Copepods?

[aquarius]

What the heck are copepods and are they gonna hurt my fish? I think thats what's in my tank - little flea-like critters that won't stop mulitplying and are all over. They are milky whit/transparent in color. Where is it that they would have come from and do I need to get rid of them?

 

[brinkdrum]

Copepods are the sign of a healthy reef tank. They come with live rock and are not going to harm any of your fish. If you would like to get rid of them that bad you can buy a mandarin if you have 75lbs of LR and your tank has been setup for at least 6 months. However, mandarins are not easy to keep. Keep this in mind. I would just leave them be. They are a sign that you are on the right track.

 

[dugan]

I agree with Brinkdrum but would not recommend a mandarin... once the copepods are gone a mandarin would likely starve to death in a new tank.
Just let 'em be. They are a good thing.
Katie

 

[broomer5]

Copepods as others mentioned above are a good thing indeed.
Newly set up tanks with some live rock normally will start showing signs of these little critters about 6-8 weeks after cycling.
Although they may appear to be a ton of them in there now - in time they will become food for fish and other creatures in your substrate - their numbers will normally balance out and you'll see fewer of them than you do now. Just another cool thing growing in your tank.
Nothing to fear at all
Brian

 

[aquarius]

Well the only thing is that the tank is a f/o and it does not contain either live rock or live sand. So is it still the same thing or am I looking at a whole nother creature?

 

[broomer5]

Hmmmmm no live rock huh
Well, when these little flea like critters swim or move along the glass - do they sort of jerk forward each movement, or crawl really slowly. Copepods jerk.
I suppose whatever they are came into your tank either on fish or in some of the water from the bag.
Not sure
Do a search on copepods - there are tons of sites with pics and info.
Let us know what you find
Brian