bugs in my tank

[brad138]

i have MANY very tiny bugs in my tank. i mean tick larva tiny. too small to take a picture.

some are round and crawl on my substrate, others are nearly lobster shape (just body and tail, no claws) and quickly "jump" all over the substrate. I have newborn shrimplets in the tank, so these tiny things cant be shrimp, theyre way too small.

what are these things? i feel like the may be a nuisance to my shrimp and my snail. would a cory cat eat these bugs?
 

[DETAquarium]

Do you have any pictures? If not, I will speculate that these critters are copepods. How old is your substrate? It is a good sign of a healthy mature substrate, natural part of an ecosystem.

[brad138]

Do you have any pictures? If not, I will speculate that these critters are copepods. How old is your substrate? It is a good sign of a healthy mature substrate, natural part of an ecosystem.

the substrate is maybe 3 weeks old. i have the fluval shrimp stratum.

this is the best picture i can get. all those specks.

[RyeGuy411]

Hard to see anything from the picture but probably harmless copepods.

[jledermann]

whats the most effective way to get rid of copepods?

[Soothing Shrimp]

Just a way to know you have a healthy ecosystem. Fish eat them so you won't see them. Shrimp live in harmony with them.

[JamesHe]

I think it's seed shrimp. harmless.

[Lyana]

Are seed shrimp scuds? I have millions in one tank and I hardy feed it so not sure why they are going crazy

[ChadO]

No, seed shrimp are not scuds.  The seed shrimp are very small guys that you'll see bounce around your substrate, or float around with the flow of water in your aquarium.  They are quite small, and their population can sway pretty wildly.  Like others have said, they're just a part of the natural aquarium, and in fish based aquariums, they are quite readily consumed.  In shrimp tanks, no predators, so you actually get to see them.

 

Scuds, however, are much bigger, look like small shrimp in size (think regular shrimp, sub-juvi size), are a translucent/white type color, and swim with a torpedo like motion.  The bigger ones you'll be able to easily see with the naked eye, and if you harass them, they'll bury into the substrate to get away.  These guys will compete with your shrimp by grazing on your moss, and in general, are a nuisance.  They are also like duckweed - you never have just one.  I've used a turkey baster before to suck them up and put them into a container, and then fed them in my fish tank. If you've had both seed shrimp and scuds, you'll quickly learn and see the difference.  I think out on the great wide web, there's a bit of misinformation or folks using loose terminology around seed shrimp and scuds.  The baby scuds are small (about the size of a radish seed), look like shrimp, so it's an easy conclusion to make. If you have scuds, you probably want to consider ways to reduce or remove them.  Seed shrimp, don't sweat it, their population will ebb and flow on it's own.  If they really bother you, you can siphon them when you do a water change, but I've always just left them alone, and they pretty much take care of themselves.

[shrimpybuisness]

Does anyone know how to get rid of scuds/gammarus I find they ugly and annoying!!!

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[Soothing Shrimp]

Scuds will eat shrimp, as well.  Unfortunately scuds are inverts as well, and most people have to try to start a new tank to make sure they have no scuds.