Ira Posted July 31, 2002 Report Share Posted July 31, 2002 I'm guessing they're daphnia or something. But on top of some of the plants and around the edge of the tank are dozens, maybe hundreds tiny little specks ranging from tan to dark brown or black. And they jump. If I look close I can see a few drifting on top of the water. But they seem to prefer to stay dry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Posted July 31, 2002 Report Share Posted July 31, 2002 Definately not Daphnia Probably a mite or a springtail. Check your whiteworm culture and see if this is where they are coming from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted July 31, 2002 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2002 I only bought the whiteworm culture about Ummm...5 hours ago. And it's been sitting in a different room the whole time. Is it something I should be worried about? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dennis Posted July 31, 2002 Report Share Posted July 31, 2002 are the fish eating any of them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted July 31, 2002 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2002 Not that I've noticed. I doubt the fish even notice them. Most of the fish in there are 4"+ and the bugs are somewhere around .0000000000001 inches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Posted July 31, 2002 Report Share Posted July 31, 2002 I guess they haven't come from the white worm culture then. Mites don't usually "jump" so they are probably springtails. Springtails tend to eat dead or decaying vegetation and algae rather than liveplants so I wouldn't worry about them to much. Guppies, betta's, smaller Gourami's and killifish may eat them. Most planted tanks tend to get them from time to time. It's just that in small numbers the are usually overlooked. I wouldn't worry about them too much. As far as I am aware they do no harm to aquatic plants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted July 31, 2002 Report Share Posted July 31, 2002 Describe them: Long, short, fat, thin, bulbous, transparent, winged or not, etc. Cyclops and Rottifers frequent the places that Daphnia do if you have fed daphnia recently ?? Could be something you brought in with some plants perhaps, or possible in your top up water. Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted July 31, 2002 Report Share Posted July 31, 2002 As far as I know these things (don't know their actual name) are perfectly normal and nothing to worry about. I know I have often seen them bouncing about at the surface of my tank. I think they are too small and zippy for some fish. Why go to the effort of chasing one of them when, if you wait a bit, manna drops from the sky once or twice a day? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted July 31, 2002 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2002 Little round dots is about the best description I can give you, pegasus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted July 31, 2002 Report Share Posted July 31, 2002 Ah the old rotunda dotticus eh? Don't worry about them unless they reach plague proportions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted July 31, 2002 Report Share Posted July 31, 2002 Hi Ira, Geez, Caryl's in a witty mood tonight, but her latin stinks. Can't really offer you an answer Ira unless you can describe it/them a bit better. (Microscope/ Magnifier) Appears you have little to worry about from the above. Try to think back what you may have put in the tank to start this off, or perhaps they have been there a while and you have only just noticed them. The hundreds tiny little specks ranging from tan to dark brown or black. And they jump confuses me as the only thing I can think of like this are baby Argulus (Fish Louse) but these tend to be a bit flat with little colour, and would only be present if you perhaps put something in your tank from and outside pond or stream/river. If they are Argulus, which seems unlikely, they would attach themselves to the fish, but this is apparently not happening either. Mmm... I do a bit of searching and if I find anything I'll get back to you. Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajbroome Posted July 31, 2002 Report Share Posted July 31, 2002 Bill said... > Caryl's in a witty mood tonight, but her latin stinks. These days, everyones latin stinks, including the taxonimists. Perhaps Microsphereoides punctata would be a better name? ;-) > ... the only thing I can think of like this are baby Argulus > (Fish Louse) I've never seen a case of Argulus infection in a NZ aquarium fish. I'd go with 'springtails' or Collembola spp. and ignore them. I wouldn't be suprised if you have 'Indian Fern' in the tank... or perhaps that duckweed... no one has Salvinia, right? These plants all seem to encourage springtails IME. I get springtails in my grindal worm cultures and feed them to my whiteclouds. Andrew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted July 31, 2002 Report Share Posted July 31, 2002 Hi Andrew, Well that's a relief to say the least. I didn't know NZ was free of Argulus. My last experience with them was terrifying. I used to feed my show Oscars and other fish up to 500 goldfish runts a week, (obtained from the wholesalers) so I decided to "Go Fishing" in the local canal for something to feed them. I found heaps of fish about goldfish size, but lurking in the water were thousands of these blasted Argulus, but I never spotted them till I looked in my tanks and saw my prize fish covered in them. Three days later after dosing with (I think) potassium permanganate, if I remember (Turns a deep purple ??) and I had to cover all the tanks to prevent light getting to them, but anyway, it got rid of them, but my fish were no longer showable, and my tanks were a sort of violet colour for some time to come, but bright light disperses the effect. Hydra were another thing we had to watch for, especially with young fish. Sorry guys for going off topic... Bill (Pegasus) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted July 31, 2002 Report Share Posted July 31, 2002 Sorry you didn't like my attempt at Latin Pegasus . I would like to point out that most schools don't teach Latin these days so I have no idea of the 'rules'. Parlez vous Francais? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted July 31, 2002 Report Share Posted July 31, 2002 Hi Caryl, Just a bit of fun... but I had a catholic upbringing and HAD to learn latin, along with a few other languages, but I don't speak a lot of French these days :) Even after all these years I can still recite the entire latin mass and all the prayers in latin. Comes in handy for the fish I suppose.. he he Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted August 1, 2002 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2002 Hehe, Yeah, I actually I do have indian fern in the tank. Can't think of anything recently that I've put in the tank that could have brought them with it. It's been months since I've fished any mosquito larvae out of the pond, there aren't any at the moment. I suppose they could have come in then and been in really small numbers until I put some floating plants in. I DID buy some plants at the last UHAS meeting 3 weeks ago, maybe they came with them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biziboy Posted November 6, 2002 Report Share Posted November 6, 2002 Hi Ira, I just noticed them in my tank today, they are very tiny and very fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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