1wk old ghost shrimp.. can you see them?

[kimmisc]

I saw a few little things that look like tiny bugs crawling on the glass down near the substrate. They are about the size of the period at the end of this sentence. :) So I can't make out any body features, especially since I'm far sighted. I can tell by the movements that they're either shrimp or tiny bugs. They walk on the glass with much ease, like little spiders instead of shrimp.

Do these sound like 1wk old ghost shrimp?

[barthur33]

Sounds more like hydra to me. They originally look like little, tiny white worms wiggling on the glass. They then attach themselves to the glass or things and have little tentacle like "arms". Some people say they are harmless, others say they can sting fry. I've had it in my shrimp tank and really don't see a decrease in fry, so I can't say for sure.

[barthur33]

Week old shrimp look exactly like the older shrimp, just tiny.

[kimmisc]

I think they're moving around too much to be hydra.

[silentskream]

poke them with a stick. if they dart through the water, they're shrimp, if they "run away" by crawling.. they're not shrimp.

[kimmisc]

I tapped the glass where one was, and it went out into the water about 1/2" and back to the glass about 1" away.

I wonder if maybe they're daphnia.

[Becca3711]

They're probably a small protoza called a copepod. do a google and you'll find some good info about them. Usually, if they're present, it means you have good water conditions. Not harmful to your tank inhabitants at all.

[silentskream]

ok well that makes me think they're not crawling creatures. so that narrows it down a bit. so i'd say yes, either daphnia or shrimp.

i dont suppose you have a magnifying glass?

[kimmisc]

No magnifying glass, but some of them seem to be a bit bigger today, and I can tell they have bug-like appendages. Still clear/white in color.

And by the way, a couple weeks ago I did have lots of very tiny wormy looking things in this tank. When I put a fish in the tank, most of the wormy things poofed, so then I assumed the fish ate them.

Oddly, the tiny wormy things were bigger than these little buggy things. The wormies were about 1-2mm long.

Now that I've looked around more, there are too many to be baby shrimp. She was only carrying about 5-6 eggs when I put her in there.

[*Bethie*]

I noticed the little wormy things as well. They are in my ghost shrimp breeding tank. They are white, and the best way I know how to describe them is that they look like the little white fuzzies you get when you wipe something glass with a white towel. Does anyone know what they are, and will they hurt the babies? I found 2 dead fry last night, but I also know not all the fry will survive. They seem to be harmless, I was just wondering what you guys thought here.

Thanks!

[soccerkidbs]

they sound like hydras bethie i have them in my CRS tank and they are harmless. my guppies eat them i think because i have been seening less of them.

[destined_love7]

Thanks, soccer. I've been having a horrible time trying to determine what those things are. And a great description by bethie!

[spudjnr123]

If they are hydra, they aren't completely harmless, and fry could be affected by them. Hydras are Cnidarian, like Jellyfish, and have stinging cells that can paralyze food. They usually go after smaller food, i.e. daphnia, but it something gets too close, they will still sting it. However, with no fry, they are fairly harmless, not enough venom to actually have an effect in larger fish. I hope that helps. If all you have is adult shrimp, don't worry about it.

Edit: They are probably harmless to fry while still only 1-2 mm long, but they can grow to about 2 cm, and then they could even eat your fry, so watch them.

[spudjnr123]

Just some reading on why they are so incredible (and deadly)

When feeding, hydras extend their body to maximum length and then slowly extend their tentacles. Despite their simple construction, the tentacles of hydras are extraordinarily extensible and can be four to five times the length of the body. Once fully extended, the tentacles are slowly maneuvered around waiting for contact with a suitable prey animal. Upon contact, nematocysts on the tentacle fire into the prey and the tentacle itself coils around the prey. Within 30 seconds most of the remaining tentacles will have already joined in the attack to subdue the struggling prey. Within two minutes, the tentacles will have surrounded the prey and moved it into the opened mouth aperture. Within ten minutes, the prey will have been enclosed within the gastrovascular cavity and digestion will have started. The hydra is able to stretch its body wall considerably in order to digest prey more than twice its size.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydra_%28genus%29

[spudjnr123]

http://www3.sympatico.ca/drosera1/fish/hydra3.jpg

Here's an up close pic of a 1 inch long hydra

[Hooked Newbie]

My baby cherries will crawl on the glass and even upside down at the surface of the water (which is very cool to watch). Got a magnifying glass?