# Mystery Creature



## Kellifornia (Sep 15, 2012)

Hello!
I have an established 50 gal w/ Gouramis/assort. livebeareres/snails/catfish. This morning I noticed 1 very small clear/whitish round thing stuck on the glass. It appears to be alive but doesnt crawl or move around that I can see. Its very flat looking with a dark area in its middle. Also looks its rapidly waving 3 little flaps on each side. Also it did (jump/swim?) from the front panel of glass, then when I looked again it was on the backside, and just now i checked & cant see it at all. My fish have swam up to investigate it but not tried to eat it that ive seen. Still only seen the one. I have a lot of silk plants & my gravel is a pale color so lots of places for more to hide??? Ive tried to Google this but turned up nothing. Please help! Is it harmless? A parasite???


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

Keep an eye on it - it does seem a curious creature from your description, and you're lucky to see it. There's no reason to always assume the worst - there are millions of creatures co-existing with fish in nature and very few are parasites. Watch and see - the only way I can see it being a problem would be if it were a fish louse, but in that case, it'll show up stuck on a fish. I've never seen them swim around though, so I think you just have an oddity there.


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## Aeten (Aug 4, 2012)

I saw something freakier than that when I was cleaning my used 30 gal from craigslist - I removed all the old gravel which had been sitting dry in a garage for 2 years, and on the bare glass bottom I see a tiny, perhaps 1cm long jet black thing wiggling around, it looked like a piece of sludge and it kept extending and contracting its body to move (getting bigger and smaller). It also had a very large head for its size no idea what it was


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## Kellifornia (Sep 15, 2012)

That does sound creepy... 

So im getting a LOT more concerned now... I checked my tank and spied something weird on the top of my male opaline gourami's head. IT WAS THE BUG THING! So I ended up having to net my fish and got it off. Now I have it in a small glass bowl so I can see it clearly. I cant get a pic, too small. But heres an image I found of it.








Its about the size of a Tetra food flake, shaped like a spade, brown center, clear body. 8 legs & it swims around rapidly when disturbed or sits completely still. *H2


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## Aeten (Aug 4, 2012)

If that picture is correct then it is a triop: a type of shrimp related to brine shrimp but lives in freshwater.

Triops - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

If so there should be nothing to worry about - they are funny and enjoy riding on snails and fish. Leave it in the separate container and give it a shrimp pellet every day, if it is a triop it should grow rapidly to about 3-4 in. long

The bigger mystery is how it got in your tank to start with!!


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## Kellifornia (Sep 15, 2012)

Aeten said:


> If that picture is correct then it is a triop: a type of shrimp related to brine shrimp but lives in freshwater.
> 
> Triops - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
> 
> ...


Thank you for the tip! Ive been researching Triops and im still having trouble with identity. The triops are definitely the closest match EXCEPT that they seem to have tails even from a very early age and the one I have does not. Mine looks exactly the the picture I posted. So im not sure if that means its simply a diffferent subspecies? Or something closely related or something different all together? 

Is anyone here a "Triops expert"? LOL :fish9:

Im keeping the lil guy in a sep container for now. Im hoping it will end up growing bigger so maybe then I can get a pic! :fish-in-a-bag:


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## Kellifornia (Sep 15, 2012)

MYSTERY SOLVED!!!!!

*Common Name: Fish Louse* 
Pathogen/Cause: Argulus spp. 
Physical Signs: A flat disk-shaped arthropod parasite with many legs. On the fish itself it is barely noticeable only as a flat, dull colored bump that you may just think is a part of the fish, unless you see the legs themselves or the disk moving around on the body. 
Behavioral Signs: Usually none noted unless very severe with secondary infections. 
Potential Treatment: May be physically removed, but will cause great stress to the animal, and must be done carefully and with a dab of antibiotic over the wound afterwards. Brand name formulations like Jungle Parasite Guard and Aquarium Pharmaceuticals may also help. 
Other Notes: Rarely seen in pet fish not kept outdoors (in ponds), and usually then only in ones that have been fed live foods. Crustacean not related to true lice, which are insects. 

ANOTHER SOURCE:
FISH LOUSE: Fish louse is a disk-shaped parasite that is attached to the skin. Ulcers develop close to the parasite and bacteria and fungus problems may follow. This is caused by crustacean parasites. After feeding on the skin, the adult parasite leaves the host and lays eggs on the gravel and aquarium decorations. The only way to treat this is to remove the parasite with a pair of tweezers. Dab any wounds with commercial Mercurochrome. You need to remove all the water and sterilize the tank including gravel and decorations to remove this parasite.

















Must have come attached to one of the fish I bought recently... this sucks *frown


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

As I said above, I've never seen them run loose - but they are easy to do in via the treatments suggested, and by squishing them when they are off the fish. They are ugly suckers though.

I've had them on fish three times in 45 years - an uncommon but not unseen problem.


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## Aeten (Aug 4, 2012)

Yikes that sounds like a nasty parasite to deal with :/ hopefully they did not start a breeding cycle and you can get rid of them all quickly


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## Kellifornia (Sep 15, 2012)

I called the store where I got the fish who I suspected was carrying the parasite... they had a medication for it. Out of pure luck, when I was there to pick it up, I looked in the tank where id gotten my gourami a couple weeks ago and I could see 2 other fish with lice on them. After I pointed that out they called the owner (who luckily knows me as a regular there) and they gave me the $17 meds for free! =)

And in their defense, they always have very healthy fish compared to the big name chain pet supply stores. And the employees had never even heard of a fish louse.


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## goldie (Aug 4, 2012)

Hello Kelifornia

About five years ago we had louse in one of our tanks. It was through me putting in some plants and not treating them first.We treated with the interpet anti crustacean and manually getting the louse off the fish then dabbed very lightly with Acriflavin (the acriflavin for fish)No fish were lost thankfully.The only thing we found was the medication knocked the filter slightly so we did water changes and cut right back on feeding and it soon recovered but, we didn't see any on the glass at all only on the fish and the fish were flicking trying to get them off.
That's good that you looked in the tank in the store,at least now other buyers won't be buying fish with the parasite on them,also the fish will be cleared of them because you alerted the store.
Good luck


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

I'm trying to remember what I did last time I saw them. I'm pretty sure I ended up squishing them after the meds weakened them, and that the crunch they made was kind of loud. They are tough little critters.
I had no infestation problem. I picked off two or three, treated the minor wounds they caused on the fish and moved on. It's been the same story every time I saw them. They tend to hit pond raised fish from the tropics, and wild caughts.
The life cycle looks scary, as their only hosts are fish. If they mate in open water and drop eggs, they could be back, but with the meds and the speed we usually see them at in the home tank, it is really unlikely. They kind of stick out in home aquariums and we get them fast. In warm ponds it's a whole other problem - that's where they are really pests.
Make sure you gravel vacuum when they are done, if you had more than one. That should get any fallen eggs. Generally, they are easy to eliminate and become something interesting but gross you saw once very quickly.


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## AngleTetra96 (Sep 5, 2012)

after reading this, im going to be paranoid about My fish o;


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

It's a good thing fish can't read - imagine how paranoid they'd feel with this stuff?
Fish would have good horror movies...


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