# tiny white, oblong moving bugs?



## icewind (Jan 2, 2011)

Hi, I have an established 75G cichlid aquarium and tonight as I was feeding, noticed alot of tiny (maybe a mil. in length) white bugs(?) clinging to the glass and they move! they are shaped like a grain of rice, but much smaller! Is this a normal thing, good or bad and if bad what should I do? Any advise is appreciated!


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

Probably planaria. Not harmful. May be a sign of excessive organics in the system. Try cleaning the substrate and under and around any rocks. Also watch that you're not overfeeding.


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## awilson0001 (Sep 2, 2010)

i had some white bugs in my 55 gallon living in my filter mostly. everytime i did a water change and turned the filter on, some would come out.
they were also like a grain of rice but smaller and they moved fast. i think they were crustaceans of some type. if i looked really close i could see little legs.
never saw any on the glass.


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## icewind (Jan 2, 2011)

Dont thnk overfeeding is the problem,and I do bi weekly water changes and vacume each time. Water test good. Did some research on line and maybe copepods? Glad to hear they most likely arent a threat though! Thanks for the respons, if it changes for the worse, Ill let you know, otherwise, Im not going to worry about it for now!!!


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## 748johnd (Jun 30, 2007)

Do you have live plants? I always disinfect any live plants I put into my tanks because if you don't, you can introduce various critters into them. If you don't have live plants then I am not sure what you have.


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## awilson0001 (Sep 2, 2010)

lol copepods is what i ment...


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## icewind (Jan 2, 2011)

No, I dont have any live plants. They do not seem to be on the fish, just the glass, and they kind of move like a snail, they are soooo small,even with a magnifying glass, I cant really see much detail, looks kind of like a lice. I would think if it were fish lice they would be on the fish too. When I googled it , it sounds like it could be a copepod, though Im just not sure and if it is something bad I dont want to contaminate my other tanks!


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## icewind (Jan 2, 2011)

PS. I also checked my water conditions and they are about as perfect as they can be, we are on well water, I have not introduced any new fish in my tank for a long time. Im just stumped and if anyone else has had this in their tank I would appreciate any info you can give!! I do not like medicating my fish unless absolutly necessary!


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## brinkles (Jan 30, 2011)

You mean a mil as 1/1000 of an inch, right?


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## awilson0001 (Sep 2, 2010)

25.4 milimeters in one inch i think, about 1/26th.
i do not think you can really see 1/1000 of an inch very well.
milimeters are big enough that they are used and can be seen on many rulers.
not being rude, just do not want to mislead anyone :thumb:


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## brinkles (Jan 30, 2011)

You can see .001", that would be like really fine sand! a mil is used for measuring thin things like trash bags btw, a mm is a millimeter.

Whatever they are, I'm surprised nothing has eaten them! I've seen baby snails this small, the shell is clearish and small when they are young.


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## awilson0001 (Sep 2, 2010)

the small bugs i had got eaten real fast lol


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## icewind (Jan 2, 2011)

Sorry, didnt mean to cause such a stir, I am in the dental field and deal with mm measurments all the time, these "things" are truly about this size - and they are all over the inside of the glass. I can see them without a mag. glass, but with the mag. glass I can see they kind of move like a snail, and they all seem to move around alot. being so small, Im not sure if they are all over, but there are hundreds on the inside glass! There doesnt seem to be as many as before I did my water change, the fish seem unafected, I was just wondering if anyone out there knew what they are. :-?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Did you check out the planaria that Prov suggested? That's what it sounds like.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

DJRansome said:


> Did you check out the planaria that Prov suggested? That's what it sounds like.


That's ok, nobody listens to me at home either. :lol:



> I was just wondering if anyone out there knew what they are.


They are planaria. They show up in tanks with excess organics. Vacuum substrate and reduce feeding. Maybe just not the answer you wanted to hear, I don't know.


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## ws812 (Apr 17, 2009)

i agree with both the mods i've seen them before. a coiuple good cleanings should take care of them.


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