little white flea-lookin things

bigcity

Member
I"m sure that this has been answered before... but after going through what seemed like a hundred posts I couldn't find any answers. I have a WHOLE bunch of little very tiny white bugs swimming around in my tank. I noticed a few of them yesterday... but today when I got home from work they are ALL OVER my front glass. Please, someone let me know what these little things are and what to do. Thanks in advance for any help and I'll work on some pics.....
 

bigcity

Member
I guess since I'm posting, I should include ALL my questions to get them out of the way. I have a LARGE (6-8 inch) Niger Trigger. I wanted him for a few weeks and after I saw that he was still looking good in the pet shop I got him. He seems to have a cloudy spot on his eye. it wasn't there at the shop, but when we got home it was huge... covering most of his eye. Over the past 3 days it has shrunk to not mush more than a spot. What is it? What should I do? I also have a 6-8 inch banded reef shark ( or at least thats what the guy at the fish store called it). He seems to be blind. He swims around nicely but tends to bump into things a lot. And when I put food down he swims right by it a few times.... looking like he's searching. I have a 65 gallon tank with 40 lbs of ls and 45 lbs of lr. it was set up for about 2 months before I added any fish. I have a large sea test wet/dry with a protein skimmer, which I only got about 2 weeks ago, so I have continued to let the original hang on filter works as I wait for the bio balls to build up. I am relatively new to this (8 months) and I really could use some specified guidance. Thank you:D
 

beth

Administrator
Staff member
Can you describe the spot on the trigger? Is it in the eye and does it look cloudy? Or does it look like something attached to the eye?
The organisms swimming around your tank are likely nothing to be concerned about. See the pic above and tell us if this is what you are seeing.
I think your tank is way too small for a shark and this is the problem you're having with the shark. What are all your water reading? Have you visited our Aggressive Forum? The guys over there would be a good place for you to get info on the type of tank you are attempting to set up. However, we can deal with your fish diseases here.
 

bigcity

Member
All my levels are great. My ammonia, nitrate and nitrite are all at the minimums on my test kits. The ph is between 8.2 and 8.4. The spot on his eye looks as though he's "shedding" it? It looks like its falling off. The guy at the pet shpt said it may have been caused when he transferred from their tank to the bag to bring him home. Also said that he was stressed and that may have caused it too. The little bugs are similar to the picture. Same color and transparancy... but not as many legs as the picture. The more I read.. the more I think they are copepods... I hope. As for whether the tank is big enough, I asked the guy I get most of my fish from ( not where I got the shark ) about it and he said as long as I provide a large swimming area for him, he should be fine. So, I have made to large "piles" of live rock in the two back corners of the tank. The blennies seem to love it, with all the little crvices for them. I thank you for your time and look forward to your information.
 
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