The Puffer Forum

WHats happening I noticed the lil guys itching themselves in the tank against objects once in a while and thought nothing of it now i just noticed little larva like bugs in the tank they are really small almost impossible to see theyre crawling on the glass then they jump of into the water help me help me the tanks about 3weeks old and just raised the salinity for the first time and never seen them before???? help

Sounds like 2 seperate problems: Ich - scratching & overfeedig - bugs.

they almost look like baby brine shimp on the glass but swim in a darting manner i have never seen this before I cant see any white spots on the puffers. I do live plants but they were in another tank with no probs and i reallt havent been feeding that much.

maybe with a picture we can help you more?

sorry all i have is a phone for pics and the resolution isnt that ggod theyre about the size of the ballpoint on a pen or smaller.

they look like a small whit dot with a small tail and crawl on the glass and dart in the water.

if they are overfeeding bugs are they harmful to the GSP in there? Could they be PODS i just raised the salinity a week ago and never seen these before?

What's the SG? Is there any live rock/sand in there? Overfeeding bugs aren't harmful to the fish but could be a sign of nitrate problem.

nitrate is about 15-20 so Im gonna do a 50% water change and get in the gravel good and plants as well. its just annoying cuz ive been vacumming daily the food they dont eat. Do you have an idea what they are and why they just popped up?

salinity is 1.002
nitrate 15-20
nitrites 0
amm 0

I wish they were just lil baby GSP fry lol

SammyDee wrote:nitrate is about 15-20 so Im gonna do a 50% water change and get in the gravel good and plants as well. its just annoying cuz ive been vacumming daily the food they dont eat. Do you have an idea what they are and why they just popped up?

These "bugs" pop up whenever there's extra food to eat. There are wormlike ones called planeria. I don't know the names of the others.

its kinda odd that little life can be created from nothing really. how do they even get in there to begin with.Its like the old question "what came first the chicken or the egg" it beats me.

so should they be considered a nuisance or is it a good sign of a healthy tank?

It's a sign that you're overfeeding. They're neither harmful nor beneficial, but they shouldn't be there if you're feeding properly. If you're putting that much food in there, it'll create extra nitrates.