# Little white things on tank?



## BBXB (Oct 7, 2012)

Hi, I noticed that are these little white things on my glass. They are very tiny and pretty hard to discern any physical features. They do swim around but mainly stay on the glass. There are quite a bit, I would say over 40+ in a 10 gal. Does anyone have any idea what these might be and if they pose any concern to my fish or shrimp? Thanks.


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## Philip.Chan.92 (Apr 25, 2010)

This article explains it pretty well, their food source can be overfeeding, dead plants etc. Solution: if your fish don't eat them then just clean your tank, especially the substrate.

http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/qa/f/faq0050.htm


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## BBXB (Oct 7, 2012)

Thanks for the prompt reply but I'm pretty sure they are not planaria. The are more oval/round shaped and Proabably less than 0.5mm in size?


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

Hydra maybe


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## Mykuhl (Apr 8, 2013)

Do they basically look like little white specks that swim around in quick jerky spurts every so often?


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## BBXB (Oct 7, 2012)

Definitely not hydra, way smaller than hyda. It sounds pretty much like what mykuhl has described but not 100% sure it swims in jerky motions, but they definitely move around.


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## Mykuhl (Apr 8, 2013)

Spend a little time watching them closely. If they are what I think they are(cyclops) they will swim in quick jerky spurts every so often...they move surprisingly fast for something so small. I saw these little creatures one day in my tank, so I took a loupe and took a closer look, and they looked like cyclops. If they are indeed cyclops, they are defintely not harmful to anything in your tank. In fact you fish may end up snacking on them, if they are small fish.


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## BBXB (Oct 7, 2012)

I did some research only.do all cyclops have a tiny tail? If so, it can't be as these do not have any tail and also swim fairly smooth?


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## FONE (May 21, 2013)

Not sure if this is the right thing, but could it be a freshwater limpet? I have a bunch of these in my tank, and I've been trying to figure out how to get rid of them...


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Try looking here.

http://www.planetinverts.com/what_is_that_bug_in_my_aquarium.html

Chances are high what you are seeing are one or another of many species of tiny creatures that make up 'infusoria'. Cyclops are just one of many creatures that often end up in aquariums over time. They are very likely to be harmless.

Fish usually eat them, though if they are well fed, fish may not be very motivated to hunt for live food. If you let the fish get good and hungry, they will very probably eat these creatures.


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

I would actually love to have critters like these in my tanks so I could easily feed new fry


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