what are these little white things on my glass?

[cope787]

help. i noticed today that my glass has these little white bug or parasites things crawling on it. i noticed a couple days ago that some tail fin was missing from my damsel, but i just had thought that one of the other fish had done it. anyways what should i do?
55 gallon
28lbs LR
2 scarlet cleaner shrimp
1 black back butterfly
1 tomatoe clown
2 damsels
crabs and snails
sand sifting star

 

[stacyt]

More than likely they are copepods. I wouldn't worry about them, as they are beneficial to the tank. They are a good source of food for several species of fish.

 

[tigerlover]

Leave them there hopefully they'll stay, copepods are good for the tankl

 

[bullshark]

I am glad to see they are not bad for the tank. I have copepods covering all sides of the tank and I would imagine all surfaces throughout the system. I have 2 eight inch groupers, how would the copepods benefit me? The fish are not bothered by them at all.

 

[liz]

What does a copepod look like and how big are they?

 

[cope787]

the ones on my glass are really really small. they are white and kinda look like small fleas, but it is hard to tell what they exactly look like because they are so small

 

[bullshark]

A copepod looks like a cross between a flea and a shrimp, but they need to be looked at through a microscope. I have seen copepods or copepod-like things that are large enough to be seen without a microscope, but that was in a SW tank I had that was running for 8+ years and there was all kinds of stuff living in there other than the fish. At night with a flashlight it was like a circus in there.

 

[stpabr]

Need the number 1 SaltWater aquarium viewing tool...
The Magnifying Glass....
That will help you ID a lot of things...
I cannot view mine without it...OOhh..I think I need glasses also, they say the eyes are the first to go..LOL

 

[liz]

I have minute little things crawling on the glass of my tank. Some of them seem to have two segments to them, while others are singles. Do you think these are copepods? Do I need to get something to eat them or just leave them be?
Liz

 

[wrassecal]

Leave them be, they are beneficial. Also, for those of you who are not sure what you have do a search on this board for "copepods" or "amphipods". BangGuy, Sammystingray and some others have posted some awesome pics and info on them.