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New Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 7/13/2008 2:47:27 PM
Posts: 2,
Visits: 9
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| I've been keeping freshwater fish for quite a while and finally am getting a saltwater tank. I've done lots of reading and research, but I can't find anything on these little critters. I have no fish in my tank yet. Just live sand and live rock. (and some base rock that isn't live yet!) On my live rock is about 20-40 little critters! (hard to count) They're VERY small, maybe an 8th in. They are clear/white. They crawl around pretty quick but i haven't seen them swim. They have some kind of arms they use to push each other around. Any idea what they are? Will they be a problem?
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Fishkeeping GURU
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 12/1/2008 6:38:16 PM
Posts: 11,957,
Visits: 5,449
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They're pods (copepods, amphipods, isopods, etc). They're a perfectly normal part of owning a saltwater tank, and live rock without them would be cause for concern. That being said, there are good pods and bad pods, and since there are thousands of species which are very close to each other in appearance, it is difficult if not impossible to tell you what you have, even with photos. In general, if they have very large black eyes, there may be cause for concern (there are parasitic amphipods and isopods that seem to have that look), but 99% of pods are harmless. Unless you see one attached to a fish or a bunch swarming a coral, I wouldn't worry.
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