critters

[kickin]

I have a 125 gal with LR, snails, blue legs, and damsels. I have had it up for about 4 months. I had been having a bad algae problem but woke up this morning and have NO algae. What I did notice was a LOT of unidentified critters crawling about the tank. There are little black slug type things, there are little semi-transparent shrimplike things, and others I dont even know how to describe crawling around in the substrate. My question : Is this a good sign? Did they come from the LR? What the heck are they? and What do I do next?

 

[shep77]

Can you post some pictures of the critters involved? I would guess that yes, they are from the live rock, was the rock cured or uncured?

 

[kickin]

Supposedly cured Fiji LR from LFS. I will try to get pics but critters are pretty small.

 

[wax32]

copepods and amphipods are likely the little shrimp looking things. you can also get baby snails etc. hatching in your tank from the sand/rock. My tank is about 3 months old now and I'm starting to get some of that stuff. It's a good thing.

 

[snipe]

If there eating the aglea and not the fish then I say leave them alone lol.

 

[kickin]

Got a couple of pics, not good quality but they might work.

 

[kickin]

.

 

[cjeffrey77]

I have noticed those same things in my tank, i'm glad you got a picture cause mine are still so tiny & they move so fast I can't get a pic. of them. I'm glad to know that I 'm not gonna have to try and evict these things cause I don't know if I can catch them!

 

[thomas712]

They are amphipods, a good thing, however that is a large substrate and not good for inverts, I hope you will be able to vaccum it regularly.
Thomas

 

[kickin]

Should I try to take out the substrate and add sand?

 

[bigarn]

A majority of people would say yes...... includeing myself.

 

[skrimpz]

I personally switched from cc to sand and will never go back to cc i love my sand