Little shrimp in tank? What are they?

[brackishdude]

I have many small shrimp-like animals in my tank that I would like to ID. They are tubular, with one end tucked under their bodies, and with lots of little legs on the bottom like shrimp. Clear colored like shrimp. About a 1/8 inch long.

They are only apparent when I lift a piece of driftwood out of the tank. As the water drips off, they dry out and crawl along the surface becoming visible. I also find them in my canister filter when I change the media.

As far as I can tell, they are completely harmless. I figure they came in with some of my plants some time ago (before I got scats!). I have noticed them for well over a year now, and they have tolerated some pretty dramatic salinity changes (1.000-1.008).

I remember similiar creatures in the algae I used to net when collecting true grass shrimp in a pond near my house several years ago. Only those were brownish. . .

Li'l help?:confused:

[Tom.E]

They’re amphipods, or better known as scuds. Have loads of them myself. http://www.vtmnh.vt.edu/sos/images/scud.gif

Turn the tank lights on at night if you want to observe them more. That’s when they’re most active.


Tom

[brackishdude]

Thanks Tom. The number of these little critters in my tank is amazing! I crept in last night with a flachlight to surprise them, and I must have thousands. They "fly" away in swarms when the light hits them. I just did a thorough gravel sweeping last week. I wonder how many got sucked down the drain?