Frequent Aquarium Questions

• I have a 100 gal. Fiji coral aquarium and have recently noticed several individual long, hair thin, white filaments that have fuzzy tips. These are sensitive to light and will quickly retract into the coral when exposed to light. Some can extend over 5 inches long. What are they and are they harmful?
  
  
• I have noticed small worms that wiggle around in the gravel of my freshwater tank. I am curiuos to find out what these are and how to get rid of them. I vacuum my gravel regularly, but these worms never seem to go away.
  
  
• I have a 99gal saltwater tank with fish and healthy live rock and hundreds of tiny snails.will the snails feed on the "purple" on the rock? if so how do i control the population?
  
  
• I have little white worms on the glass of my 10 gallon aquarium. I think they're turning into some kind of white gnats. What are they and how do I kill them?
  
  
• I have 4 pieces of lace rock in the freshwater tank which just finished cycling. We have started to notice a white filmy substance gorwing along the edges of one piece of lace rock. It is very filmy, but it is progressively getting worse. What is this?
  
  
• I've had a 55 gal reef for about 3 years. I just changed the lights to a new 4x65w PC system about 6 weeks ago. I now see thousands of little white snow flakes all over the glass. I clean them off and in about an hour they are back. The water is clear and all tests are normal. Any ideas?
  
  
• As I was cleaning my tank, I noticed that on all sides there were small white thread looking things. I think I may also have mosquito larvae in my tank. They have a distinguishing seperation of head and tail. They are straight up like the number 1 and their bottom half moves back and forth to make them go. Any ideas on what either of these might be and if I should be worried?
  
  
• I have a 10 gallon tank with thousands of small, transparent organisms growing on the walls. They resemble small leaves and they are hanging off the glass by a small stem. What are they, and how do I get rid of them?
  
  
• I have searched high and low trying to find out what this white fluffy cotton candy looking thing is that is attached to the side of a piece of aquarium drift wood. It is about the size of a dime and is about 2 inches from the gravel. Is it dangerous?
  
  
• While cleaning my Molly tank I found this one-half to three-quarter inch long thing that has a 3 prong tail and six legs, it's eyes sort of protude from its head. It swims like an eel and crawls like a crayfish. What could this be and is it harmful for my fish?
  
  

• I have a 100 gal. Fiji coral aquarium and have recently noticed several individual long, hair thin, white filaments that have fuzzy tips. These are sensitive to light and will quickly retract into the coral when exposed to light. Some can extend over 5 inches long. What are they and are they harmful?
  
  These are very likely any one of a number of animals called "spaghetti worms". The tendrils are their feeding apparatus. They are not harmful to your tank inhabitants, but they may colonize your sump and pumps, which, in the long run, can interfere with the performance of your filter.
  
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• I have noticed small worms that wiggle around in the gravel of my freshwater tank. I am curiuos to find out what these are and how to get rid of them. I vacuum my gravel regularly, but these worms never seem to go away.
  
  These worms sound like nematodes, also called round worms. Typically, if these worms are found only in the gravel there is no cause for alarm. If you wish to eradicate them from the tank you may treat them with a copper-based medication. Alternatively, you could break down the aquarium and rinse out the substrate, decorations, filters, and tank itself with salt water.
  
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• I have a 99gal saltwater tank with fish and healthy live rock and hundreds of tiny snails.will the snails feed on the "purple" on the rock? if so how do i control the population?
  
  Without seeing your snails, I assume if they could damage the coraline, you would of seen some signs of it by now. Snails acually help to clean the rock free of detritus and debris that could "choke" the live rock.
  
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• I have little white worms on the glass of my 10 gallon aquarium. I think they're turning into some kind of white gnats. What are they and how do I kill them?
  
  The worms are planarian flatworms. They have nothing to do with your "gnats." The gnats are copepods. The presence of both these animals in the tank indicates you are either overfeeding or you're not cleaning your aquarium often enough. Stop overfeeding and do a partial water change every two weeks and the problem will go away.
  
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• I have 4 pieces of lace rock in the freshwater tank which just finished cycling. We have started to notice a white filmy substance gorwing along the edges of one piece of lace rock. It is very filmy, but it is progressively getting worse. What is this?
  
  Lace rock is dug out of soil and usually has quite a bit of organic material on it. It is not unusual to see lichen and mossgrowing on lace rock in aquarium stores. The white stuff you see is bacteria and/or fungus growing on the rock. Removing it and giving it a good scrub down with a stiff bristle brush should take care of the problem.
  
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• I've had a 55 gal reef for about 3 years. I just changed the lights to a new 4x65w PC system about 6 weeks ago. I now see thousands of little white snow flakes all over the glass. I clean them off and in about an hour they are back. The water is clear and all tests are normal. Any ideas?
  
  They are probably copepods, small crustaceans that inhabit all reef tanks. Their population is now growing in response to increased algae growth and warmer temperatures caused by the new lighting. They will do no harm.
  
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• As I was cleaning my tank, I noticed that on all sides there were small white thread looking things. I think I may also have mosquito larvae in my tank. They have a distinguishing seperation of head and tail. They are straight up like the number 1 and their bottom half moves back and forth to make them go. Any ideas on what either of these might be and if I should be worried?
  
  They are probably midges, a relative of the mosquito. Doubt if they're mosquitos or they would be darker. The things on the sides are probably developing larvae and the critters in the larvae are the free-swimming stage. No problem! Free fish food! The only problem you'll have will be in the room when uneaten larvae hatch into adults and they start flying around.
  
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• I have a 10 gallon tank with thousands of small, transparent organisms growing on the walls. They resemble small leaves and they are hanging off the glass by a small stem. What are they, and how do I get rid of them?
  
  They sound like Hydra, a freshwater Cnidarian, related to corals and anemones. The best thing to do is remove the fish and place them in an clean bucket (never used for soap) with aeration from an air pump. Then crank up the aquarium heater and add twenty tablespoons of aquarium salt dissolved in warm water to the tank. Warm the tank to 90 degrees F. and leave it that way for two hours. When they are all dead, do a 100% water change but don't wash the gravel and leave room for the water in the bucket with the fish. Make sure you lower the water temperature of the new water and acclimate your fish slowly back to the aquarium by adding some water to their bucket every ten minutes. Then pour the fish back into the tank.
  
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• I have searched high and low trying to find out what this white fluffy cotton candy looking thing is that is attached to the side of a piece of aquarium drift wood. It is about the size of a dime and is about 2 inches from the gravel. Is it dangerous?
  
  It's probably a common fungus growing on a patch of lichen or other organic material on the wood. Scrub it off and vacuum it out of the water.
  
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• While cleaning my Molly tank I found this one-half to three-quarter inch long thing that has a 3 prong tail and six legs, it's eyes sort of protude from its head. It swims like an eel and crawls like a crayfish. What could this be and is it harmful for my fish?
  
  That is an aquatic insect larvae of some sort. From your description, it could be a Mayfly, Dobson or Dragonfly larvae or one of many in that family. Most of them are predators, so it would be best to remove it.
  
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