Hitchhiker Identification

[Seasalt]

Just got some plants and put them in my tank and I noticed these lice looking things swimming around. Anyone know what they are? Its not snails for sure. Swims around like a fish but eventually lands on plants and craws around.

I believe they are hitchhikers from Java moss I just got.
-John

 

[Galaxie]

Probably gonna need more details.

Does it look like a shrimp or does it have fins and a tail?

I suspect they are brine shrimp. Is this a match?

 

[Seasalt]

yeah... looks like that... similar to llice, could not really see any type of fin, but its a good swimmer...

I've just emailed the lady who sold me the plants, hopefully she can give me a concrete answer.

Thanks galaxie!

 

[Galaxie]

They are free swimmers, not necessarily associated with java fern, probably just in the water that was scooped for you. Your fish will munch them shortly I think. They do look quite odd though.

 

[Seasalt]

she replied back and said they are amphipod. anyone have a picture?

 

[TetraFreak]

she replied back and said they are amphipod. anyone have a picture?

 

[Seasalt]

yup that exactly what it is... looks alot like brine shrimp.. .hopefully they will help clean the substrate and plants in my snail/shrimp 10 gallon farm.

 

[kveeti]

Some excerpts from my Microlife book (I love little thingys in the tanks!)

Amphipods (Side Swimmers). At night, they scurry about grazing on the rich protist films covering submerged vegetation or debris. When they swim, they invariably roll over on their sides. This behavior makes them easy to identify… What to Look For: 5 to 20 mm; green to light brown or cream; appendages may be colored green or brown… They are “microbial ferries” – almost always carrying a brood of miscellaneous protists on their external body surfaces.