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| FAQs on Freshwater (and Terrestrial) Crustaceans
Identification Related Articles: Freshwater Crustaceans, Invertebrates
for Freshwater Aquariums by Neale Monks,
Forget Crawfish Pie, Let's Make a
Crawfish Tank! By Gage Harford
Related FAQs: FW Crustaceans 1, FW
Crustaceans 2, FW Crustaceans 3,
&
Crustacean Selection,
Crustacean Behavior,
Crustacean Compatibility,
Crustacean Systems,
Crustacean Feeding,
Crustacean Disease,
Crustacean Reproduction,
Freshwater Shrimp,
FW Crabs,
Terrestrial
Hermit Crabs, & Marine
Hermit
ID, Hermit Behavior, Hermit
Compatibility, Hermit Selection, Hermit
Systems, Hermit Feeding, Hermit
Reproduction, Hermit Disease/Health, &
Crayfish FAQs,
Crayfish 2,
Crayfish ID,
Crayfish Behavior,
Crayfish Compatibility,
Crayfish Selection,
Crayfish Systems,
Crayfish Feeding,
Crayfish Disease,
Crayfish Reproduction,
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Black Pepper Size Critters in FW
Tank - 7/2/08
Greetings from Georgia!
<And reciprocal salutations for Hertfordshire!>
We apologize is this is covered elsewhere on the site, as we found
reference to white copepods, but not our 'bug.' Our 125 gallon
community FW tank (1.002 salt) has been up 15 months. It has 2-3
inches of LFS gravel.
<Ah, 1.002 definitely qualifies as "brackish" -- that's about 4-5
grammes of marine salt mix per litre of water, or about 10-15% the
normal salinity of seawater. Great for livebearers, killifish, and
other species that appreciate slightly saline conditions.>
For the first time, upon vacuuming the gravel and changing water,
our white buckets had 100's, perhaps 1000's of black (dark brown?)
specks smaller than pepper grains moving furiously in the bottom of
the siphoned water yesterday. I have never seen them before.
<Likely only copepods, ostracods, aquatic insects or similar.>
They seem to cling to larger detritus in the bottom of the bucket.
Under a hand held magnifying glass, no visible legs, eyes, spots,
antennae, stripes, etc turned up. Still looked like black pepper.
Our fish are healthy; these are not on the fish that we can see.
These are not visible in the tank.
<OK.>
They died pretty quickly in the sunlight in 2" of the water outside
at 90 degrees F daytime temperature.
<How mean!>
What are they, are they harmful or good for the tank?
<Harmless; indeed, somewhat beneficial as they will be helping to
speed up the decay of detritus in the substrate, preventing
anaerobic decay. They will also provide a certain amount of food for
species that graze on or sift the substrate. If you have an
excessive number of them, it likely implies that there's a lot of
organic matter in the sediment, which implies you are either
overfeeding your fish or under-cleaning the substrate. Either way,
controlling the food supply will go a long way to restricting the
population of these organisms.>
Many thanks, Don
<Cheers, Neale.>
Re: Black Pepper Size Critters
in FW Tank - 7/2/08
Many thanks, Neale, we appreciate your advice.
<Most welcome!>
I have visited your area years ago, I think it dates back to the
Bronze Age; I visited after that!
<I see!>
Thanks for clarifying that we are indeed "brackish." We will watch
the overfeeding.
<Very good.>
Your answer begs the question: Since we need (want?) the gravel
substrate to anchor our many plastic plants (oxymoron?), the UGF is
along for the ride and we don't see getting rid of the UGF, it does
the job.
<Quite; UGFs can work very well, provided their limitations aren't a
problem for your particular set-up. Turned into a reverse-flow
system by adding a canister filter to the mix instead of
powerheads/airstones and you have one of the single best filtration
systems around.>
What is the thinnest we can go on depth of the gravel and still
accomplish the UGF function? We understand too deep is bad
(anaerobic dead spots), and too thin does not accomplish the
mission.
<I'd recommend 8 cm/3". Does of course depend on the grade of the
gravel; finer gravel will provide more surface area per unit depth.>
It would seem that vacuuming and cleaning are simplified with a
minimal thickness of gravel. We operate two Aqua Clear 400 power
heads (1 in each back corner), and also a Fluval 405 and a Fluval
305. Again this is a 125 gallon tank with no live plants, and
approximately 50 community fish. The gravel is on a raised plastic
tray. We remove plastic plants, caves, etc to gravel so there is
never a dead spot due to a fixed decoration.
<Ah, I suspect a reverse flow system is precisely what you need. All
you do is connect the canister filter outlet to the inlet of the UG
filter plate. So water gets filtered mechanically by the canister
(removing silt and organic debris) and then pushed from underneath
the filter plate up through the gravel into the tank. As it goes
through the gravel, the ammonia and nitrite are removed. The really
big advantage is that the gravel now becomes 'self-cleaning' because
silt and debris can't settle into it; instead the upwards flow of
water constantly cleans the gravel, pushing fine particles into the
water column.>
Thanks again for your time and efforts toward this fishy fun.
Cheers,
Don and Rosemary
<Cheers, Neale.>
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Re: the incurable itch, now unid'ed FW crustacean 9/2/05
Okay, I just seen something. I was feeding my fish and crawling on one of
the apple snails was a bug, it looked like a common flea that you would find on
a dog or cat. It was brown and big for an aquarium bug. I thought it was a bug
that fell in my tank and was going to drowned but it just crawled around on the
snail and it was carrying a little sac. It carried the sac some where near the
snail's eye and then I lost track of it because the snail retracted into its
shell, now comes the weirdest part. I think the bug crawled into my snails butt
and is just sitting there because I can see a brown thing through the skin and I
don't think it is poop because it isn't falling out. I am not 100% sure though.
I just put the apple snails in the tank a few days ago and I KNOW they are
healthy because they were born here in a 20g tank down stairs where they have
lived without fish for several months. My step dad also has some of the snails
including the mother in his 60g tank and I have never before seen anything like
this bug in my tank. It is way too big for me to have missed crawling on one of
my fish. Any ideas?
<Is very likely one of many freshwater crustaceans. Very likely not harmful>
It didn't look like fish lice, or fish fleas, it was way too big, it was like
at least the size of the apostrophe on the keyboard.
Oh yeah, also that is not a rock on the bottom it is bog wood.
<I see, thank you>
Again thanks for your help. I need it! I have to admit that I am sort of
freaked out about this and I am feeling pretty down. I had high hopes about
getting back into the hobby and was planning on adding either a few Kuhlis or
some dwarf frogs to the tank but it seems like my tank will never be healthy.
<Mmm, give it time... could be chemical/s leaching from the bog wood... try
removing this for a few weeks, the carbon...>
I have had problems right from the start despite all my efforts. I hope I can
get through this with all my fish and my tank intact.
<There is something likely very simple at play here... to be found, fixed in
time. Bob Fenner>
Help me I've got fleas
I have a 6 gallon fish tank with 4 fancy tailed guppies, a Chinese algae
eater, and an ugly sucker fish of some sort. I do not know the name of the
sucker fish, but believe that after I bought him and put him in my tank, is when
the problem started. I have some sort of fast breeding crustaceans taking over
my tank. I have broken my tank down and cleaned and cleaned and cleaned it on
several occasions, but they keep coming back. They seem to start down in the
gravel, then you can see them look like they are floating up to the top, just to
swim back down. After a week or so, they will start up moving and down the walls
of the tank, almost marching like an army. I have asked several pet stores
and they sell me stuff to treat the fish with, even though I have tried to tell
them that the fish are fine. The fish will not eat these things and these things
do not attach themselves to the fish. I even dipped some out of these things out
of the tank and took it to several places that sell fish. They don't have a clue
what they are! I looked at 3 under a 5X's magnifying glass. They are light tan
color, shaped like a football with black dots (I could not see any legs), and
feel like a piece of sand. I hope you can help me with getting rid of these,
because I really do enjoy having a fish tank.
< I think you have a species of daphnia or water flea. Some small red species
are edible to fish, but others are hard and fish do not like them. I suspect
that your gravel or some live plants may be responsible. If you used a
inexpensive natural sand then I think the local river bed may have contained
some of these critters and it took them a little while to reproduce in the
numbers you now see. The red ones feed on algae particles in the water. In fact
some green water would be required to keep them alive. I have seen something
similar to what you describe in with pond plants and duckweed all the time but I
am not sure what they eat. Since you have such a small tank I would take the
tank apart. Then I would wash the sand thoroughly in a five gallon bucket along
with the decorations. Carefully add a cup of bleach and let everything soak. The
water fleas should be floating to the top of the bucket dead. If not then add
another 1/2 cup of bleach. If everything is dead then I would get some rubber
gloves and wipe down the interior of the tank with the bleach mixture. Rinse
everything good at least three times. Put everything back and check the chlorine
levels in the water. Add a water conditioner to remove any remaining chlorine
residue. Your tank has now been sterilized and you have no biological filtration
so you will have to carefully watch the ammonia levels until your tank gets
cycled again Don't add any of the water from the container with the fish. Pour
the fish into a net and place them back in the tank.-Chuck>
Freshwater shrimp?
Dear Crew,
We have unfortunately had a small tragedy in our freshwater tank (240L, ph6.5-7,
temp 75-77, nitrates 0, hardness 3-4)...in with our neon tetras (11), black
widow tetras (6), Otos (5), Rams (3), Corys (6) we had had 5 "red claw
shrimp". Now from the pictures on your site and on all of the
other freshwater shrimp sites, they look like ghost shrimp, but are a
reddish/orange color. We bought them from one of the LFS staff who lives in our
area and breeds them in her tank. The biggest of these fellows is about 2 inches
long, and the smallest about 1 inch. Until yesterday all was well (how can you
tell there's going to be a but) but yesterday evening I noticed small red shrimp
on its back, scrabbling a bit. I thought this was strange, so turned him over
and moved him into a sheltered corner, he seemed to be struggling, so I wondered
whether he was molting and turned off the tank lights to minimize stress and
left him to it. This morning at work I have received an e-mail from home
telling me that small red shrimp is no more. So now I have 2 questions, first of
all, do you have any ideas what species these fellows might be? and secondly,
what could have killed small red? his legs and claws looked strangely pale and
he seemed sort of bunched up (cramp?) but apart from that we have no clue...
Any suggestions would be useful, we want to prevent the same happening to the
other 4. Thanks for your time. Nicola
<Hey Nicola, sorry to hear about your shrimp. It is hard to get a positive ID
without a good picture. The common ghost shrimp will not reach 2in. Take a look
at the link below, is it one of these guys?
http://www.calacademy.org/research/izg/SFBay2K/ghostshrimp.htm
My first concern would be water quality. I would do a good water change, and add
a poly filter to absorb metals and many other contaminants. Keep an eye on the
other shrimp, if it starts happening to the others we will know that it was not
a molting complication and can start troubleshooting from there. Let us know how
it goes, Best of Luck, Gage.>
Nicola Blay, BSc, MSc
International Zoo Veterinary Group
Re: football shaped creatures
I bought some live plants for my freshwater aquarium at the pet store
some time ago. Some other stuff must have come along because pretty soon I
had some snails. I also got hundreds of little "bugs". These
things are barely visible. They scoot around in the tank. Under a
microscope they look like little footballs. Their bodies open up like a
clamshell and little hairs come out of the opening and propel them around
in the water.
<<Not sure exactly what they'd be but they are most likely harmless.
I've heard of similar creatures in other tanks, most of the time they seem
to go away on their own after a bit. You might use the Google search box
at www.wetwebmedia.com to see if you can find anything similar. It is a
good idea to fully quarantine any new plants just as you would new fish to
prevent these types of things and also diseases from getting into your
system.>>
The only thing in my aquarium is a little African frog and some of the
snails. The frog is fine, but the snails keep dying. I don't know if the
little bug thingies are responsible for the high snail mortality rate, or
if it's something else. Any ideas???? Russ
<<I doubt these are causing the death of the snails. FW snails
multiply very rapidly and I'm sure there is a lot more die-off than most
people generally notice just because there are usually fish and other
distractions in the tank. I wouldn't worry too much about it unless it is
causing problems in your ammonia/nitrite levels. Ronni>> |
Re: football shaped creatures
After a little more research I discovered that these things must be
some kind if ostracod.
<Yes! Nice pic!>
They look like this except their shape is more like a football. Supposedly
they eat algae. I couldn't find anything that said they were harmful to
snails.
<No, they're (ostracod crustaceans) aren't>
So these little guys seem to be thriving but even though I change over 50%
of the water every two weeks my snails keep dying??
<I would check the difference between your new and old water and store
and match their characteristics before using. Please see here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/water4maruse.htm
Bob Fenner> |
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Shrimp/Crayfish
As a Valentine's Day gift for my two sons, my husband purchased two African
Clawed Frogs, while the man at the pet store was trying to catch the albino
frog, he came across a little guy my oldest son likes to call
"Pincher." He gave him to us for free since he wasn't sure
what he was. I think he's either a shrimp or crayfish of some
kind. How do you tell the difference between the two? He's
about 1 inch long with two pinchers and a grayish/brown color and a flat fan
like tail. I would greatly appreciate your answer. Thank
you.
Susan
<Hi Susan, generally crayfish are larger than shrimp. It's hard to
say without a picture. Does it look like any of these:
http://www.thekrib.com/Fish/Shrimp/
Regards, Gage>
Shrimp/Crayfish
I am going to try and get a picture sent to you of "Pincher".
<Awesome>
I looked at the site you sent and couldn't find any one shrimp that looked
enough like him, they all resembled him but not enough for me to say he's a
shrimp. The only other way I can describe him is he likes to hoard
food, he at first didn't mind the African Clawed Frogs but then suddenly started
to chase them around and even pinched off some of the little albino frogs toes.
<Maybe a crayfish, they are pretty aggressive.>
He has dug himself a little home in the gravel under a decoration in the tank. I
know this probably doesn't help you much more, so like I said I'm going to try
to get a picture sent to you.
Thanks for all your help.
<In my experience freshwater shrimp will usually do their best to hide and
avoid confrontation with anything and everything. This sounds like a
crayfish to me, I named mine "fish pinchin' crawdad" I'm working on a
country song about him. A picture would be great. Regards, Gage>
Susan
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Mystery Shrimp - Fun with Freshwater Inverts
Hey all,
<Hey, Chris>
I have a rather odd hitchhiker that came with my bumblebee shrimp today.
It's about the size of a large ghost shrimp, it's pincer arms are about as
long as it's body
<This alone screams "Macrobrachium!" Now,
Macrobrachium *what* is the question.>
and are sort of banded in alternating pale red and grayish-black. LFS said
it'd snuck in with the bumblebee shipment and hadn't injured/killed any of
the bumblebees in the couple weeks it had been in their tank at the store,
but they're not sure what it is.
<Fun!>
Well, due to various chaos today involving having to return/exchange the
tank I got for Xmas (Marineland 10gs apparently have different dimensions
than All-Glass 10gs), having to take relatives to the zoo for their annual
Zoo Lights event, discovering I either need to buy an adaptor for the
power cord and/or change the outlet the tank was going to be plugged into,
my new 10g didn't get set up like I'd planned it to be.
<Boy, when things go wrong!>
So, for the night, the bumblebees (and unknown) all got placed in a 1
gallon tank with an airstone and some algae wafer bits. A short time
later, both my sister and myself observed this unknown shrimp would wander
the perimeter of the tank trying to pinch the tails of all the bumblebees
(who'd jump out of the way).
<Oh yes. Macrobrachium shrimps almost all are aggressive
meat eaters. Fish, shrimp, anything that holds still long
enough to be nabbed, are all at risk.>
So the unknown got moved to a separate 1g, where he's mostly watching the
bumblebees in the tank next door.
<Dreaming of snacking, I'm sure.>
(The bumblebees now appear much happier, munching away on the algae wafer
and exploring instead of sitting in groups along the walls)
<Probably feeling a touch safer, now that they're not potential
meals!>
So, can anyone ID this critter?
<Your photos are quite unclear (no offense, just an observation) and
therefore very difficult to tell anything for sure.... is it
possible to get him into a position against a solid background? It'd
be especially nice to be able to see his first pair of legs, their shape,
color, etc. From what you've given me, the best rough guess I
can give you is Macrobrachium japonicum.>
I'm probably going to try and take him back, unless someone can convince
me he'd be better behaved in the 10g with the bumblebees (and future fish
inhabitants) rather than how he acted when stuffed into a 1g with them.
<I would not expect him to change his ill manners, not at all. But
it certainly might be fun to hang on to him in his own tank, see what he
grows up to be! I'm sure he'll worm his way into your heart,
even with an unbeatable appetite and a bit of a bad disposition.>
I'm hazarding a guess it's some kind of Macrobrachium, perhaps?
<Almost definitely.>
The object it's sitting on in the photos is an airstone if that helps with
scale at all. Given the day it's been, you're probably going to tell me I
just got a future 5" monster shrimp that eats fish or something ;)
<Well.... ;) I do believe you're reading my mind! I'm
not at all certain on his ultimate size, though. I'd guess
somewhere in the neighborhood of a couple of inches. Small fish
would likely be at risk, and small shrimp, as you've observed, certainly
aren't safe. But again - don't give up on him just yet! He
may prove to be an endearing little dude, well deserving of his own tank. Give
him a chance, if you can.>
Thanks again for any help you're able to provide, Chris
<You betcha.>
--Addendum--
A friend located this photo that sort of looks like the unknown shrimp: http://www.shrimpcrabsandcrayfish.co.uk/Shrimp.htm?Longarm.htm~mainFrame (scroll
down to Striped-Hand Prawn and click on the image). Although this site's
photo is a bit redder than the one I have appears.
<This picture looks very much like Macrobrachium japonicum to me.>
And it seems to be the only site on the internet that uses the name
Striped-Hand Prawn (aren't common names fun to deal with?)
<Ugh. I think the world would be a far less confusing place
if we simply scrapped ALL common names. *sigh*>
Also, I already checked through the photos at http://www.wirbellose.de/arten.html#Großarmgarnelen to
try and ID it with no luck (Remembered the site from when it was pointed
out to me in the forums by vintage_fish
<Hey, that's me! ;) >
several weeks ago in regards to a different species)
<Try this one: http://www.wirbellose.de/arten.cgi?action=show&artNo=220
. Do please look very closely at the faint striping on the legs
(I bet this is a juvenile or young female) and compare with your shrimp. Also,
try a Google search on Macrobrachium japonicum and check out some of the
pics that come up. If at all possible, try to get a clearer pic
on a plain (perhaps black) background. In any case, a fun
little fellah to find out more about, if you can spare a tank for him! Wishing
you well, -Sabrina> |
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Mystery Shrimp - Fun with Freshwater Inverts - II
Hi Sabrina, thought you might get that e-mail ;)
<It strikes me that there simply aren't that many shrimp-obsessed
people around.... *sigh*>
Thanks for the help, I think you may be right with the species, maybe this
one just hasn't gotten its full color yet since it lacks the markings
along its sides. I located this site:
http://www.aquajapan.com/encyc/shrimp/palaemonidae/macrobrachium/japonicum_e.html
<I've seen that one, hoped you'd Google the name and find it - glad you
did>
That has two pictures of females, the lower one reminds me a little more
of what mine is. I'll try to get a better photo sent in (or posted in the
forums) soon, still trying to figure out proper fish photography with a
digital camera (best results so far have been with tank light off and
flash on in that 1g).
<"I feel your pain" - my shrimp photos are currently far
worse than yours, so don't feel bad, not at all!>
The bumblebees are now in the 10g (blending in with the Fluorite),
<They are goo at that.>
I was going to try reintroducing the bully in the 10g after a few days
(and after I add some rockwork for hiding spots) but given this info, I'll
just keep him in the 1g while I figure out what to do with him.
<A good plan. Surely you've got room for a smallish tank
somewhere? He'd probably be fine in the 1g for a while.>
LFS has informed me their return policy on livestock only
applies to dead livestock.
< .... That's simply insane. And stupid. And
insane. So, let me see if I've got this
right.... They won't take it back and sell it, but if you kill
it and bring it in, they'll refund
you? That's.... Insane.>
Happily, one of the other Aquamaniacs moderators has offered it a home if
I don't/can't keep it, since she has two "shrimpzillas" already
that she was sold as ghost shrimp (she thinks she's narrowed down the ID
of hers to either Indian or Thailand prawns).
<Heh, if it weren't that shipping costs suck, I'd gladly offer the li'l
guy a home. Do consider keeping him, I think you'd have fun
learning about him. The larger, aggressive shrimps can have a
lot of personality (or seem to, if you're a shrimp nut like me!).>
Thanks again for the help, Chris
<Any time. Wishing you and your shrimpums
well, -Sabrina> |
Bugs in the water
4/29/08
As my friend looked into my tank tonight she asked me what was in the tank. I
told her it was just water junk because I had pulled the filter cartridge out
for an ick treatment. I was wrong. There are a whole bunch of small bugs at the
bottom of the tank. We have not added anything into the tank recently. I had
emailed your website a while back with questions about some problems we had with
our mollies. It was suggested to change the water and to use a section of a hose
to siphon it out, because we were low on money and couldn't buy one. We happened
to have a hose we were going to get rid of and cut a section of it out to use. I
would imagine these bugs came from the house and are quite happy living in our
tank. I don't have a clue if the fish are being affected or what they are. They
are a very very light tan color. The only thing i can describe them as is a
round little bug. It appears as if there are quite a few of them now. I would
love and advice on what to do! Thank you!!
-Tara
<Mmm... need a better description... likely this/these are either aquatic
insects or some sort of crustacean. Might be harmless, might not be. Bob Fenner>
Re: bugs in water 4/30/08
I was able to get some
decent photos of the tiny little bugs in our tank. I also took a video of the
tank and you can see them swimming around.
<Neat... do have a rather definitive type of locomotion...>
They seem to stay near the bottom of the tank and crawl on the rocks
more than swimming. I hope the video but I am not able to attach it to this
email, if you would like to view it let me know and I'll try to post it online
somewhere.
<Try You-Tube...>
I cropped the pictures to reduce their size and show only the bugs.
Thank you!-Tara
Tara Hendricks
<This/these are very likely Ostracods... Seed Shrimp... harmless, and
quite interesting. Bob Fenner> |
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Re: bugs in water, FW Ostracods, video
5/1/08
I haven't been able to see them close enough to see how they are moving. It
almost looks like they glide across the rocks and when they do swim in the
water, I can't tell how. I got the video uploaded. It isn't that great, trying
to capture tiny things, in water, through glass, isn't too easy. They are the
small dots that kind of randomly appear. I'd find one that was moving and it
would be gone before I knew it. Sorry I was moving a lot, I was trying to find a
spot where they were most active. You definitely can't see them up close but you
can see them in the water a few times.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Edq-K70Etdc
Tara Hendricks
<Makes one appreciate the "nature shows" doing such work eh?! Thank you, BobF> |
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George in Greece...
worms, copepod... ID 03/16/08
Dear Bob,
As you can see in the photo there are two types of worms and one type of
copepod (freshwater).
<Can barely make these out>
We are extremely interested in finding out the following:
a) species and if not, genus or even family.
b) are they harmful to fish (esp. fry)
Your response will be greatly appreciated.
George & Marina
<The blue thing is obviously some sort of dipteran larva; the red
things perhaps small oligochaetes, but it's difficult to say. In either
case they're fish food rather than a problem!
Fish fry *might* be harmed -- I've lost baby Corydoras to planarians, for
example. But I suspect that the usual problem is that if the water (or
substrate) are "dirty" (bacteria-laden) enough to support these small
life forms, newly-hatched fish are at greater risk of fungal infections.
So in my case at least, the planarians didn't kill the Corydoras fry,
but simply attacked the moribund ones. That'd be my guess, anyway.
Cheers, Neale> |
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There is something living in
my Betta's tank 8/4/07
I have a Betta (over a year old). When doing a partial water change a few
weeks ago I noticed very small black specks floating on the surface. Last night
when feed my Betta I saw these little specks moving about on his rock
and on the gravel below. There must be hundreds of them. I removed the Betta
from his tank as a precaution. The local fish store doesn't know what these
specks are. The fish seems fine, just a little irritated at getting moved out of
his home. The tank has gravel, a plastic rock to hide in and a plant that grew
from a bulb. Any ideas as to who the new neighbors are and should I be concerned
about them? Thank you for you help.
<Mmm, well... could be a number of types of life... worms, crustaceans of
sorts... but not likely deleterious/harmful. A photo (micro) graph or loupe
examination will likely get you to the phyla level in ID. You could
bleach/destroy these (see WWM re), but I would likely ignore them. Bob Fenner>
Re: There is something living
in my Betta's tank 8/5/07
Hi,
<Hello again>
Thanks for getting back to me. This morning I had to take our 4 legged pet to
our vet, and while I was there I asked if she could put one of the little
critters under a microscope and see what these specks looked like. She had not
seen them before but they appear to be an oval crustacean. A first, it was just
a brown/tan oval covered with hairs/cilia. When we continued to look, it would
open up very quickly like a bi-valve or clam.
<Ah, very likely an Ostracod... aka seed shrimp... See Google images re>
Maybe it uses this action for movement, like a scallop?? We came to a similar
conclusion as you, that it was harmless. Perhaps they have been in the tank
along time, but with the warmer temps, their population exploded and they became
obvious. Meanwhile, "Cosmo Bubbles Wong" has been returned to his freshly
cleaned tank, and is once again happy.
Thank you for your help, You know us fish mom's, we worry over everything.
Susan
<A pleasure to assist you. Bob Fenner>
Re: There is something living
in my Betta's tank 8/6/07
Yep, it's an Ostracod! Fascinating little creatures. Thanks again.
<Ahh! What a planet eh? Thank you! BobF>
Is this an isopod? 4/6/07
Dear Crew Members,
<Deborah>
I've spent the last few hours on WetWebMedia trying to find an answer to
this question with no clear answers so, I'm once again turning to the
crew. The filter on my 15GAL Fresh Water tank gave out last month and,
while disposing of it, I noticed some little critters attached to the
BIO-wheel. They looked very similar to isopods.
<Yes>
Since I didn't see any more, I forgot all about it. Today, I was doing
a water change and saw multiple shells (possibly exoskeletons) from
these same little creatures inside the tank. They all appeared to be
dead but, they had gotten under the lip of the tank and into the light
casing leaving remnants behind. All of my fish look great and none have
anything attached to them. I'm attaching a couple of pictures in hopes
that you can tell me what these are. Are they an infestation?
<Mmm... I actually doubt it/this... as you would very likely see a more
than decimation of your fish population... chew marks et al.>
If so, how do I get rid of them? Either way, how are they normally
introduced to the tank? Any help will be greatly appreciated, as
always.
Thanks,
Deborah
(tank rat)
<These may be isopods... but more like "Wood Lice/Louse"... just having
a drink so to speak... See Google with the term, "Freshwater Isopods"...
and look at the images... Bob Fenner> |
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Re: Zoa and Amphipod Problems... Unrelated
3/21/07
Hello Mich I'm back again..
<Doug, it's been so long, what 24 hours, maybe more! Hee!>
I'm seeing something very similar in my freshwater planted tanks as
well.. They look similar to the ones in my SW tank just smaller.. Maybe
.125" compared to .2-.4" in my SW tank.. These fw ones will eat
pellets, cutup shrimp and catfish fillets.. They also like to rip moss
to shreds.. This pic is of one tearing the fronds off of a piece of
moss.. A friend took this pic..
<WOW! A great macro shot!>
Are they similar?
<Likely so.>
Do you think there is a chance that the SW ones might eat meatier foods
like the fw ones do?
<Yes, they are detritivores... eat waste... dead foods, not living
corals, thought they may appear to be as they will stealing food and
cleaning waste from corals.>
Thank you in advance for any info..
<You're welcome! -Mich>
Doug
Again I'm attaching a link to the pic because I don't know how to
resize..
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c306/fishnfst/gammashrimppic-1.jpg
<This is a fine option. And again a wonderful photo, kudos to your
friend!> |
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A beauty! |
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