# Do daphnia stick to the tank walls ?



## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

AK was nice enough to let me drain the water from a potful of lotus, which had something living in it. I'd previously taken some bottles of water from it, but didn't get very many critters. So I asked if I could drain it. And I got a lot more critters, including some other types, possibly cyclops or something of that nature.

I thought the majority of these critters were daphnia, but now I think they may be ostracods.. seed shrimp. The small ones stick to the glass, looking almost like minute snails, but swim off when disturbed, which snails can't do. You can see a tiny pair of antennae, and an even tinier spike at the back, barely visible. On the adults I don't see the spike at the back, maybe it's under the shell or just goes away as they grow.

Adults prowl the bottom and sponge filter, looking very like ordinary shrimp in the way they appear to search for food. They swim and look sort of like daphnia, but are more oval, smaller and don't have that distinctive jerky motion I've seen Igor's daphnia exhibit. They aren't totally smooth movers, but it's not like the daphnia magna I've seen.

They appear to be filter feeders, as anything I've poured into the tank for them has quickly disappeared. Despite a layer of silt from the plant pot on the bottom, the water is clear as clear can be.

So do little daphnia ever cling to glass, that anyone has noticed, or do I have a little tankful of seed shrimps, among some other wee beasties ?


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

I don't recall any of my daphnia sitting still for too long if at all. I have had those ones that cling close to the glass before as well.


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## Rigio (Jul 23, 2013)

I don't recall Daphina sticking to the wall as you've described. 

Post some pictures and perhaps someone can identify the mystery creature


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## bettaforu (Sep 6, 2009)

cocopeds....I am currently resquaping my Taiwan tank to get rid of them. Pulled all the shrimps out and put them in a breeder box attached to the tank, and in go runnynose tetras for a day or so....that should take care of any nuisance critters.

They breed like crazy if you feed them algae wafers or shrimp food.....


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

I am reasonably sure now they are seed shrimp, aka ostracods. More have matured and though they are listed as filter feeders, they behave more like grazers..bumbling along the bottom and sort of crawling up 'n down the sponge filter in a very similar way to young shrimp. 

Interesting little things, and they appear to be thriving, hopefully I will have enough to start feeding some to the fish at some point.

Anna, what is a cocoped ? I've never heard of that, only copepods.. and I have some of them too.. they look surprisingly similar to the iconic playboy bunny logo without using a magnifying glass to look more closely at them. I'm hoping they multiply too.

I'll get some video of them, but I still have a problem posting such things, as I haven't yet been able to replace my ageing computer, which declines to recognize any exterior drive or device I plug into it. Vet bills consumed last year's computer savings.. so I'm working toward that again. Most annoying, I have enough pics to fill a small library now, and no way to post the darn things.


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## bettaforu (Sep 6, 2009)

Sorry don't know where I got that name from, they are ostracods I believe, better know as scuds!
Just give them an algae wafer or some plants and they will multiply so fast your head will spin....darn things are annoying in a shrimp tank.


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Just fyi, not scuds either. Scuds are amphipods.. they are slim, fast moving, quite shrimpy looking if you get a close up view, spend nearly all their time on the bottom, burrowing or hiding in substrate. Great fish food for fish who can catch them.. my loaches and cories eat them, so their numbers never get very high.

The ostracods, seed shrimps, are almost round, and have a much smoother swimming style than daphnia do, and are all over their tank, though they do skim the bottom too. Filter feeders, so algae tabs only feed the snails, not the seed shrimps. I give them spray dried algae, spray dried, ground up crustaceans and powdered spirulina, all mixed into water first, and green water, same as I give the fan shrimp and so far, so good. 

I am hopeful they will grow in numbers enough to become on ongoing food supply, maybe one I can share.


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