Space Invaders ?

[Rooster]

Had a red cherry shrimp only tank setup for a while... they seem happy enough, and keep turning out nippers.

A couple of months after setup, I noticed a few minute white/cream dots dancing about in the water... today I noticed a few SMALLER (hardly visible !) red dots jumping on the surface of the water... like fleas in movement

Any ideas what these things are, and anything to worry about ?

 

[Ludwig Venter]

I have no experience with red cherries, but did you perhaps starta daphnia culture in your tank??... If this is a freshwater setup, it's likely??

 

[TylerFerretLord]

Do you notice the white dots on the glass too?

Probably freshwater copepods you have in your tank. I don't think that they'd be daphnia as these are usually larger than what I would call dots. I have the copepods in my tank and both are harmless and feed on algaes.

The red ones are probably just some kind of springtail and such that are feeding on algae at the water line. I also have these. They are also harmless.

 

[Rooster]

Nah - not daphnia.... I think the small whitish ones are cocopods (when last I asked this, the reply stuck in my head as "coco pops " ! lol)

Ok then, where the hell do these things come from ?
The only new "stuff" that gets added is water and food !

 

[TylerFerretLord]

I honestly have no clue, but my likely suspect would be with fish or plants and that you've only just noticed them now.

The springtails probably came in from outside.