Aquarium Pests, What You Need To Know
- Oct 06, 2021
- Rita
- 2254 0 0
While enjoying your tank, did you notice some unknown creatures crawling or swimming around your tank? You might be wondering what these creatures are and where they came from.
Unknown critters in an aquarium can be quite a common sight. This is especially true for planted aquariums. While most of these creatures are quite harmless to the rest of your tank’s inhabitants, some can be quite unsightly and even annoying to have around.
This leads us to the questions, what is the most common aquarium pests and how to get rid of them. Let’s take a look.
Types Of Aquarium Pests
There are many types of aquarium pests. In this article, we will only be looking at the most common pests. Here’s what you can expect.
Nematodes
Nematodes are small worms that generally thrive in a “dirty” tank. They thrive on fish waste and leftover fish food that sinks to the bottom of your tank. It is best to keep their populations down since they can sting and even kill tiny fish and shrimps
These worms are so small that they are generally ignored by the majority of fish species. If you have a very peaceful community tank, however, you can keep a few micro predators such as Boraras and Scarlet Badis. These tiny fish will actively hunt these nematodes in your tank.
You can also control the population by doing regular gravel vacs and making sure to not overfeed your fish.
Planaria
planaria sp. by Storm
Planaria are tiny flatworms that will occur around the tank. They can often be spotted on the glass in the morning when the light is turned on.
Planaria occur in tanks that are frequently overfed and not adequately cleaned during maintenance. Generally, these species are harmless to fish, but there are a few that are parasitic.
They can quickly increase in numbers even in tanks that are properly fed. Fortunately, doing proper tank maintenance and keeping fish that will eat these worms will help to keep numbers down.
If you have a planaria problem, consider getting guppies, mollies, platys, angelfish, dwarf cichlids, gouramis, paradise fish, or any other anabantids.
Detritus Worms
Detritus worms are white, hair-like worms that are typically found in the substrate. Detritus worms are completely harmless to your tank’s inhabitants, but may not look very appealing.
They are actually quite beneficial for your tank’s ecosystem so if you can manage the ick factor, you might not want to eliminate them completely. They are detrivores which means they break down fish waste and decaying plant matter. This helps the beneficial bacteria in your tank and gives plants access to the nutrients faster.
If you don’t want to see them around, avoid overfeeding your fish. You’ll also need to do regular tank maintenance and get a few predators. Predatory fish love a protein snack like detritus worms and will actively hunt them in your tank.
Copepods, Amphipods, And Other Crustaceans
Amphipod by Susannah Anderson
If you have a very clean, healthy tank then you can expect to see critters like daphnia, copepods, and amphipods around. They are very beneficial for your tank since they are detrivores. They also make great protein snacks for small fish.
If you have a population of these critters, you can rest assured that you have a healthy tank and that your fish have a natural food source to display their natural hunting abilities. You may see more of them around in shrimp-only tanks. Shrimps don’t tend to hunt these creatures so it’s easier to see a thriving population.
Some aquarists even actively encourage these creatures to breed. This way you’ll always have a fresh snack around for your fish.
Hydra
By Marta Boroń - Hydra oligactis, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=63939742
Hydra are freshwater polyps that are related to sea anemones and coral. They resemble a sea anemone quite closely with the sticky base and tentacles. Like an anemone, they also sting their prey. Generally, they feed on creatures like baby brine shrimps and copepods, but they can also sting your fish and catch your fry.
These critters usually pop up in tanks with feeding malpractice and less than ideal maintenance You can control populations by feeding correctly and keeping up with tank maintenance. You can also introduce blue Gouramis or paradise fish to your tank. These fish have a reputation for eating hydra.
As another option, you can also use larger pond snails and mollies to control hydra populations.
Snails
By RSX - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9737867
Snails are most often seen in tanks with live plants, but they can appear in just about any aquarium. Snails can be quite beneficial with their algae-eating abilities and love of detritus, but they often become a nuisance if their numbers aren’t kept in check.
Snail populations can be quite difficult to control. Fortunately, you can get in some help from certain kinds of fish. Loaches such as yoyo, skunk, and clown loaches are quite good at controlling snail populations. They actively feed on young snails and snail eggs.
If you have a trumpet snail problem, however, you will need to search for cichlids that developed the skills to feed on them or C. rhodesii that has a particular knack for eating trumpet snails. You can also manually remove the snails as soon as you notice them around.
Where Do The Pests Come From?
Aquarium pests may seem to appear out of nowhere, but they do need to come from somewhere. Most of the time pests are brought in along with new fish, plants, decorations, or even substrate. If the conditions in your tank are suitable, these pests will rapidly reproduce and become noticeable around your tank.
How To Prevent Pest Infestations
It is possible to prevent pests from getting into your tank by quarantining and properly cleaning anything coming in from the outside. This means using a hospital tank to quarantine any new fish or invertebrates coming in as well as new plants.
You will quickly notice any pests if they are present and will be able to get rid of them before they get into your tank. If you’re bringing in ornaments, you can dip them in bleach or leave them out in the sun to dry to make sure all creatures and eggs present on them is dead before you place them into your aquarium.
Final Thoughts
Some pests aren’t really pests so make sure you know what’s in your tank. If you have beneficial creatures like copepods you might want to keep them around. Snails aren’t all that bad either since they clean your tank for you. It’s all up to what you prefer. Happy fishkeeping!
About author