Baby Opae Ula and Strange Bubbles

[alelks]

I was pleasantly surprised yesterday when I spotted babies in my tank. It's only been going for a little over 5 months or so. I turned off the pump this morning but noticed something strange later today. There is this steady steam of what looks like small bubbles coming from the center of the tank but I guess it could be something else. Here's a vid and you can see one of the 5 babies in the bubbles on the left hand side.

Thoughts in what these small bubbles may be?

NOTE: The pump has been turned off so there is now water flow but the bubbles or whatever they are shoot down like a jet stream.

https://youtu.be/GKWCiavJRug

[Mustafa]

Moved this to the Supershrimp forum. It's hard to say what that is. It's not air bubbles. From the way some of them move it looks like they may be some kind of critter. What's that glass/plastic tube at the bottom? They seem to be going in/coming out of there.

[alelks]

Thanks for the reply Mustafa ad thanks for moving this to the appropriate forum heading.

That's the outlet for the air stone. Definitely critters. If I turn the overhead light off they spread out all over the tank. As soon as I turn it on the go right back to the center and start diving in streams again.

Hmmmmm!

[Mustafa]

Interesting! I've had various critters in my brackish tanks over the years, but mine usually die off sooner or later due to lack of food and nutrients. It would be interesting to see how long yours stay around. Please give us an update once in a while. I, for one, am curious.

[KenCotigirl]

Poor picture.

image.jpg (54.94 KiB) Viewed 2769 times

I have similar creatures in my tanks. The ones that look like bubbles in alelks tank I assume are larvae of a slightly larger critter. The larvae are light sensitive and congregate where the light is strongest. Their numbers ebb and flow over time. The adults swim in jerky manor and often just float around.

[Aquarimax]

Thanks for the reply Mustafa ad thanks for moving this to the appropriate forum heading.

That's the outlet for the air stone. Definitely critters. If I turn the overhead light off they spread out all over the tank. As soon as I turn it on the go right back to the center and start diving in streams again.

Hmmmmm!

I have had similar critters in my opae'ula tanks, though not for a few years. I was fairly sure they were some type of copepod.