Robertshrimpguy Posted October 11, 2018 Report Share Posted October 11, 2018 A few weeks ago I started my very first shrimp tank. I started noticing a bunch of small white dandelion looking growths all over the glass and filter of my tank. They're so small you can hardly see them with your eyes unless you're looking very closely. They're attached by a small filiment, and extend into a white parashoot/dandelion fluff that moves in the waters current. There is thousands of them. I redid my tanks substrate (due to having way too much) and decided to take that time to rub it all off. A few days after getting everything set back up, they're back. My amanos and red cherries don't eat it to what I've seen. I have been to 40+ different forum threads on websites all over the internet, and while some people have the same thing, not a single person has been able to identify what this is. Any help on this subject would be awesome! Below are my tanks parameters, and attached is a very good extremely zoomed in close up of a couple "blooms" of this stuff. The pic is clear but VERY blown up, I can't stress enough how small these things are. Fractions of milimeters. 10 gal tank Nat Geo LED lighting on for 10ish hours a day Sponge filter rated for 50gal tank 6.5-7.0 pH 0 ammonia 0 nitrites 10-15 nitrates 2-3 gH (yes I know this is low for shrimp I'm working to fix) Thank you very much in advance for all your help! I can't seem to find the answer anywhere!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaticShrimpNoob Posted November 10, 2018 Report Share Posted November 10, 2018 Hi Robertshrimpguy, Unfortunately, I do not know the answer to your question. However, I may be able to give some light to your concern. First, you have to identify if this is harmful to any of your friends in your tank. This does not mean that you absolutely have to know exactly what it is. Let me give you an example/analogy. If you know a person if a criminal, would you care about his/her name? I sure don't. All I need to know is the fact that he/she is a criminal. Second, this might not be bad. Some people treat some things pest while others don't. A good example is ramshorn snail. BTW, they sure don't look like hydra (harmful) or bryozoa (harmless). Lastly, these might be part of aging a tank. This is kind of like cycling tank - you get zero to ANN once you get it cycling (assuming you don't screw up). You said that you just started this tank a few weeks ago. As long as they are not harming your friends, I believe that you should wait for a bit. Extreme action (e.g. large water change) might stress your friends and cause real and/or more harm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robertshrimpguy Posted November 11, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2018 18 hours ago, AquaticShrimpNoob said: Hi Robertshrimpguy, Unfortunately, I do not know the answer to your question. However, I may be able to give some light to your concern. First, you have to identify if this is harmful to any of your friends in your tank. This does not mean that you absolutely have to know exactly what it is. Let me give you an example/analogy. If you know a person if a criminal, would you care about his/her name? I sure don't. All I need to know is the fact that he/she is a criminal. Second, this might not be bad. Some people treat some things pest while others don't. A good example is ramshorn snail. BTW, they sure don't look like hydra (harmful) or bryozoa (harmless). Lastly, these might be part of aging a tank. This is kind of like cycling tank - you get zero to ANN once you get it cycling (assuming you don't screw up). You said that you just started this tank a few weeks ago. As long as they are not harming your friends, I believe that you should wait for a bit. Extreme action (e.g. large water change) might stress your friends and cause real and/or more harm. Thank you so much for your reply to me. My tank is almost three months old now and I have just come to live with the little things all over my glass and rocks. Out of the 20 shrimp I've gotten of all different varieties of neo shrimp, only 2 have passed away so I have come to believe that whatever this is, is harmless. Nothing seems to be bothered by it, and I believe my Oto catfish are even eating it. My water levels are near perfect and I couldn't be happier with how everything turned out. This is my first time getting into this hobby and I'm absolutely loving it. Thanks again for the reply. Maybe one day I'll stumble across an answer. Although seemingly harmless, I'm always craving more knowledge on things. Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaticShrimpNoob Posted November 15, 2018 Report Share Posted November 15, 2018 Hi Robertshrimpguy, No problem. It is always a pleasure knowing that I help someone. It is good to hear that everything is working just fine. Most people panic so much in small things that they will do something wrong (e.i. large water change, sudden pH change, etc). In regards to the shrimp death that you have experience, that is normal statistically speaking according to my research and some shrimp keepers. Dying shrimp after adding them to your tank is hit or miss. There are to many factors to consider (e.g. homebred vs. import, transportation, shrimps' stress level, etc). If by any chance you find the answer to this, try posting it here. There will be someone in the future that will benefit from your findings. If you have any other concern or questions, please ask. There are other advanced shrimpers here that you can rely on. I am not an expert in shrimp keeping just yet. But I am willing to help you as time permits and if it is within my knowledge <-- chemical engineer. Enjoy, AquaticShrimpNoob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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