bugs on my fish

fishymatty · 08-11-2007, 06:01 PM

I have a 55g planted discus tank. I noticed about a week ago these tiny white bugs in the substrate and on the glass. I did a huge water change, wiped the glass and vacuumed the substrate. They were almost all gone. I went away for a few days and this morning I noticed these bugs were on one of my discus. If he swims away fast they fall off, but when they go into the plants to look for food they sometimes come out with these things on them again. The best I can guess is they are copepods but I can't be sure.
Are they harmful? Does this sound like copepods?
How do I get rid of them?

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SearunSimpson · 08-11-2007, 07:01 PM

That sounds right for the glass and substrate, but I've never known or heard of Ceopopods going onto fish. Little white things on fish sounds like Ich, and you want to treat that, um...how about NOW. Ich is a parasite that is in your water (and in mine, and theirs and his and hers) and it goes down into the substrate and will usually atack or become evident when the fish are weakend by stress (big waterchanges, temp, etc). You can get products that cure Ich at any LFS.

Warning: alot of Ich products are not meant for scaleless fish or inverts (shrimp, etc). You might want to re-locate any of those before dosing with an Ich treatment.

**KDahlin** · 08-11-2007, 09:14 PM

Can you find it in any of these pictures?
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/sh...nize-them.html

fishymatty · 08-11-2007, 10:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KDahlin

Can you find it in any of these pictures?
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/sh...nize-them.html

I don't have a microscope so I can't say for sure if it is any of those.

SearunSimpson,
I know ick. Ick doesn't crawl on the fish and it also doesn't fall off the fish if the swim fast or if I brush it off with my finger.

mistergreen · 08-12-2007, 12:47 AM

yeah, copepod or a another crustecean. They swim + crawl all over the place.
lots of water changes or get small fish that'll eat theses things... tetras, or rasboras or something like that.

fishymatty · 08-12-2007, 12:54 AM

I got a school of panda corys. Will that do the job? I just did a huge water change, cleaned the glass and vacuumed the gravel.

fishymatty · 08-12-2007, 04:10 PM

I just came from my discus breeders house and spoke to him about what these things are in my tank. He agrees they are copepods. There are many different types of copepods but they are all harmless at controlled levels and will hitch a ride on fish, especially on slow moving fish like discus.
He also informed me that everone has them in there tank. you might not have many or may never notice them but they are there.

That was just a little info for anyone with a similar problem that may be searching for this information.

Thanks for your opinions everybody.

08-11-2007, 06:01 PM	#1 (permalink)
fishymatty Planted Tank Obsessed (View User Tanks) PTrader: (1) Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: East Haven, CT Posts: 367	bugs on my fish I have a 55g planted discus tank. I noticed about a week ago these tiny white bugs in the substrate and on the glass. I did a huge water change, wiped the glass and vacuumed the substrate. They were almost all gone. I went away for a few days and this morning I noticed these bugs were on one of my discus. If he swims away fast they fall off, but when they go into the plants to look for food they sometimes come out with these things on them again. The best I can guess is they are copepods but I can't be sure. Are they harmful? Does this sound like copepods? How do I get rid of them? __________________

08-11-2007, 07:01 PM	#2 (permalink)
SearunSimpson Planted Tank Enthusiast (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0) Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Tsawwassen, BC, Canada Posts: 510	That sounds right for the glass and substrate, but I've never known or heard of Ceopopods going onto fish. Little white things on fish sounds like Ich, and you want to treat that, um...how about NOW. Ich is a parasite that is in your water (and in mine, and theirs and his and hers) and it goes down into the substrate and will usually atack or become evident when the fish are weakend by stress (big waterchanges, temp, etc). You can get products that cure Ich at any LFS. Warning: alot of Ich products are not meant for scaleless fish or inverts (shrimp, etc). You might want to re-locate any of those before dosing with an Ich treatment. __________________ "You think you have tomorrow, but when tomorrow comes it's not tomorrow; it's now- and that's all you have" - Marc Johnson Ehei-Pimpfen 276 yo!

08-11-2007, 09:14 PM	#3 (permalink)
KDahlin Planted Tank Obsessed (View User Tanks) PTrader: (15) Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 355	Can you find it in any of these pictures? http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/sh...nize-them.html __________________ "Paradise...is exactly like where you are right now only much, much better." L. Anderson

08-12-2007, 12:47 AM	#5 (permalink)
mistergreen Planted Tank Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (1) Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Cincinnati Posts: 2,931	yeah, copepod or a another crustecean. They swim + crawl all over the place. lots of water changes or get small fish that'll eat theses things... tetras, or rasboras or something like that. __________________ Algae happens.

08-12-2007, 12:54 AM	#6 (permalink)
fishymatty Planted Tank Obsessed (View User Tanks) PTrader: (1) Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: East Haven, CT Posts: 367	I got a school of panda corys. Will that do the job? I just did a huge water change, cleaned the glass and vacuumed the gravel. __________________

08-12-2007, 04:10 PM	#7 (permalink)
fishymatty Planted Tank Obsessed (View User Tanks) PTrader: (1) Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: East Haven, CT Posts: 367	I just came from my discus breeders house and spoke to him about what these things are in my tank. He agrees they are copepods. There are many different types of copepods but they are all harmless at controlled levels and will hitch a ride on fish, especially on slow moving fish like discus. He also informed me that everone has them in there tank. you might not have many or may never notice them but they are there. That was just a little info for anyone with a similar problem that may be searching for this information. Thanks for your opinions everybody. __________________

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