Please help identify. Little white creatures.

[GEV83]

Is this it just this pic is way blown up.



Water mites are familiar to everyone who ever observed pond water. The larger species are clearly visible as fast swimming sometimes deep red spider like creatures. Determination of to what genus a water mite belongs is not very hard but when you want to determine the species it becomes much more difficult. It is a real specialists work. You have to examine the reproductive organs, the eyes or palps to be able to distinguish the often very similar species.

 

[oyashare]

Ok guys, here is the picture. Its the little white spots on the driftwood. Thanks guys.
For bigger pictures please go to HERE

Omid

 

[Tom.E]

Some of those critters look oblong; they may be ostracods. Still hard to tell from the photo.

Omid, are there any in the water column? Try turning off the filter to cut water flow and scattering some off the driftwood. Ostracods are good swimmers and will zip around the tank. Adult water mites generally don’t stay in the water column too long. Aquatic mite larvae are a different story.

BTW, if you don’t have any magnifying lenses a 35mm camera lens will do. Looking through the reverse side will give about the same magnification as a 6x loupe.


Tom

 

[oyashare]

Thanks Tom. Ok, when they are swimming, they look like flys flying. They hover around, which looks like out of control, but then they land. Sometimes it looks like they jump from place to place. Any idea now? Oh, also, upon closer inspection, they look like they have a greenish tone to them.

Thanks,

Omid

 

[wetmanNY]

(Excellent mite portrait, G.E.R.)

 

[Tom.E]

They sure sound like ostracods to me. The different colors aren’t obvious to the naked eye because of their shell transparency and size. Under a dissecting microscope some shells are dotted and others have camouflage patterns.

See if this site helps. Downloading the movie might be helpful http://www.gre.ac.uk/schools/nri/earth/ostracod/introduction.htm


Tom

 

[oyashare]

Thanks Tom. They somewhat look like that. Should i be worried about them in my tank? or should i just let them be?

Thanks,

Omid

 

[Tom.E]

They’re not parasitic if that’s what you’re after. It does look like you have a stampede going on. If they get to be too much you can thin them out by water vacuuming or capturing some with a brine shrimp net.

Ostracods primarily eat decaying organic matter and algae. If you can keep the tank and filter clean you should see a drop off in numbers.

Other than that, they’re cute little guys.


Tom

 

[oyashare]

Ok cool. Thanks. What about water mites? are they parasitic?

Omid

 

[wetmanNY]

No. Not of fishes. Though some are microscopic and I think there are mites that wander around on fish skin, like the ones living in the creases of your forehead or among your eyelashes. They live off oils and skin cells you're sloughing off. Does that make them technically parasites?