# Tiny white bugs! HELP



## nero1 (Jul 26, 2008)

I started a water change today and noticed these tiny white specs moving on my drift wood. They are so small that you have to be real close to see them. They seem to stay on the wood, however I did notice a few floating around. I cant take a picture of them cause they are so small. If anyone has an idea what these could be and if they pose a threat to my Piraya please let me know. Any information would be appreciated as that it would give a base to start some research on. Please help I am concerned for my P's.


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## Piranha_man (Jan 29, 2005)

Sounds like planaria.

There are countless threads dedicated to these harmless but unsightly little guys.
Basically, they start coming around when there is a buildup of uneaten food on the bottom of the tank, and can be gotten rid of easily with a couple good water changes and gravel vacs.
they don't thrive in warmer waters, so I also suggest cranking the heat to the mid to upper 80s for a few days as well.


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## nero1 (Jul 26, 2008)

O thank god! I just completed 15 % water change. I will wait about 4 days before I vac my gravel again. Thanks for the input!


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## Piranha_man (Jan 29, 2005)

If it were me, I'd perform a 40% water change with gravel vac tomorrow and another 40% the following day.


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## Puddjuice (Mar 11, 2004)

Does aquarium salt help kill off things like this too? Just for future reference.


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## Guest (Aug 20, 2008)

Puddjuice said:


> Does aquarium salt help kill off things like this too? Just for future reference.


If remember correctly that is a no.


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## Piranha_man (Jan 29, 2005)

I wouldn't worry about throwing any salt or anything else in there.

Water changes and substrate vacs will do it, and if you really wanna knock 'em out quick, crank that heat up too.
That's all you need.

Planaria are extraordinarily easy to get rid of.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

salt wont kill them. The only way to really remove them is by cleaning up any food i nthe gravel and keeping your water clean through water changes. With no food they will die off.


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## Piranha Dan (Nov 11, 2007)

Also, if you have mature fish that can deal without food for a few days, don't feed. I tried that last time I had an outbreak and it made them die off alot quicker.


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## PELIGROSO PYGO (Aug 27, 2008)

thank god somebody posted this up, i noticed that also in my tank. First i thought it was serious because there was a huge outbreak in a few days after feeding.. after doing water changes and cutting down was the solution..


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## Doktordet (Sep 22, 2006)

nero1 said:


> I started a water change today and noticed these tiny white specs moving on my drift wood. They are so small that you have to be real close to see them. They seem to stay on the wood, however I did notice a few floating around. I cant take a picture of them cause they are so small. If anyone has an idea what these could be and if they pose a threat to my Piraya please let me know. Any information would be appreciated as that it would give a base to start some research on. Please help I am concerned for my P's.


planaria.


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## spartacus101 (Oct 28, 2008)

Doktordet said:


> I started a water change today and noticed these tiny white specs moving on my drift wood. They are so small that you have to be real close to see them. They seem to stay on the wood, however I did notice a few floating around. I cant take a picture of them cause they are so small. If anyone has an idea what these could be and if they pose a threat to my Piraya please let me know. Any information would be appreciated as that it would give a base to start some research on. Please help I am concerned for my P's.


planaria.
[/quote]

I guess I fall into this category. As soon as I started reading these threads I went to inspect my tanks and I have the same problem in one of my tanks but I think I have a combination(planaria and some kind of Pod). These little small specks are as tiny as a flea and move like fleas. I acted right away and took out the bog wood and boiled that and did a 20% water change, vacuumed rock. In doing this I did find small pieces of decaying food so this explains the Planaria. Hopefully this takes care of the problem. I will be more careful in the future as far as pulling out uneaten food.


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## maknwar (Jul 16, 2007)

could be Copepods, Water Fleas, Seed Shrimp or Planaria. If they look like little worms, than its probably planaria. None of them are harmful.


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## tomheli (Sep 28, 2008)

i got about a dozen of each-red tail rasbora+black neons they love to eat planaria my 4 7" rbls dont seem to bother them as they are small but they will taste one once in a while


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