Little white bugs

[ll206]

Hi, I have a 45g FO tank that has been up and running fine for 5 months. Today, I noticed little white bugs (the size of 4 grains of salt) all over the gravel. Does anyone know what this is? I do 5 gallon water changes once a week. Is this normal? Help please?

 

[nm reef]

sounds like copepods/amphipods......they are a good sign that your tank is doing well....do a search for these critters and see if they are what you've got

 

[aquarius]

I noticed the same little bugs swimming and crawling on the sides of the glass in my 50 gallon f/o tank and I was told that they were copepods also. I brought a sample to the guy at the lfs and he said that it was plankton, actually wanting to purchase it! The plankton supposedly feed on the algae and the decline in the tank is very noticeable. But whether its copepods or plankton, it will not harm you animals in your tank so there's nothing to get worried over. Good Luck!