Little White Specks on Glass

[mychemicalfishies]

Hello! This forum has been great for finding answers & I'm excited to make my first post.

I've had my saltwater tank for over 2 years now, and I have 2 clownfish and a snail. I noticed this morning that there are tiny white specks moving on the glass. I know it can be a common thing but I didn't introduce anything new to the tank, so I'm really confused as to where they came from. Also, they don't seem to look like any copepods or worms that are common in tanks, unless they're simply babies.

For tank decorations, I only have a submarine, a fake octopus, and a bridge (I'm assuming the materials are ceramic for the first two and plastic for the bridge). Could it be from one of their foods? I feed them freeze dried brine shrimp occasionally.

Thank you in advance for your help!!

 

[Dread Pirate Dave]

I get these too. I notice them when algae starts to grow on the glass. I have always assumed they are copepods of some sort.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Watch closely. If they ever move they are likely a type of copepod. A desirable. If none ever move, they are something else, such as a hydroid (not really good or bad) or maybe even a mineral precipitate of calcium carbonate.

 

[Dread Pirate Dave]

Watch closely. If they ever move they are likely a type of copepod. A desirable. If none ever move, they are something else, such as a hydroid (not really good or bad) or maybe even a mineral precipitate of calcium carbonate.

Mine do move. Every now and then they scurry about in short bursts.

 

[Savage Henry]

Looks like what I have.

I am still trying to figure out what they are.

Under a magnifying glass they look like flying saucers.

I have been thinking they might be tiny Stomatella snail larvae.

 

[Savage Henry]

When I stop the water current some of them fall off the glass and slowly sink. Otherwise, they move about, sometimes quite fast. None of the fish I have eat them, which is another reason I don’t think they are copepods.

 

[Mach42]

Can you get a microscope pic or a camera picture with a macro lens? That can help narrow it down. Also, the water is really cloudy and there's quite a bit of algae. Is that just a recent thing or has it been like that for a while?