copepods ?

[salt210]

how are you able to identify if these are good or bad when they are so small? I can't get a good look or take a picture because of their size.

 

[markeo99]

most or maybe all the bad ones cant roll up

 

[salt210]

they are in my sump and as soon as I shine some light they scatter. there isnt that many but they are there. i think that they came in on some LR that I just bought

 

[texasmetal]

I wouldn't worry about it. Pretty slim chance on ending up with bad ones.

 

[salt210]

ok. it appears that they have antennea ( sp?) on both their front and back. how would I go about syphoning water out of the sump without getting them as well? some type of filter on the output side of the hose? how small and where would I get something to do it

 

[texasmetal]

Pantyhose...

 

[salt210]

ok. I need to buy some to wrap my powerheads anyways

 

[perfectdark]

Originally Posted by markeo99
http:///forum/post/2683452
most or maybe all the bad ones cant roll up

Tell tale sign you have a parasitic Isopod.

 

[salt210]

I saw on yesteraday that didnt completely roll up but it did bend at the center as it was going to roll up. I tried looking at picks to see which ones that I have to no luck. They have antennas on both the front and back. the ones on the front do not seem to bend backwards either. I wish I could get ahold of a camera with a good macro shot, mine sucks

 

[mr_x]

they are safe. i have the same ones.

 

[texasmetal]

Like this?

Or this?

 

[sydneywood]

In my nano cube I have thousands of tiny clear bug looking creatures, I can see them but cannot photograph them, they have a lot of "legs" and this sounds crazy but they fight a lot, they are always chasing each other and attacking each other, it's pretty interesting to watch, the other day I saw two larger than all others fighting and it appeared that their front legs may have been claws because they are larger than the other "legs". They are too tiny probably to look at pics of other creatures and say "that's it" but they are clear and mostly live on the glass all of the time, some on algae on the back wall of the nano.

 

[texasmetal]

Gammarus amphipods. I'd put money on it.

 

[mr_x]

i bet it's this one he's talking about-

 

[salt210]

Mr X I think that its that one but they are so small. Ill try to get another look when I get home today. I wish I could get one out of the tank. Ive noticed they are in the bottom of my overflows as well. X those are the safe ones? sorry for all the repetative questions but I want to make sure my fish and my arms are safe in the tank.

 

[texasmetal]

Originally Posted by salt210
http:///forum/post/2695976
Mr X I think that its that one but they are so small. Ill try to get another look when I get home today. I wish I could get one out of the tank. Ive noticed they are in the bottom of my overflows as well. X those are the safe ones? sorry for all the repetative questions but I want to make sure my fish and my arms are safe in the tank.

Yes, those are Gammarus amphipods. Perfectly safe and a great source of food for your fish.

 

[cranberry]

Here are variety of pods I took pictures of in my tank(s).
I really need to work on my copepod pics because they are the first I took when I started taking tank bug pics... several camera models ago. But they should be good enough to tell what they are. These are the smaller bugs you see on the glass.
Copepods....
female with eggs

Medium size isopods... also found on the glass. This is the very common munnid isopod.
Female with eggs...

Male...

Male who had been eating some cyano...

Male "sitting" on a female waiting for her to molt so he can "give" her his family fortune. After she molts and he deposits... he leaves her in the dirt.

Two males fighting...

And, as pictured above... here's the amphipod that you see typically running over bottom surfaces and such. The larger of the group.

 

[miaheatlvr]

Excellent pictures Cranberry! good lesson there!

 

[salt210]

thanks for the help guys