Nighttime Surprise - Bugs?

[kpcollins31]

I had a cool experience last night -- I got the flashlight out to see what was going on in the new 90G at night. I was stunned to see hundreds (maybe thousands) of tiny creatures swimming/floating around the tank. They were small and were moving around primarily from the circulation in the tank but they did have the ability to "swim" as they did move towards the light when I focused the light on a single location.

I had been hoping to see the typical copepods scrambling around on the sand and on the rocks, which I did see, but this was an added bonus. I know that I have amphipods in the refugium, but these were much smaller. Perhaps they are juvenile amphipods if that makes sense. I was shocked as to how many there were.

Any ideas on what they are?

Kevin

 

[waterdog1]

I have them too, They look like tiny white flecks. I think they are actually an adult amphiphod of some sort. I have always took it as a sign the tank is in good health!

 

[Ken668]

Isn't it amazing what comes out at night? It's most likely a mixture of different types of lavae. Amphipod, copepod, and other zooplankton found in your LR and substrate. Also, if you have a pair of shrimp, they could be newly hatched babies. I remember seeing for the first time hundreds and hundreds of cleaner shrimp babies. It's pretty cool.

 

[Pug]

bug?

bug?

Hundreds and hundreds of bugs? Ok educate the noob on why hundreds of bugs in my tank (when i finally get one) would be a good thing? Where do they go during the day?

Thanks
Stephen

 

[Ken668]

Well, I would like to say that the majority of them get consumed by either corals, other organisms, or filtered out. So in essence, it's like free food. But the "bugs" mentioned above are good for removing unconsumed food, waste, etc. Plus they are good food for larger organisms. They are just another part of the ecosystem you call a tank. During the day, the majority of the organisms stay hidden to avoid predation. Some of the larger ones are clearly visible, especially in sumps, refugiums, and low flow areas.

Organisms like these are what I enjoy so much over freshwater tanks. Freshwater has what you put in it, and that's it. With saltwater and the LR you place in your tank, it's a surprise every day of what you could find in your tank. Even now, after having my tank setup for over 2 years, I still see new organisms! Quite amazing.

 

[monti-mike]

Could be a form of Plankton ...

If u were to use a red film or a red flash light (not white/clear) the animals wont get spooked the fish could swim into a pump or something worse if the get spooked by the light, and u can see what the fish see and feel at night, none of the animals will run away and the pods will do thier work right in front of u.....

The pods consume all the old food, and little micro algeas of the rock, this is what makes ur rock live rock and helps in the whole denitrification process/s...........

And what they do during the day is GO all the way in the rock as far as they can to hide till night time......

I think sometimes my tanks are more active during the night, i will occasionally feed my tank at late night to give it a food base and for to make sure all the pods have a full belly , including the snails and the hermits too, of course.......also look afor all the worms and the tube fans that pop out at night......

peace

mike

RIP/ Mr. fetherduster, u were a beuty...

 

[reefD]

also consider your hermits spawning at night. ive seen this hundreds of times. most pods scatter from light but larva from hermits or shrimp are attracted to the light. if they appear to group near the light i would suspect hermit larva