• You are viewing the forum as a Guest, please login (you can use your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Microsoft account to login) or register using this link: Log in or Sign Up

What are these little creatures?

peachy

New Member
Joined
9 Aug 2023
Messages
2
Location
Scotland
Hi guys, this is my first tank for a couple of years so I'm a little out of practice. I set it up a couple of months ago and added livestock last week. Today I noticed two of these little round worm-like creatures in my aquarium, right down at the substrate. They mostly stay completely still, though I caught one moving a little like an amoeba or something. Google's best guess seems to be planaria, but these guys are very round and don't have that angular head. I've taken a couple photos with my phone's macro lens, mind they're on sand substate and the big round thing is a single grain of fluval stratum. They're a little grainy but they've got a white-ish opaque body and four little white 'dots' that seem to be in the same pattern for both. If they're not going to hurt any of my fish or shrimp I'm happy to let them chill, just curious!

creature 1.jpg

creature 2.jpg


For reference, my tank is a 57l aquanano 40 stocked with 9 kubotai rasboras, 5 amano shrimp and about 10 RCS. I got my plants kind of all over the place, from various different retailers.

aquarium.jpg
 

Attachments

  • creature 1.jpg
    creature 1.jpg
    42.3 KB · Views: 66
  • creature 2.jpg
    creature 2.jpg
    51.8 KB · Views: 70
  • aquarium.jpg
    aquarium.jpg
    401.3 KB · Views: 66
Ostracods (seed shrimp) I believe, they're harmless and the fact your tank is harbouring life is a good thing! 👍

They're free food for the fish too.
 
Hi all,
Went down this internet rabbit hole and found this article with an image of a creature that looks very similar with the spots, they call it a rhabdocoela.
Yes, Rhabdocoela, the three pale dots are ovaries <"TDS guidelines for shrimp">. I still have them in the tanks and I just ignore them.
I'd love to be able to find out an exact species but either way they seem like cool little guys
@Dr. White might be your best bet.

cheers Darrel
 
Hi all,

Yes, Rhabdocoela, the three pale dots are ovaries <"TDS guidelines for shrimp">. I still have them in the tanks and I just ignore them.

@Dr. White might be your best bet.

cheers Darrel
Yeah, definitely looks like an ostracod. I can't help with the species, I'm afraid. When we find them in samples they are one of the few invert taxa we don't take to species level.
Agreed on the flatworm too.
 
Back
Top