Tiny white floating things?/feeding question

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MsNymbus
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Tiny white floating things?/feeding question

Post by MsNymbus »

Hello! I noticed today some tiny white floating specks in my tank - I’ve read about copepods but these are barely moving and minuscule! I also see a couple string looking things. I would attach a picture but they are so tiny I literally cannot get the camera to focus on them! Should I be worried? Or are they likely harmless? I did top off my water last night if that might have anything to do with it (maybe moved some things around)

Also, I’ve had my shrimpies for 3 weeks now! Wondering if I should feed them or wait a little longer. They seem to be doing well! Most are red, some clear, but all seem mobile and happy (I think?!) I was planning to feed them tomorrow but I read somewhere not to feed if there are microorganisms so they don’t explode in population. Thoughts? Again, I’d attach a photo but I literally can’t get a good shot so hopefully the info is enough! Thank you!
MsNymbus
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Re: Tiny white floating things?/feeding question

Post by MsNymbus »

I’m attaching some photos of the substrate which have lil white specks as well, not sure if they are related to the floaters. I marked the area in blue. I’ve also seen some sap looking things in there as well - any ideas? (Marked in red)
Thank you in advance from this newbie!
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dglidden
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Re: Tiny white floating things?/feeding question

Post by dglidden »

Unfortunately, too little data to really say. Where did the water come from initially? If it was distilled water with salt added, you're probably just seeing bits of salt and/or biological fluff floating about. If they don't move in little jerky doots, they're probably not copepods, which would be hard to get in three weeks from a fresh tank build anyway. Either bits of biofilm that is settling or even bits of shrimp poop. I really wouldn't worry about it unless you start to see a ton of it building up.

As far as feeding, you can surely give them a tiny bit of food, but remember that these guys are primarily feeding off the biofilm and algae that should eventually reach a nice equilibrium in your tank. Don't overfeed. And if you do feed and suddenly see a lot more fluff in the tank, that's probably a good sign to stop feeding.
MsNymbus
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Re: Tiny white floating things?/feeding question

Post by MsNymbus »

dglidden wrote: Wed Nov 30, 2022 9:13 pm Unfortunately, too little data to really say. Where did the water come from initially? If it was distilled water with salt added, you're probably just seeing bits of salt and/or biological fluff floating about. If they don't move in little jerky doots, they're probably not copepods, which would be hard to get in three weeks from a fresh tank build anyway. Either bits of biofilm that is settling or even bits of shrimp poop. I really wouldn't worry about it unless you start to see a ton of it building up.

As far as feeding, you can surely give them a tiny bit of food, but remember that these guys are primarily feeding off the biofilm and algae that should eventually reach a nice equilibrium in your tank. Don't overfeed. And if you do feed and suddenly see a lot more fluff in the tank, that's probably a good sign to stop feeding.
Thank you for the reply! I’ll continue to keep an eye on it
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Re: Tiny white floating things?/feeding question

Post by MsNymbus »

A few more pics of mystery things in my tank, though they are poor quality. I will try to describe - one is a shiny brown worm looking thing. I might just be trippin because it looks like it could just be substrate?? But I hadn’t noticed any in that shape before so I wasn’t sure…

The other was what looked like a white ball of string on algae - but I also thought it looked sort of like half of a molt?? I can’t tell if it’s something bad growing or if it’s a cluster of antennae/legs. I’m attaching the pics but I don’t know if they will be helpful. Mostly I’m wondering if I should take a wait and see approach or try and do something.

Sorry if these questions are a little silly - I’m brand new to aquariums of any kind so I’m trying to catch every little thing & don’t have the experience of identifying anything! 😅 better safe than sorry haha
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sliphorn
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Re: Tiny white floating things?/feeding question

Post by sliphorn »

MsNymbus wrote: Thu Dec 01, 2022 9:34 am A few more pics of mystery things in my tank, though they are poor quality. I will try to describe - one is a shiny brown worm looking thing. I might just be trippin because it looks like it could just be substrate?? But I hadn’t noticed any in that shape before so I wasn’t sure…

The other was what looked like a white ball of string on algae - but I also thought it looked sort of like half of a molt?? I can’t tell if it’s something bad growing or if it’s a cluster of antennae/legs. I’m attaching the pics but I don’t know if they will be helpful. Mostly I’m wondering if I should take a wait and see approach or try and do something.

Sorry if these questions are a little silly - I’m brand new to aquariums of any kind so I’m trying to catch every little thing & don’t have the experience of identifying anything! 😅 better safe than sorry haha
..
The top pic looks like a molt. The other pic, I do not know, but I would not worry about it.
..
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Re: Tiny white floating things?/feeding question

Post by MsNymbus »

sliphorn wrote: Sun Dec 04, 2022 11:27 am
MsNymbus wrote: Thu Dec 01, 2022 9:34 am A few more pics of mystery things in my tank, though they are poor quality. I will try to describe - one is a shiny brown worm looking thing. I might just be trippin because it looks like it could just be substrate?? But I hadn’t noticed any in that shape before so I wasn’t sure…

The other was what looked like a white ball of string on algae - but I also thought it looked sort of like half of a molt?? I can’t tell if it’s something bad growing or if it’s a cluster of antennae/legs. I’m attaching the pics but I don’t know if they will be helpful. Mostly I’m wondering if I should take a wait and see approach or try and do something.

Sorry if these questions are a little silly - I’m brand new to aquariums of any kind so I’m trying to catch every little thing & don’t have the experience of identifying anything! 😅 better safe than sorry haha
..
The top pic looks like a molt. The other pic, I do not know, but I would not worry about it.
..
Thank you!!
robokirk
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Re: Tiny white floating things?/feeding question

Post by robokirk »

My tank had a sort of bloom of copepods shortly after cycling, they were great, they cleaned all the biofilm off the glass. When i turned off the lights they would rain from the top of the tank into hiding. now they are mostly gone.
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Re: Tiny white floating things?/feeding question

Post by Rudiarose »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okhpITV ... ShrimpLife

Might want to see if any of the white floaters are these bad things.
MsNymbus
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Re: Tiny white floating things?/feeding question

Post by MsNymbus »

Rudiarose wrote: Sun Dec 18, 2022 1:10 pm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okhpITV ... ShrimpLife

Might want to see if any of the white floaters are these bad things.
Thank you I will check this out!
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Re: Tiny white floating things?/feeding question

Post by Vorteil »

I think that YouTube video caters to FW tanks. I've never seen any of those survive or appear in brackish tanks. I even feed dragonfly nymphs to my Alpha Opae Ula and they don't survive in brackish. Then again they get eaten pretty quickly.
MsNymbus
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Re: Tiny white floating things?/feeding question

Post by MsNymbus »

Vorteil wrote: Sun Dec 18, 2022 5:38 pm I think that YouTube video caters to FW tanks. I've never seen any of those survive or appear in brackish tanks. I even feed dragonfly nymphs to my Alpha Opae Ula and they don't survive in brackish. Then again they get eaten pretty quickly.
Yeah I checked it out and didn’t think any of them matched. However I did see another long brown thing just now that I’m paranoid about! I’m attaching pics. Again unsure if this is just a long piece of substrate or something to worry about! It does not appear to be moving at all but gosh it really looks like a worm doesn’t it?? Is it bad or am I paranoid? I’ve been especially anxious about the tank lately as a spotted a couple of bodies sadly (another thread on that). Any thoughts on what this is?
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Rudiarose
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Re: Tiny white floating things?/feeding question

Post by Rudiarose »

I get a trap like they showed in the video and see if you can get a sample and take it to a salt water pet store.
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Re: Tiny white floating things?/feeding question

Post by Vorteil »

You’re overthinking it. What type of water did you use? RO or distilled. If you did it’s pure and more than likely void of any harmful pests. I can’t think of anyone that had harmful pests in their tanks due to the normal set up like PetShrimp advises.
MsNymbus
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Re: Tiny white floating things?/feeding question

Post by MsNymbus »

Vorteil wrote: Mon Dec 19, 2022 2:33 am You’re overthinking it. What type of water did you use? RO or distilled. If you did it’s pure and more than likely void of any harmful pests. I can’t think of anyone that had harmful pests in their tanks due to the normal set up like PetShrimp advises.
That’s great to hear 😅 and yes I used RO water!

Thanks!
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