Copepods in my aquarium

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Country joe

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• May 2, 2024

• #1

I noticed in the last two details an explosion of very tiny white creatures crawing up my aquarium glass.
I looked it up and I think it could be Copepods, they are extremely small, if I'm right should I be worried.

 

Colin_T

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• May 2, 2024

• #2

Are they Y or I shaped?
I shaped are worms, usually detritus worms that come out of the substrate when the water and gravel is dirty. A big water change and gravel cleaning the substrate sorts them out.

If they are Y shaped they are copepods and not normally an issue. The males can sometimes attack fish's gills but they normally get eaten by other fish so nothing to really worry about.

 

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Country joe

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• May 2, 2024

• #3

They are extremely small could they be just hatched snails the way they are crawling up the glass.

 

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• May 2, 2024

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It sounds to me like you may be describing Ostracod seed shrimp . If so they are harmless and an indicator of a healthy aquarium .

 

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Country joe

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• May 2, 2024

• #5

They have two tiny antenna.

 

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That One Guy

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• May 2, 2024

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Country joe said:

They have two tiny antenna.

Click to expand...

Who knows who they may be in contact with .

 

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Country joe

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• May 2, 2024

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Back in the fold said:

Who knows who they may be in contact with .

Click to expand...

Lol should be tentacles

 

WhistlingBadger

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• May 2, 2024

• #8

I like having copepods in my tanks. Mine always disappear very quickly in the presence of fish, who seem to view them much the same way I view bacon.

 

Colin_T

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• May 2, 2024

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Try and post a picture or video of them. Upload videos to YouTube, then copy & paste the link here.
If you use a mobile phone to film them, hold the phone horizontally (landscape mode) so the footage fills the entire screen.

 

Aqua67

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• May 7, 2024

• #10

I see copepods in my shrimp tanks all the time. I’ve always wanted them in my fishtanks and I would’ve purchased a supply of them if I would’ve found a vendor that sold them. I also have seed shrimp, but they are in a jar of green water on my window sill. Here is a couple of pictures I took with my macro lens. A female copepod with eggs and some seeded shrimp in my green water jar.

 

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