# Bugs in my aquarium???



## Alleysaurus

So, I was doing a water change today and noticed a lot of little black bugs climbing on the walls inside of my aquarium! Some were even "hopping" on the surface of the water. They are very small and kind of almost look like fleas! Anyone know what these could be?? I've felt itchy ever since I noticed them worrying I have a major flea infestation..but I didn't think fleas would go there... I'm really worried they may be some kind of parasite or something dangerous to my fish as well. Please let me know if you have any insight into this situation and what, if anything, I may be able to do about it.

Thank you
~Allie


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## Ptyochromis

Pictures would be awesome. Also do your fish eat them? They sound a bit like water fleas. Copper should kill them.

Edit: copper will also kill your snails/shrimp/and other inverts in your tank.


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## Alleysaurus

I don't have a picture unfortunately  they don't go in the water at all though from what I can tell from observing them. They seem to stay along the waterline above water. They have elongated bodies and the largest ones are about 1cm long. They have two little antennae. I have not seen my fish eat them, I think because they stay above water at all times and are probably too small for them to notice just passing by the surface.


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## Ptyochromis

is this them?


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## Alleysaurus

I don't think so. They look longer and I think have more legs. Also, today I was observing my fish and noticed my fuelleborni has some kind of black stuff growing around his lips and under his jaw? It kind of looks like black algae. I haven't noticed any on my other 8 fish at all though. Any thoughts on this? Could they be connected?


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## Ptyochromis

It could be an abrasion or some parasite. Hard to say without knowing something about your tank.

Tank size? 
Stocking? 
Planted?
nitrates?
lighting?
What changes have you made to the tank in the past month?

Also, post pics if you can. Copper should kill most parasites and other inverts in your tank (this includes snails and shrimp).


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## Alleysaurus

It is a 55 gallon tank. 
I have a 4 inch electric yellow, a 4inch electric blue, a 5 inch fuelleborni, a 5 inch red zebra, 4 1-2inch green terrors I added along with 1 2-3inch chinese algae eater about 3-4 weeks ago, and in a baby next I have an almost 1 inch baby red zebra and a 1inch baby pleco. Today I added a 4 inch clown pleco and two about 1 inch veil angelfish. 
I am planning on getting rid of the full grown red zebra and male fuelleborni in the next couple of days because they are the most aggressive and I am working on gradually changing my tank to be suited for south american cichlids instead of african. 
My tank has two live plants in it that are fine. I have ad nitrate problems for month so have been doing frequent water changes one to three times a week, or everytime I see nitrates passing 80ppm to keep my nitrates below that. No nitrates or ammonia present except once or twice and I have done a %50 water change as soon as I saw them. 
I bought the tank off of craigslist from someone so I don't know what kind of bulbs are being used, but I am planning on changing them soon cause they seem a little dim. Obviously bright enough to keep my two plants alive though.
A few months ago when I added aquarium salt, and a few times since, I have seem some of them occasionally "rub" on the gravel so I was worried about ich but have seen no signs of it and haven't seen fish "rub" in a while. I think the black spots I'm seeing may be from the lots of spirulina in the algae wafers I feed the bottom feeders because the two fish I see them on now are the ones I see try to eat the wafers as well. But I want to be sure the bugs wont hurt them. I'll post pics of aquarium tomorrow.


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## Ptyochromis

80ppm is very high. You should try and keep it bellow 40ppm but even 40 is a bit high imo. You should be do a 30% weekly change. How do you plan on gradually changing your tank from african to SA? You would have to make a change like that in *one day*. I'm sure your substrate will still leach hardness into the water. You would have to take all the africans back at once, swap them for the rest of your angel school, peat the filter (possibly even drain the tank and and re-do the substrate), and plant the **** out of the tank. Those fish you have with the angel are incredibly incompatible as far as temperament and water chemistry goes. Not all cichlids are created equal, it's one of the broadest tribes of fish. Not even all 'Africans' are compatible.
I also would stop dosing aquarium salt (assuming its NaCl and not buffer salts which is not salt). It doesn't do squat for ich. If there is ich raise the temp past 83F.

I would recommend following the cookie cutter tanks that are listed on this forum. http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/cookie_cutter_55g.php, I would follow the last south american setup minus the ottos (you won't be able to keep them alive). Also swap your substrate out for 2-3" of floruite (and 1-2" of sand on top of that if you want corries) and get a ton of amazon swords (like 6+)/anubias(5+)/valls(10+)/brazillian pennywort(5+ stems) and keep your light at 1-2 4' t5 bulbs or 2-3 T8 bulbs. No CO2 should be required if you keep your surface movement to a minimum and your nitrates no higher than 30ppm (this means stocking lightly). Adding some ghost shrimp + nerite snails/trumpets would be most advantageous (if you have coppered the tank then don't add them).

About your fish with the black stuff, I wouldn't worry about it if you keep the water changes up (if you don't keep them up then worry). 70% of your fish illnesses will stem from dirty water.


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## Ptyochromis

Also, Holy fuck! I just noticed you wrote that you added green terrors. A 55 is not "unlimited space" green terrors get massive and aggressive and are so very incompatible with angles its not even funny. If you keep the GTs then get rid of your angels/the rest of your fish (*MAYBE* the pleco can stay) and you can only really house 2 at most in a 55. Do some research before you go out buying fish willy-nilly....


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## Hoover

i have the same problem. i dont know what they are either. they are just more of a nuisence than anything i think. they hang around the rim of tank and jump really fast across the water, eating any food that sticks to the side, lid, or rim of tank. here is a the best pic of one i have right now. they started on one tank and now made it to most of them, too small for fish too eat. i just wipe the lid, inner and outer rim every water change. hasnt cleared them but less of them.


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## Alleysaurus

So I have searched all over the internet for information about what these little bugs are, and so far I have come to believe they are black Springtails which are harmless. According to one person, they are even beneficial, but I think the only reason for that is that small fish, like little betas, will eat them. Here is a site I found with a good list of critters commonly found in aquariums: http://www.planetinverts.com/what_is_th ... arium.html


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## Alleysaurus

I have actually researched all my fish and I keep a very close eye on them and do tons of research every time I notice anything change. I know that 4 green terrors are not going to be able to stay in my tank and I know which of my fish are completely compatible and which are not. Since I removed my fuelleborni all the rest of my fish have been completely at peace. Green terrors get more aggressive as they grow as do angel fish, and mine have shown no signs of aggression thus far and the biggest is like 1.5inches, MAYBE 2" of the GTs. 
I am already planning on changing my substrate because the person I got the tank from added crushed coral in with it which keeps the water more alkaline. I actually can not do the entire change in a day because most fish in my area are kept at a pH of 7.0-7.8 so they need it gradually lowered by no more than .2 per day. I have been doing 2 to 3 water changes a week usually with no luck getting my nitrates below 40, though I get close to getting it there. I also do already have one anubias in my tank and a list of plants I plan to add once I have removed my africans. My plan is to remove the substrate when I take my undergravel filter out to clean it, and replace the old substrate with new substrate. Then let it settle for about a month and start planting it and adding the components I will need to further lower the pH to between 6.4 and 6.8 as I plan on adding discuss in the future.


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## Ptyochromis

If you cannot get your nitrates bellow 40, it is more than likely that there is a mulm(fish poop) buildup somewhere in your tank, be it behind rocks or in the substrate. I have heard of UG filters biliding up organics, as there is no real way to access it without digging it up. You might condiser replacing it with maybe an inexpensive sunsun/aquatop canister filter (under $100 on amazon). UGs are generally not recommended for planted tanks because roots get tangled up in it.

As far as your bug problem goes, I highly doubt they are harmful in any way. Get yourself some good mechanical filtration, that should help remove any organics available to them.

Good luck with your aggressive angels lol


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## Alleysaurus

Lol thanks. Yea I was planning on either just cleaning the **** out of my UG filter or getting rid of it. I have a Marineland pro-series filter I bought about a month ago cause I thought it should help with nitrates but my tank is acrylic and I haven't gotten around to modifying it so the filter can fit onto it yet. Thanks for all your help!


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## Ptyochromis

Filtration doesn't help with nitrates. Plants+water changes help with nitrates. Nitrates are the end result of filtration.

I was also being sarcastic about aggressive angels, they are the most peaceful fish I have ever seen. Great fish


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