Bugs?

Kinda freaking out.. I was just taking pictures with my husband of my axolotl tank and I realized there are super tiny white bugs in my tank. I did see a small bug floating on the surface. Mosquito maybe? Could they be mosquito larva? I also put shrimp in there could they be really tiny shrimp. I will try to get a pic of them but they are beyond small. AAHHH, What do I do with my axolotls?

I just looked over aquarium invaders through caudata. I think they are copepods. How do I know for sure though? I looked at the axies there is nothing on them from what I can see. I clean up after every meal, never any food left behind. I did just put some new plants in as well.

So the attachment is definelty what few look like, the others have a large head into a small singular tail.

Feel like a jerk! sorry, totally should have done my own research before posting. Won't happen again!

Don't sweat it. At least you did the research, even if you posted first. That's more than most people around here do.

Congrats on the healthy aquarium though!

I had the same "Oh my god! What the hell are those????" moment when i first saw copepods, and then later planaria in my tank.

Funnily enough, just about every single question one would need to ask has probably already been argued over and answered in several different ways if you look around this site, yet, very few (apparently) use the search function (very top menu bar about the middle FYI) , Or have a look at the sister blog

Having said that, how boring would it be if no one asked any questions?

I found a slightly increased cleaning regime reduced the harmless to axies copepods and planaria, and the planaria were totally eradicated later by an aptly named product - "no planaria" (which i only used because i wanted cherry shrimp i my tank and plarnaria kill shrimp)

Since then i have put white cloud minnows and guppies in the tank and i think they patrol around and keep those sort of bugs managed too.

Bottom line, they are harmless but a good cleaning regime will keep most bugs and tankmates down to a reasonable level. I think those sort of things (copepods, snails, planaria, algae) are only detrimental to your tank if they get out of hand and overrun it, otherwise it is a sign of a healthy ecosystem

Bren

Ya totally felt silly once I actually did the research:dizzy:! lol, My tank is still fairly new and I clean up everyday, and I only feed every couple of days a small worm or two. I don't have a dirty tank, I think they came in on some plants I just put in. Is it possible if I keep up with the cleanliness that they should die off eventually? Not that I mind that much since they are apparently not bad but was wondering if I starve them will they die? There is not that many in there maybe 60-80, but its a 55 gallon so it doesn't seem that bad they are so small.
Thanks Bren!