Thank you for the post. Do not know which emoji to use. Wow/Sad/ Angry. Thumbs up for the post. Wow for critter. Sad for its potential impact in the UK and Angry that it may be here or about to be here.I'll leave this here for future reference.
They are really common in ephemeral ponds, and as these dry they <"form persistent cysts">, which can remain dry for several years and blow around in dust etc.How do they usually enter the tank? As long as it’s not a snail…
COPEPODS, THE IMORTALS.
TWO DIFFERENT EGGS.
Copepods have evolved to have two types of egg.
Standard eggs and resting eggs.
Resting eggs can live for 3 months, frozen, dried at 25 degrees, pass through fish guts.
For 2 years I have tried to kill them all.
Electrocution, high level of chlorine, UVC lamps, hot water with double strength vinger.
I even had them before, being 15 Years.
Delivered by tap water supplier and only started 2.5 years ago.
Now I filter tap water with. 5 micron filter and a faucet filter before entering tanks.
Copper sulfate pentahydrate solution 👌
.2 ppm is about safe. So I hit the tanks with 40 ppm.No fish, and the plants let were dead anyway.
After cleaning filters, they then soak in bucket with copper sulfate pentahydrate solution.
I have a plant tank room no fish and Copepods eat plant ( I can't sell them).
Water supplier response is nothing to see water meet all Quality levels .
Will this work or any other ideas.
Now have do I remove or kill resting eggs 🥚
Thanks Jason (I have no hair now)
They are <"Ostracods"> ("Seed Shrimps"), a kind of Crustacean a bit like a Daphnia <"encased in a shell">. They are entirely harmless and very common in shrimp tanks etc.Can anyone help identify these?
This is a wonderfully informative thread that is both nice and horrifying.
Regretfully, I got another mystery to add to the list :c
They are small black dots that sit on the glass bottom of my tank eating waste, and visually pepper silk plants when viewed close. They do not climb glass walls. Using digital calipers, they are somewhere around the 0.5mm range, if that, so they are quite small. Here is a video under a cellphone attachment microscope at 60% or so magnification
I have tried, and they SURVIVE...
-Scrubbing the tank in dawn soap ((Probably missed a spot in the filter))
-Seachem ParaGuard
-Seachem MetroPlex
-Copper Power Green - 1.40 ppm ((Hanna checker))
-Seachem Cupramine - 0.25 ppm ((Hanna checker))
They may be harmless, good for the tank etc etc... but they freak me out a lot because they look like mites and I don't want to put my arms inside the aquarium. Is there a medication that will kill them and not fish that can be purged enough I can put inverts back in after water changes and charcoal? Is there a fish that is small enough to eat them that Angelfish can't catch in a 120? Is there at least confirmation they are not parasites that will harm my fish? I am really unsettled and wish I was ignorant :c Out of sight out of mind...
Bonus Question - I think the copper killed these from my tank, but a positive ID could still make me more comforted if they come back. They were the size of powdered sugar haze on the glass, and this is 200% or so magnification. Makes me think of little planaria, but the size and speed of movement throws me off.
Thank you all for your time! It is greatly appreciated so very much.
Looks like some kind of mite, but not the usual water mites which tend to have much longer legs, cool find!There are 2 of them in this pic
😛Best all-purpose aquarium miscellaneous-stuff holder: bathtub.I changed the filter floss a few days ago and left it in the bathtub... today when I removed it
<"Asellus aquaticus">, just a <"less attractive shrimp"> really.New to the hobby. Had aquarium for like 6 months.
What is the grey bug?? Is it good or bad??
Can anyone help identify these? Suddenly appeared in my breeding tank. They swim quite fast, not jerky like copepods..
View attachment 219286View attachment 219287
Ostracods. They feed on algae and detritus, so completely harmless and actually an indicator of good water quality.I just noticed something similar in my tank today