# Oh dear,tank problem....



## flashback3003 (Apr 8, 2009)

In my tank are 7 crs,2 cabomba's and a few tiny snails.
Today i found a few little insects buzzing around in my tank.I didnt really know what to do so i netted them out.They may have come with the plant as eggs or something but i did wash the cabomba.
So what should i do?(about 0.5-0.7 mm each bug)
I think they may have reproduced or something in my tank.

Also about the snails,theyre generally a small type of snail but when i started a week ago,there were only 2 snails.Now theyre coming in hordes and are starting to eat my cabomba.How can i get rid of them?Pick'em all out?


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## Pleconomous (Mar 7, 2008)

Not sure about the bugs, but the most effective way I've found to get rid of pesky snails is to manually remove them as soon as you see any. Also, from what I've found, they like to lay their eggs under/inside wood and decorations, so be sure to go over your tank decore and remove any egg pouches you find. Persistence is key to erradication.


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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

The bugs must be copepods, nothing harmful about them. I think you have them just because you don't have any fishes in that tank. I have fishless tanks too, and copepods seem to thrive in them (no predators).

I have some plant eating snails too, and I've been picking them by hand as they usually hide under the leaves. They tend to be quite small and hard to spot. I'd like to learn a good solution to this problem too.


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## Tropicana (Feb 15, 2009)

Well i noticed when i bought Julidochromis Regani kipili, they were excellent at eating snail eggs and in about a week or so my snail population was cut in half. Also Dwarf puffers eat the adults, but they are both aggressive so it depends on what you have in you tank.

As for your copepods i have they too, lol one good thing is the German blue ram fry i am growing are going to have a feast. i had guppy fry in my 20gal and they were Just stuffed full of copepods lol.. little orange bellys. i didnt even need to feed the guppys haha.

The copepods are Mainly Cyclops.


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## flashback3003 (Apr 8, 2009)

Hmm i dont know about the copepods though.Can someone try this?:get tongs and a net.Scoop 1 copepod out using the net and with the tongs crush the cpoepod.Mine make a little crack noise as if a shell cracked.(thanks for the snail info!)


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

Do they look sorta like this?:


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## flashback3003 (Apr 8, 2009)

ummmm......... really hard to tell since i dont have a magnifying glass


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

Hi flashback3003.

I don't think you need to worry about them. In fact they make a great snack for your fish.

My zebra danios loved em when I put then into a newly cycled tank that had hundreds of them swimming around. In fact after a couple of days they were all gone.

Cheers.


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## flashback3003 (Apr 8, 2009)

but the problem is that i dont have fish in that tank!i only have shrimp that arent even bothering with them-_-""


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

Ahh, gotcha.

Well then, why not go out and buy some zebra danios at Pet Smart. $0.74 each. Get 6 and watch the cyclops disappear.


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## Tropicana (Feb 15, 2009)

also neon tetras are cyclops ninja's too, guppy fry work great also. why dont you have fish atm? just a shimp tank?.


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## zenkeri (Jan 17, 2009)

*bugs?*

how big are these bugs, are they smaller then a pin head or bigger, copepods are very tiny looks like little white dust specks, if they are bigger and yellow and crunches it might be fish lice, but I'm guessing here do you have pics? As for your snail problem, you can try some kind of loach, ie Zebra, or yoyo if you want small loaches or clown loaches if you don't mind them getting big. If you wish to stay fish free you can try placing a piece of slightly cooked lettuce in the tank, turn off the lights, wait a few hours and you'll find large numbers of snails on it and take them out in large numbers, easier then one at a time. Hope this helps, cheers!


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## flashback3003 (Apr 8, 2009)

oooooooohh......
no! the thinggies in my tank are black.-_-""
and yes its an only shrimp tank(planing to breed them)


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

Careful with guppies and neons; they are nijas and will hunt the baby shrimp


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## flashback3003 (Apr 8, 2009)

but the thing is i dont mind them but will they harm any shrimp?


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

AFAIK, no, they won't hurt the shrimp.


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## gamexeater (Jan 21, 2009)

Hi flashback3003, after reading the thread, it doesn't appear like you have pinpointed exactly what kind of copepod or whatnot is in your tank. That probably should be your primary goal now since some are next to harmless (to shrimp) while some, i've heard, are harmful. Here are two links with some pictures of several common copepods, hope they will help with identifying what you have.
http://www.planetinverts.com/what_is_that_bug_in_my_aquarium.html
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/shrimp-other-invertebrates/40061-whats-bug-how-recognize-them.html
For your snail problem, i'm not sure exactly what you can do since most predatory fish/inverts that will consume the snails will most likely consume your shrimp but i'm sure there are a few out there that will leave your shrimp alone, chemicals/medications/other stuff in this category are probably out of the picture since shrimp are probably going to get killed in the process, and physical removal is just as annoying and i have no idea if it even does anything because their population is primarily based on the food source available. Sorry for that depressingly long sentence lol. 
Umm..here's a thread with a list of snails and pictures
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/shrimp-other-invertebrates/40031-snails-how-recognize-them.html
It helps to know what you're dealing with, especially with research. Ya..i guess i'm not really helping with the snail problem but i hope someone else can shed some light on the issue.


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## flashback3003 (Apr 8, 2009)

thanks but i dont really have an idea of how mine look when its close up.
All i know is that theyre black/brown,make a crunch when squished with tongs,go as if drifting with a slight propeling behind it.They are also slightly rounded at the tips and look like a dandelion seed if you ever picked them up when white.


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