# Amphipods--I think



## Ummlyssa (Nov 15, 2006)

Here's the story.....

Poor Pancho the Wonderfish got finrot....I noticed this by the bright red tint on his flowing fins (he's a Betta) and the shortening of his fin

Researched the problem and decided to fix it naturally before trying chemicals.

I did a substantial water change (ensuring the water was good before adding it to the tank-----no chlorine etc) fin rot went away.......little white bugs followed
He's in a 2+ gal tank with real plants and looks happy.....eats well, VERY Active and curious but these dang buggie things are just ALL OVER THE PLACE

the tank just seems too small to have this many 'pods in it...

how do I

1 get rid of them

2 minimize them


they are just all over the place like lice

heeeellllllp


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## flamingo (Nov 5, 2005)

They're just freshwater copepods, they do absolutely nothing to your fish. Eat wastes, etc. and that's about it. Amphipods? Certainly no. They're actually more like flattened shrimp that live in saltwater. Besides, amphipods are also relatively harmless (certain isopods are the fish parasites but those are a whole different story.most people confuse them with amphipods).

Keep your tank clean, that's about all you can do. Once you have them, it's EXTREMELY hard to get rid of them. I had an outbreak in a small ten gallon once that was reallly dirty ( I think it was like my second year into fish keeping), I got so annoyed that I just started the whole system over.


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## Ummlyssa (Nov 15, 2006)

Where do they come from!!!!!!????? 
I've added no new fish, no new ANYTHING........

any tips on minimizing 'em at least? 

there are SO SO SO many in that little tank....


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## harif87 (Jun 5, 2006)

Where are you from? Where are your citys resivouars located? Are you sure theyre a type of pod?


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## flamingo (Nov 5, 2005)

Ummlyssa said:


> Where do they come from!!!!!!?????
> I've added no new fish, no new ANYTHING........
> 
> any tips on minimizing 'em at least?
> ...


Freshwater copepods can come from thousands of places. Tap water, ornaments, foods, etc.

All I can say is scrape them away, and keep up with the water changes.


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