White Worms and White Mites

[Coread]

Hi Everyone

I have a new aquarium, coming up to week 3 running.

Currently no fish in it and some hitchhiking snails.

Today I thought it that the tank was starting to get a little cloudy, and went to inspect it… only to find that the water column has lots of white ‘bits’ floating around.

On closer inspection, the glass had lots of small creatures moving on it (and some potential hair algae growing on it, although struggling to confirm if it’s alive or not).

The first noticeable creatures are some tiny white specks that move in short bursts on the glass (too small to snap a picture), they remind me of how a red spider mites moves.

The second was some white worms, that remind me of how a leach would move.





Would anyone be able to help me ID?

 

[Tyko_N]

The ones in the first video looks like some kind of flatworm, probably a Rhabdocoela, and should be harmless. As for white specks jumping around on the glass, my best guess would be some kind of copepod (Cyclops and relatives), in which case they make for great fish food.

 

[Teleos]

As long as they are not planaria, they are useful. Mostly in any case. Let the small creatures do their work. They will disappear as soon as the work is done or fish will eat them.. In most cases they come with plants or some kind of soil.

 

[Coread]

probably a Rhabdocoela, and should be harmless. As for white specks jumping around on the glass, my best guess would be some kind of copepod

Thank you, this is what I was leaning towards but couldn’t find a video of how they moved though so didn’t want to risk it if I needed to take some action.

I don’t have any fish in the tank at the moment, so the combination of lack of predators and a fresh new tank with lots of new plants is probably a perfect environment for them to bloom.

As long as they are not planaria

I think this was my first worry, but because they’re so small, it was difficult to identify.

Let the small creatures do their work.

Absolutely, I really want a nice combination a microfauna - as long as they don’t harm the environment (or dominate the aesthetics).