see him eating much either.

When I feed, i am giving small pinch of flakes, clowns like it. Mysis shrimp, which I dont see any of them eating accept for the hermit crabs. Some other frozen food for the angel, that I dont see her eating that either. I notice the food swirls around till it hits the bottom of the tank. I do think I have been over feeding, but I worry my fish are not eating.

I think that might be the issue here... You have some fish not eating and the left over food may be what's causing the pod explosion. Deffinately cut back on the food until they start eating again.

I would , for sure, look into why those fish aren't eating... It might be a normal thing or it might not... Since I'm hardly an expert in the saltwater arena :rolleyes: , I'm not going to be much help there. Perhaps a post about the fish not eating is in order. Someone might have some good advice.

I think once those fish start eating again, there will be less left over food and the pod population will drop back down to more normal levels.