White Planaria??

[Miso_Mochi]

Hello,

This evening I found tons of these little white guys running around the glass, and I have no idea what they are?? Should I be worried about them attaching to the fish? What are they? Sorry for the questions but also how should I treat it? I just have clowns and crabs in this 20gal so if needed I could treat in tank...

Thank you for any help!

 

[Spare time]

Looks like copepods! They are fantastic little critters that eat detritus and microplanktonsl

 

[Miso_Mochi]

Looks like copepods! They are fantastic little critters that eat detritus and microplanktonsl

Oh wow okay I thought they were parasites! What a relief, thank you!

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Oh wow okay I thought they were parasites! What a relief, thank you!

As a general rule, fish parasites are pretty much site specific to fish (there is one copepod that is free-living that sometimes attacks fish)...so if you see things on the glass, and not on the fish, they aren't parasites. That said, overfeeding a tank produces uneaten food, which in turn can cause populations of these small scavengers to bloom. Just be certain you are feeding the proper amount and maintaining good aeration.

Jay Hemdal

 

[BGJames]

Hi,

Did you get to the bottom of what these were? I've got what look identical in my tank- tiny tiny little white worm like creatures on the glass. Almost certain they're not copepods as I've done nothing to introduce them.