Babies?

[Mike&Diana]

Okay, I must say I've never seen this before! I have a 3G Eclipse System with three whiteclouds and one African dwarf frog. I have just started seeing about three little "things" swimming around the tank. But they are not whiteclouds, from what I can tell. All I can see are tiny eyes and a very tiny little clear body. I thought they could possibly be babies, but I never saw any eggs or anything. Not to mention, they will be swimming and then all of a sudden will stick onto the side of the tank. But they are so tiny. None of my whiteclouds ever looked like it was about to have babies. I have no idea what they are. I do regular water changes and have the Bio-Wheel. I've also just begun to notice little brown spots forming in three places in my tank, on the glass. There are also a few brown spots on my rock. So here's my first question...are these babies or just some weird amoeba like things that could be harmful to my fish? And what could these brown spots be?
Also, this morning, I noticed my bio-wheel wasn't on. I've never seen this before. I've tried unplugging and then replugging it back in, but it still isn't working. Any advice would be great. Thanks!

Diana

 

[plecoperson]

Could they be tadpoles? from your ADF?

 

[The-Wolf]

are they about 1cm and move much like a caterpiller?
If so they are planetia and are harmless, your frog and fish will eat them soon enough.

 

[David]

I see you have a common pleco in your 10 gallon tank. I hope you know it will get to be nearly longer than the tank itself. (About 18"). Also they produce a lot of waste, maybe that's why your biowheel isn't working.

 

[Mike&Diana]

They might be planetia. They swim through the water as if they were a fish, although I see no fins because they are so tiny. But when they stick to the side of the tank, then they remind me of a catepillar, so hopefully that is what they are. Is there anything I can do to prevent them, or is it not worth it because they don't harm anything?
My biowheel is working again. It kind of just started again on it's own. Is there anything I can do to clean it without removing the good bacteria so that it won't stop like that again?
David, Mike does know that his pleco is going to get big. We're going to trade it in when it gets too big.
If anyone knows about the brown spots or where these planetia came from, let me know. Thanks!

Diana

 

[David]

They might be planetia. They swim through the water as if they were a fish, although I see no fins because they are so tiny. But when they stick to the side of the tank, then they remind me of a catepillar, so hopefully that is what they are. Is there anything I can do to prevent them, or is it not worth it because they don't harm anything?
My biowheel is working again. It kind of just started again on it's own. Is there anything I can do to clean it without removing the good bacteria so that it won't stop like that again?
David, Mike does know that his pleco is going to get big. We're going to trade it in when it gets too big.
If anyone knows about the brown spots or where these planetia came from, let me know. Thanks!

Diana

However, keeping potentially large fish in a small tank will stunt their growth, so your pleco may never reach full size. In this case, how will you know when to trade it in. Also their outer body stops growing, but their inner organs do not, and, well... you can imagine what comes next.

 

[BlueIce]

You can NOT stunt the pleco's growth by keeping it in a small tank...that it pure myth.Completely unfounded ....


As far as the little squigglies....it comes from over feeding and not cleaning the gravel enough.Do a water change and vac the gravel.The brown stuff is a form of algae.

 

[David]

You can NOT stunt the pleco's growth by keeping it in a small tank...that it pure myth.Completely unfounded ....

Oh really? Is that why when I kept 2 angels in a 10 gallon for about a year they always stayed about quarter sized, but when I realized that they needed more space and gave them to my friend who has a 150 gallon tank, they suddenly "exploded" and grew several inches in a matter of months? I don't think it is unfounded as some people who don't know anything about fish say that they will grow to their surroundings, but this is simply because they are stunted, isn't it? I didn't really mean the pleco, I'm not sure if their growth pattern is different from other fish, but I do know for a fact that small tanks will stunt a fish's growth.

 

[BlueIce]

yes oh really....

It could have been any number of things that caused YOUR fish not to grow.Improper nutrition,not enough water changes etc...
I think perhaps you should talk to some EXPERTS and get the facts straight...the tank size will not stunt the growth of your fish...other factors may SLOW the growth however.

 

[bunjiweb]

yes oh really....

It could have been any number of things that caused YOUR fish not to grow.Improper nutrition,not enough water changes etc..

Sorry, I believe you are wrong,

There is a fair bit of evidence to suggest tank size stunts and slows down growth a great deal.

Obviously it varies from fish to fish but I have seen and read alot about this and so I disagree with you completly..

Ben

 

[David]

yes oh really....

It could have been any number of things that caused YOUR fish not to grow.Improper nutrition,not enough water changes etc...
I think perhaps you should talk to some EXPERTS and get the facts straight...the tank size will not stunt the growth of your fish...other factors may SLOW the growth however.

So are you saying that if you put a baby plec in a tank that is a foot long and give it proper nutrition, water changes, etc. it will grow to it's full potential of 18"? By the way there is no need to get hostile, imply that I'm an idiot or anything like that. I'm not retarded, and I will understand things if you say them once. I was not flaming you or anything, then all of a sudden you come out and start verbally attacking me.

On another note, despite me being a newbie at the time when I had my angels, they still got proper nutrition consisting of flakes, pellets, and frozen brine shrimp, as well as a weekly water change of 20%, however their change in size was very slight and barely noticeable. When I gave them to my friend they began to grow very rapidly, and I can only assume that this was because of the added size of housing. Just passing on my experiences and what I have heard, and I apologize if I have offended the great "EXPERT" in any way.

 

[BlueIce]

A fish will continue to grow...it may grow slower,but yet it will continue to grow. Join a forum like the American cichlid association and ask some real experts....
I'm certainly not going to argue with you,believe as you wish...get an oscar juvie and put it in a 20 gallon...I guarantee you that it will outgrow it very quickly and NOT be stunted by the limited space.

 

[cutecotton]

does this really have anything to do with diana's question?

 

[BlueIce]

does this really have anything to do with diana's question?

In a way it does...as she was given poor advice regarding her fish and the size potential.I'd hate to see her panic and get rid of her fish without reason.

Back to the rest of her question...
water change and vac the gravel should "fix" the problem as I said earlier.

 

[MrMashashin]

........ BlueIce has a point. My first pair of angels in my 10 gallon tank a year ago grew to their almost full size then my parents bought be a 29g and the growth was noticable, only an inch or so. But back to the question, Do a quick gravel vac ever now and then and do a little water change