Frequent Aquarium Questions

• I have a 55g reef tank. It is about two months old. All water parameters have stabilized. It is stocked with two clown fish,and 55lb of live rock. In the last week my tank has become infested with thousands of small white pests. They have coverd the glass and my sump. They seem to crawl and swim on the glass. My water clarity has also become very poor. What are they and how do I rid my tank of them?
  
  
• I recently set up a freshwater 55 gallon tank with a Penguin 330 Biowheel filter. I have 5 silver sharks (catfish) and one iridescent shark. After feeding them wardley shrimp pellets {1 per fish}, about a day later I noticed tiny white specs all around the substrate and other ornaments, the strange thing is that they are all in a clear jelly like or cocoon like matter. Please tell me what this could be and how to get rid of it.
  
  
• What is the best method to control Aiptasia? Where can I find the nudibranch Bergia verucornis?
  
  
• My 75 gallon tank is over-run by snails. I have two Clown Loaches but they aren't doing the job. Do I need YOYO Loaches or what?
  
  
• I think I may have bristleworms. What do they look like and what are some good creatures to control them?
  
  
• I have a 55gal saltwater tank with 5 triggers and 2 eels. I noticed that my tank is a little cloudy, and I see little white things swimming around. What should I do?
  
  
• I have extremely small white worms floating around my tank and on my Oscars, what are they and how can treat them?
  
  
• I have a problem with a type of sponge. It is a a small sponge that is about a 1/4 of an inch long and about 1/8" in diameter. Is there anything I can do to get rid of these things?
  
  
• I have these little brown anemones growing ALL over my live rock. They have spread all over. I would like to know how to get rid of them. A friend has told me to inject them with Kalkwasser and that will burn them up. Is this a good way to rid of them?
  
  
• I have noticed a build-up of what looks like tiny pieces of salt along the walls of my aquarium. On closer inspection the pieces are actually small spirals that appear to be hollow with tiny bristles near the open ends. What are these?
  
  

• I have a 55g reef tank. It is about two months old. All water parameters have stabilized. It is stocked with two clown fish,and 55lb of live rock. In the last week my tank has become infested with thousands of small white pests. They have coverd the glass and my sump. They seem to crawl and swim on the glass. My water clarity has also become very poor. What are they and how do I rid my tank of them?
  
  The water clarity and the high population of those "critters" are slightly related in that the cause of both is probably due to the same factors. Those are not pests at all, they are most likely copepods and amphipods, tiny crustaceans that populate all marine aquariums to some degree. They feed on algae and also uneaten food, and we are fairly certain you are over-feeding your fish, which has caused the population of these 'bugs" to increase to great numbers. Change about 50% of the water and read our article on feeding your fish.
  
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• I recently set up a freshwater 55 gallon tank with a Penguin 330 Biowheel filter. I have 5 silver sharks (catfish) and one iridescent shark. After feeding them wardley shrimp pellets {1 per fish}, about a day later I noticed tiny white specs all around the substrate and other ornaments, the strange thing is that they are all in a clear jelly like or cocoon like matter. Please tell me what this could be and how to get rid of it.
  
  Those sound like they are most likely snail eggs, probably from some snails you have not noticed yet that may have come in on some live plants you purchased. The eggs themselves cannot be killed without stripping down the aquarium, but a fish called the Clown Loach (Botia macracantha) will eat them. Clown Loaches should be kept in small schools of no less than five. If the snail eggs have hatched, you can use Snail a Cide by Aquatronics to get rid of them before they spread out of control.
  
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• What is the best method to control Aiptasia? Where can I find the nudibranch Bergia verucornis?
  
  We use a product called "Stop Aiptasia" by Chem Marin. It works fairly well. Finding specific nudibranchs is a very tough. Since they are so short-lived, most stores or online livestock dealers don't sell very many nudibranchs at all. You will have to search through the online livestock dealers for that. One thing you should know is that according to our University source at Coral Gables, Bergia verucornis does not just limit itself to Aiptasia. It will also eat other anemones too, including mushroom polyps.
  
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• My 75 gallon tank is over-run by snails. I have two Clown Loaches but they aren't doing the job. Do I need YOYO Loaches or what?
  
  Clown and other Loaches will help control snails but they will not eliminate them. To do so, you must get a good snail treatment such as Aquatronics Snail A Cide and follow the directions closely to get rid of the snail problem.
  
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• I think I may have bristleworms. What do they look like and what are some good creatures to control them?
  
  Bristle worms are Annelids, in the class Polychaeta. They are relatives of the earthworm and commin clamworm. They look like fuzzy segmented worms. Most are simple scavangers, but there are a few species, such as the bright red fire worm, that will eat polyps, clams and other desirable corals and sessile invertebrates. The common bristleworm is a pale yellowish or pinkish gray with light gray bristles. The only proven reef-safe critter we can recommend to control bristle worms is the Arrow Crab (Stenorhynchus seticornis). There are some species of wrasses and triggers that will eat bristle worms, but many of these will also eat crustaceans and other inverts. Some hobbyists have reported success with some of the reef-safe wrasses, such as the Fairy wrasses (Cirrhilabrus species), and the six-line and four-line wrasses, so those may be good to try as well. Anyone who is reading this FAQ is welcome to put their two-cents in by emailing us at support@aquariumpros.com with other possibilities.
  
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• I have a 55gal saltwater tank with 5 triggers and 2 eels. I noticed that my tank is a little cloudy, and I see little white things swimming around. What should I do?
  
  The little white things swimming around are probably copepods which are small crustaceans that occur in almost all saltwater tanks. They will not harm anything and you should not worry about them.
  
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• I have extremely small white worms floating around my tank and on my Oscars, what are they and how can treat them?
  
  Those are planaria worms and are harmless. They are very common in aquariums with Oscars or other big Cichlids and carnivores because most aquarium owners who keep these fish over-feed their tanks or do not clean them enough. These worms are feeding on uneaten fish food or pieces of feeder fish leftover from the sloppy feeding habits of bigger fish. Do a good water change, vacuum the gravel and try to cut back on feeding and they will go away on their own.
  
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• I have a problem with a type of sponge. It is a a small sponge that is about a 1/4 of an inch long and about 1/8" in diameter. Is there anything I can do to get rid of these things?
  
  These small sponges often invade well-established reef tanks, and tend to accumulate in the prefilter, sump or wet-dry filter. They don't like light, so usually do not grow in the aquarium. If you have them in the tank, a Centropyge Angelfish will eat them, such as a Lemonpeel, Pygmy or Flame Angel. If they are growing out of control in the filters, you are over-feeding, as these are filter feeders and live on uneaten reef and fish foods that dissolve in water. Remove them manually and cut back on the feeding.
  
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• I have these little brown anemones growing ALL over my live rock. They have spread all over. I would like to know how to get rid of them. A friend has told me to inject them with Kalkwasser and that will burn them up. Is this a good way to rid of them?
  
  Yes, calcium chloride is the way to go. You simply apply a tiny amount of the dry powder to the anemone with a piece of 1/8" ID hard clear tubing, and this will melt them. However, make sure these are not a desirable polyp animal first. Sending us a picture via our contact forms will help us identify them for you
  
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• I have noticed a build-up of what looks like tiny pieces of salt along the walls of my aquarium. On closer inspection the pieces are actually small spirals that appear to be hollow with tiny bristles near the open ends. What are these?
  
  Those are baby hard tube-worm feather dusters. They are naturally occurring, harmless filter feeders that eventually show up in almost all reef tanks. You can scrape them off the front and sides of the tank with an algae scraper, but let them grow in the back. They get larger and beautiful when they get older, and help filter the water. They have beautiful calcium-based shells which form complex spirals and curves, and appreciate a calcium level of about 400ppm, with some strontium and magnesium added periodically. Some hard tube-worms can live for hundreds of years. The only problem they cause is that they also will grow inside pumps, where their shells can damage impellors, so pumps should be cleaned periodically to remove them, but you should be doing that anyway.
  
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