Pests info

[dani]

ok, in all my aquarium days i have never seen these. the only infestation i have ever encountered was a population explosion of snails in my betta tank [thank you brand new plant from the pet store!].

here's what's happening:

i turned on the light in the tank tonight to spend a few minutes observing my recently acquired newts and realized there was something all over the glass. it looks almost like lint left over from wiping something with a tissue or paper towel, only very tiny and thin. and they are moving! some form of microscopic worm or pest larvae, i presume.

the tank i am using has nothing new added to it, except the newts. the rocks, live/plastic plants, gravel, and driftwood are all well over a year or two in use, most of which were in this tank with no life other than the plants for approx six months.
i have been feeding frozen bloodworms, and suctioning out the leftovers [if there is any]. ive never had a problem with bloodworms before [having fed them to my betta and dwarf water frogs etc].
i have only had newts in this tank for 6 days. any clues to what's attacking?

 

[jennifer]

I wouldn't interpret it as an attack. If you looked at the tank "debris" in any healthy established tank, you'd see it literally crawling with microscopic life. It comes from anywhere - dust, food, plants, our hands. In this case, you've simply gotten a life form that is big enough to see by eye.

Keep up with the clean-up and partial water changes, and most likely the population will decrease over time. It's just like your snail explosion: if there's something to feed on, they'll explode, but if you wait it out and keep the tank tidy they will usually decrease. Hang in there.
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/Tank_critters.shtml