Strange white things

I'm in the process of getting a 33gal tank cycling. I added a couple of
plants from a local shop and have since noticed small white 'things'
swimming around. They're between half and one mm long, look to have two
parts to their body and swim really quickly for their size. They spend most
of their time on the underside of the surface tension. Any body any idea on
what they might be and whether they will be harmful to fish when I get some?

PH 6.8
GH 11
KH 3
Nitrite between 0.8 - 1.6 mg/l
Amonia 0.4 mg/l
Not cycled yet

Thanks for your time
--
Alan

Grimley_Feindish wrote:
I'm in the process of getting a 33gal tank cycling. I added a couple of
plants from a local shop and have since noticed small white 'things'
swimming around. They're between half and one mm long, look to have two
parts to their body and swim really quickly for their size. They spend most
of their time on the underside of the surface tension. Any body any idea on
what they might be and whether they will be harmful to fish when I get some?

PH 6.8
GH 11
KH 3
Nitrite between 0.8 - 1.6 mg/l
Amonia 0.4 mg/l
Not cycled yet

Thanks for your time

Are they like a thin white worm?

"Grimley_Feindish" wrote in message
...
I'm in the process of getting a 33gal tank cycling. I added a couple of
plants from a local shop and have since noticed small white 'things'
swimming around. They're between half and one mm long, look to have two
parts to their body and swim really quickly for their size. They spend
most
of their time on the underside of the surface tension. Any body any
idea on
what they might be and whether they will be harmful to fish when I get
some?

PH 6.8
GH 11
KH 3
Nitrite between 0.8 - 1.6 mg/l
Amonia 0.4 mg/l
Not cycled yet

Thanks for your time
--
Alan

Without fish to eat them, a fishless cycling tank develops all sorts of
aquatic bugs, like whiteworms (research planaria and nemotodia) and
inchworms (at least they move that way ;~). Most are harmless. You
might get some aerial critters if some are larvae stage (midge fly,
mosquito etc). I would consider them cheap entertainment until the fish
can be introduced.

You have an unusual water parameter mixture. Is it natural?

NetMax

They were initially and now seem to have matured into swimming things.

--
Alan

"Chuckles" wrote in message
...
Grimley_Feindish wrote:
I'm in the process of getting a 33gal tank cycling. I added a couple of
plants from a local shop and have since noticed small white 'things'
swimming around. They're between half and one mm long, look to have two
parts to their body and swim really quickly for their size. They spend
most
of their time on the underside of the surface tension. Any body any idea
on
what they might be and whether they will be harmful to fish when I get
some?

PH 6.8
GH 11
KH 3
Nitrite between 0.8 - 1.6 mg/l
Amonia 0.4 mg/l
Not cycled yet

Thanks for your time

Are they like a thin white worm?

"NetMax" wrote in message
news

"Grimley_Feindish" wrote in message
...
I'm in the process of getting a 33gal tank cycling. I added a couple of
plants from a local shop and have since noticed small white 'things'
swimming around. They're between half and one mm long, look to have two
parts to their body and swim really quickly for their size. They spend
most
of their time on the underside of the surface tension. Any body any
idea on
what they might be and whether they will be harmful to fish when I get
some?

PH 6.8
GH 11
KH 3
Nitrite between 0.8 - 1.6 mg/l
Amonia 0.4 mg/l
Not cycled yet

Thanks for your time
--
Alan

Without fish to eat them, a fishless cycling tank develops all sorts of
aquatic bugs, like whiteworms (research planaria and nemotodia) and
inchworms (at least they move that way ;~). Most are harmless. You
might get some aerial critters if some are larvae stage (midge fly,
mosquito etc). I would consider them cheap entertainment until the fish
can be introduced.

You have an unusual water parameter mixture. Is it natural?

NetMax

It was shop bought spring water (PH 6.5 - 89p for 5 litres - bit of a
bargain) mixed with a little treated tap water. I have a fair bit of bog
wood in the tank which might account for the softness and PH as my tap water
is pretty hard and typically ph 7.5 - 8. I've just had a closer look at the
things, there seem to be several types or they're just at different stages
of growth. Some of the 'bigger' ones have a sort of short forked tail and
swim in short bursts.

I like the idea of cheap entertainment, if only I could see them without
pressing my nose up against the glass

"Grimley_Feindish" wrote in message
...



"NetMax" wrote in message
news

"Grimley_Feindish" wrote in message
...
I'm in the process of getting a 33gal tank cycling. I added a
couple of
plants from a local shop and have since noticed small white
'things'
swimming around. They're between half and one mm long, look to have
two
parts to their body and swim really quickly for their size. They
spend
most
of their time on the underside of the surface tension. Any body any
idea on
what they might be and whether they will be harmful to fish when I
get
some?

PH 6.8
GH 11
KH 3
Nitrite between 0.8 - 1.6 mg/l
Amonia 0.4 mg/l
Not cycled yet

Thanks for your time
--
Alan

Without fish to eat them, a fishless cycling tank develops all sorts
of
aquatic bugs, like whiteworms (research planaria and nemotodia) and
inchworms (at least they move that way ;~). Most are harmless. You
might get some aerial critters if some are larvae stage (midge fly,
mosquito etc). I would consider them cheap entertainment until the
fish
can be introduced.

You have an unusual water parameter mixture. Is it natural?

NetMax

It was shop bought spring water (PH 6.5 - 89p for 5 litres - bit of a
bargain) mixed with a little treated tap water. I have a fair bit of
bog
wood in the tank which might account for the softness and PH as my tap
water
is pretty hard and typically ph 7.5 - 8. I've just had a closer look at
the
things, there seem to be several types or they're just at different
stages
of growth. Some of the 'bigger' ones have a sort of short forked tail
and
swim in short bursts.

I like the idea of cheap entertainment, if only I could see them
without
pressing my nose up against the glass

Regarding the water, I'm not a big fan of bottled water, as it's
sometimes bought as a commodity, so the source (and water's recipe) of
the bottling plant can vary, even if it's the same brand. Then there is
the lugging water back & forth, which does not promote regular water
changes for the tank. It does work well for some folks though.

NetMax

"NetMax" wrote in message
. ..

Without fish to eat them, a fishless cycling tank develops all sorts
of
aquatic bugs, like whiteworms (research planaria and nemotodia) and
inchworms (at least they move that way ;~). Most are harmless. You
might get some aerial critters if some are larvae stage (midge fly,
mosquito etc). I would consider them cheap entertainment until the
fish
can be introduced.

You have an unusual water parameter mixture. Is it natural?

NetMax

It was shop bought spring water (PH 6.5 - 89p for 5 litres - bit of a
bargain) mixed with a little treated tap water. I have a fair bit of
bog
wood in the tank which might account for the softness and PH as my tap
water
is pretty hard and typically ph 7.5 - 8. I've just had a closer look at
the
things, there seem to be several types or they're just at different
stages
of growth. Some of the 'bigger' ones have a sort of short forked tail
and
swim in short bursts.

I like the idea of cheap entertainment, if only I could see them
without
pressing my nose up against the glass

Regarding the water, I'm not a big fan of bottled water, as it's
sometimes bought as a commodity, so the source (and water's recipe) of
the bottling plant can vary, even if it's the same brand. Then there is
the lugging water back & forth, which does not promote regular water
changes for the tank. It does work well for some folks though.

NetMax

I can appreciate your view on the bottled stuff, but it's only 5 x 5l
bottles for a 20% change and the old bottles are handy for knowing exactly
how much you've syphoned out. This stuff has quite a good chemistry make up
on the lable as well. When I first dabbled with tropical aquariums a few
years ago I had a bit of a nightmare with the local tap water. I tried using
collected rain water but this proved such a hassle and unreliable in the
summer and I eneded up being put off the whole thing.

I've got back into it again as I still think they are beautiful things and
am determined to get it all working properly (a little more patience on my
part is going a long way to this end). Reading through groups like this and
having discovered the multitude of web sites dedicated to the art has also
made things a lot clearer - so a big thanks to you all for that

I checked my amonia levels this evening and over night they have dropped to
0 and nitrites have gone off the scale. I guess my amonia converting
bacteria are having a blast, just have to wait for the others to join the
party

On Sat, 28 Feb 2004 21:34:43 +0000 (UTC), "Grimley_Feindish"
wrote:

I'm in the process of getting a 33gal tank cycling. I added a couple of
plants from a local shop and have since noticed small white 'things'
swimming around. They're between half and one mm long, look to have two
parts to their body and swim really quickly for their size. They spend most
of their time on the underside of the surface tension. Any body any idea on
what they might be and whether they will be harmful to fish when I get some?

PH 6.8
GH 11
KH 3
Nitrite between 0.8 - 1.6 mg/l
Amonia 0.4 mg/l
Not cycled yet

Thanks for your time


For identifying creepy crawley things I have found a lot of info in
"encyclopedia of live foods" from TFH

it's out of print, a couple copies popped up on a quick web search,
quite expensive.

isbn 0-87666-093-6


--

- Charles
-
-does not play well with others

n Sun, 29 Feb 2004 20:49:02 +0000 (UTC), "Grimley_Feindish"
wrote:


"NetMax" wrote in message
...

Without fish to eat them, a fishless cycling tank develops all sorts
of
aquatic bugs, like whiteworms (research planaria and nemotodia) and
inchworms (at least they move that way ;~). Most are harmless. You
might get some aerial critters if some are larvae stage (midge fly,
mosquito etc). I would consider them cheap entertainment until the
fish
can be introduced.

You have an unusual water parameter mixture. Is it natural?

NetMax

It was shop bought spring water (PH 6.5 - 89p for 5 litres - bit of a
bargain) mixed with a little treated tap water. I have a fair bit of
bog
wood in the tank which might account for the softness and PH as my tap
water
is pretty hard and typically ph 7.5 - 8. I've just had a closer look at
the
things, there seem to be several types or they're just at different
stages
of growth. Some of the 'bigger' ones have a sort of short forked tail
and
swim in short bursts.

I like the idea of cheap entertainment, if only I could see them
without
pressing my nose up against the glass

Regarding the water, I'm not a big fan of bottled water, as it's
sometimes bought as a commodity, so the source (and water's recipe) of
the bottling plant can vary, even if it's the same brand. Then there is
the lugging water back & forth, which does not promote regular water
changes for the tank. It does work well for some folks though.

NetMax

I can appreciate your view on the bottled stuff, but it's only 5 x 5l
bottles for a 20% change and the old bottles are handy for knowing exactly
how much you've syphoned out. This stuff has quite a good chemistry make up
on the lable as well. When I first dabbled with tropical aquariums a few
years ago I had a bit of a nightmare with the local tap water. I tried using
collected rain water but this proved such a hassle and unreliable in the
summer and I eneded up being put off the whole thing.

I've got back into it again as I still think they are beautiful things and
am determined to get it all working properly (a little more patience on my
part is going a long way to this end). Reading through groups like this and
having discovered the multitude of web sites dedicated to the art has also
made things a lot clearer - so a big thanks to you all for that

I checked my amonia levels this evening and over night they have dropped to
0 and nitrites have gone off the scale. I guess my amonia converting
bacteria are having a blast, just have to wait for the others to join the
party


Whatever works. I guess water quality varies widely. I live in a
small west Texas town that draws its water from wells. I don't use
anything but tap water, not chemical additives. pH runs 7.5.

If you have moved since your bad experience I would check with others
about the new area's local conditions.

I am lazy and prefer being at home than out gathering supplements.