HELP! Please ID, too small for pics.

Otogi

New member
I came home about an hour ago from work and started messing around with my tank (90g FOWLR 1month old just finished cycle). When I noticed that the glass looked like there was allot of white(ish) dust all over the it. As I put my face very close to glass I saw that it was not dust but many many very tiny something's moving around on the glass? They (from what I can see of them) are slightly white to almost transparent. As for size I can only compare them to dust or a very very small grain of sand.

As I examined the rest of my tank I saw there there were many thousands of these tiny bugs/animals all over my glass and some floating in the water column. I am assuming they have been in my tank the whole time and I just mistook them for being detritus or particulate just floating around. And they seem to be gathering in mass in the corners of my tank at the silicon edges. They are far to small for me to get a pic of and a can barely make out what there body looks like with my face practically pressed to the glass. I am worried just for the sheer numbers of these very tiny animals. Does anyone have any clue what I might describing. I am hoping that these are what are know as pods, but I couldn't find anything showing pods being this small, most descriptions say pods are rice sized. they do look similar but since I really can't see them all to well I can't be for certain.

Please help me out. I need to know if these are something I need to try an remove before I start getting fish. Currently there is nothing in my tank, and I was planning to get my CUC tomorrow. What are they? good or bad? what eats them?
if they are pods my butterflies should love them, once I get the butterflies right?
 
this many? in a freshly cycled 1 month old tank? I thought pods needed an established tank to survive? there are literally thousands of them.
 
also will they get bigger, and how quickly to they reproduce? I am planning to add my CUC tomorrow but might not add my first fish for another 2 weeks or so.
 
Yes, there can be thousands of them. Pod populations will bloom and decline in the first year or so of the tank. You might look in a week or two and not be able to see any.
 
By using " CUC" what are you talking about? Do you mean cucumber ? If so your tank is not ready for it. Please research the live stock before you buy it. Make sure your animals are able to live in a newer tank set-up. Also that they are compatible with other live stock you may want. And as far as corals go do the the same ..make sure they are able to survive under the lighting you have. It will save you much grief and $$$.
Don't trust your LFS as being you best guide though you may have a good one with knowledgeable workers, many do not!
Take you time in stocking you tank ....have patience....
Good Luck and Happy Reefing :)
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11635236#post11635236 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Otogi
this many? in a freshly cycled 1 month old tank? I thought pods needed an established tank to survive? there are literally thousands of them.
:) Enjoy it. You have large numbers because your cycling tank is providing lots of nutrient material. This is common. As they use it up they will wane in numbers. The more nutirent free your system is the less you will have as time goes by.
 
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