So I was cleaning my tank today and noticed that right near the top of the water line there were little brown bugs. They looked like dirt from a few feet away, but when I looked very close they were moving. I have no plants in the tank and a couple RT's and a pleco. I have no idea what they are. It also looked like they were trying to stay out of the water and I couldn't tell what happened when they went in the water.
Tiny Brown Bugs
- Thread starter englunkm
- Start date
I had the same thing, they stayed out of the water on the bottom of the lids. I would open the lid to look/ watch them and if they fall into the water you can see them jump on top of it. I cleaned the lids, wiped them up with paper towels every time I did a water change but they stayed. They are now gone, it might be the cooler temps as it is winter ( even here in SoCal) but one day they were just gone. I stuck one to a piece of paper with scotch tape and took it to the LFS, never seen them never heard of them but they are definitely some sort of bug if you look at them closely with a magnifier. I would still like to know what they are. Good luck! Hopefully they just go away like they did here.
yeah not daphnia, they would be IN the water not on glass iv never heard of little bugs being on glass above water so that really weird would be interesting if someone knew what they actually were though and also preferably a way to keep them away lol now im going to be looking at the lids every time i open the tank lol
Ya it is pretty discomforting thinking about the little bugs in my tank. I tried to wipe them off as well, so hopefully they go away. What are springtail?
They are their own creature. Guppies love to hunt for them, as do bettas and other top-feeders. Supposedly, they are more often found in damp soil, but often find their way into ponds and aquariums on plants. They are harmless, edible and easy to cultivate. I had a regular factory going in my tank by simply crumbling up ColorBits onto the plant leaves above water. The springtails would mass onto each crumb and quickly reproduce. My guppies loved 'em.
Hey guys I think you are right. I googled springtail and from what I can remember the pictures look like them, thanks Joe
