White Things Swimming in Axolotl Tank?!

[Sky]

I have no idea what is going on with my tank!

Right now my axolotl has white spot, last week I bought tetras, and that's where he got the white spot from. I've put him in a smaller tank to treat him with salt baths as I can't fridge him, and tonight I go to empty his old tank and fix it all up, turn on the light and I notice tiny white things swimming in my tank swimming around the surface.

They're about a millimetre or two in size and they're swimming like row-boats or brine shrimp, but I haven't had any brine shrimp in my tank.

The only things I've put in the tank are the neon tetras, an earthworm, frozen blood worms and some axolotl pellets and some plants. My rock is just coloured rock I got from my pet shop and the water I'm using is rain water.

Please can someone, once again help me! I think my tank is jinx!

Could it be by any chance, lice?

[EmJ]

They might be planaria, they are flat worms and are commonly found in aquariums where there is overfeeding or excess food on the bottom of the aquarium however they are also often found in tanks where new stock has been added (there could be any number of reasons for their presence). If it is these it may be worth checking your water parameters to make sure everything is as it should be and as far as getting rid of them (I had them in the past), I cleaned the aquarium glass and made sure to vacuum the substrate and be diligent with water changes. These worms shouldn't be harmful to your axolotl, however, as was the case for me, they may cause some irritation if they are on your axolotl's skin, in which case you might notice some gill flapping, scratching and other odd behaviour such as swimming rapidly around the tank. Without seeing them it is difficult to say if this is the culprit however it might be worth you having a look online to try and identify them, I myself noticed them on the aquarium glass first so the creatures you have described may differ. I'm sorry I cant give you a definite answer but maybe if you could get a photograph (difficult given the size of them I know) somebody may be able to identify them for you. In the meantime don't panic and don't drastically clean your tank as this could only make things worse. I hope you resolve the problem soon, good luck!

[Sky]

Great, that's what it sounds like. They look like just spots on the glass until they swim away and that's almost everything my axolotl is doing though he's not in the same tank they are in right now and I've given him two salt baths. Their bodies are see through apart from two spots, which I'm guessing is their head and body.

I haven't over fed or left any food in the tank. I make sure he eats everything I give him or take it out later on. They aren't harmful to humans? Just had a few skin issues over the years and don't want anymore lol

Can they live on plants? Will salt water kill them? I've already looked online a few times and only your answer has fitted the sound of them.

[EmJ]

I was equally perplexed when I found them in my tank don't worry, although they appear to be more common in poorly maintained tanks I guess they are just ones of those things! I don't believe they are harmful to humans or will irritate your skin but I have heard of them living on plants. I don't know about the saltwater killing them but I have heard that these will atleast cause them to drop off your axolotls skin so hopefully these have helped, personally I would just remove any you can see from the glass every so often and just keep being diligent with tank cleanliness. I would advise against doing anything too drastic as I believe them to be relatively harmless, just a minor irritation to your axolotl should they get on it's skin. When I had problems with them myself I fridged my axolotl overnight, however most would recommend 48 hours at least I think to minimise the stress of changing temperatures. This solved my axolotls discomfort and gave me time to remove the planaria from the glass and attempt to vacuum a couple up! Maybe someone else will have further advice on removing them, I can only speak from my own experience as I am no expert on the matter, I hope this information is helpful to you and that the situation improves soon.

[Sky]

Thank you so much. :) Well that kind of makes sense for my tank. The water became poor when a plant died in it before I got my guy, but I cleaned it out good enough that the water was clear, its been that way since.

Sadly I can't fridge my guy due to our fridge freezing things within a few hours.

Thank you again.

[EmJ]

I'm glad to have helped! Good luck with your axolotl!