IMPOSSIBLE? Fry!

[clown_nut]

Early Early this morning oh say...2:30, I was bored and decided to flip on the switch too the ol 10g. I was actually looking for the corpse for my long missing three stripe Damsel. Disapeard about a week ago..and i think i may have found him..anyways I was gonna do a quick water change when i noticed quite a few larger bits of debri floating around the water...i thought it was quite odd because I had only been putting 1-2 shrimp pellets in the tank once every two days lately. I looked closer and noticed they were...squirming!! They appear to just float around in the current untill an occasional spaz and shot to one direction. There heads are about the size of ball-point pen heads and there bodys are slender and nearly transparent. All white of course! Is it possible my little three stripe laid some eggs just before it's demise? Or possible that some eggs hitchhiked on my liferock? The tank has been set-up for about 2 months now..How??

 

[007]

most likely pods, or mysid shrimp. Both very common night sightings in an aquarium.

 

[clown_nut]

I'm afraid these are not pods or shrimp. The lights have now been on the rest of the night and on into the morning. Still all present in plain site. I turned one of my pumps off and created an area of low flow. They seem to be spending most there time in this area and the more I look at these guys the more I believe they are indeed Fry. If I can get a long enough look at one I can see tiny tiny fins. Very Fish like indeed. I have never seen these guys before the whole time the tank has been set up for like 2 months now. I'll have to keep ya'll updated.
By the way I have seen a sudden Explosion of tiny bug like critters EVERYWHERE. I first noticed a few larger ones when i first got the lvierock...now they are EVERYWHERE...Along with tiny tiny snail like things with red shells..and some funky slugs with some kind of shell that look like rock with what appears to be "dummy" Coralline.

 

[bang guy]

My guess would also be Mysid Shrimp.

 

[tizzo]

a pic for you... And for size reference, the rocks underneath are crushed coral pieces.

 

[clown_nut]

these guys are still out in the light...but anyways Yeah i think i do see what ya'll are talking about...what a disapointment..why would it have taken them so long to finally...appear? And also how big do they get? And what do the little buggers eat?

 

[tizzo]

They don't get any bigger than they are now. They were prolly there all along, and you may not have noticed them. And as far as what they eat...no clue. Never thought about it to tell you the truth.

 

[bang guy]

Their population will cycle up & down depending on food supply & predators.
You lost a Damsel (predator) and kept feeding the tank (extra food).
They are omnivores and will leftover fish food, detritus, copepods, even each other. They are an excellent addition to any reef tank.