# Microscopic things in my tank!



## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

I'm not sure if this is the right spot for this post, but it seemed the most appropriate to me.

Today when I shut the filter off on my tank to do the gravel vacuum and water change, I notice there were microscopic things swimming around in my tank!! They were clear/white. (I am still having the red mite problem on my water lettuce, and they looked white when they were in a bowl), but these were all over the tank.

Everyone in the tank seems to be doing fine - other than my guppies, but I think that's a 'too much protein' problem that I'm trying to fix.

I've read that it could be cyclops or water fleas? The kinda' swim like the microscopic baby brine shrimp do, (if you've every hatched Sea Monkeys)... kinda' jerky-like. Now I am expecting 2 batches of baby cherry shrimp BUT I did see 2 of them today and I could at least tell they were shrimp - these other things are way to small to even see what they really look like.... any advice?


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Sounds like Copepods to me. Sign of a healthy tank. No worries as they are perfectly harmless.


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## chris oe (Feb 27, 2009)

could be daphnia. It sounds like your tank is very nutrient rich - you're getting a lot of extra life blooming in part because those nutrients are feeding them. I'd hold off feeding the tank for a week. The fish will get hungry enough to chase those interlopers (daphnia and similar creatures are often cultured specifically as live food for guppies, for instance) and finish them off, and the biofilter in your tank will continue to lower the nutrient level of the water. After your week long "fast" you may want to look at smaller feedings, more frequent water changes, or a second tank to spread out your rather dense (and becoming denser) tank population.


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