[Fishywishygirl]

There are TINY DUST size white bugs swimming in my tank and crawling on my betta!!:surprise: He shakes his head to get them off, I feel so bad for him, they are literally BUGGING him! :crying:Sometimes he even EATS one. They are so tiny that i cannot get a picture of them and there are TONS of them! Iv done 90% water changes and no help. They are not ICH because you cannot see ICH free swimming I have been told. He has no white spots stuck on him like ICH, only these bugs crawling on his head and body, he then shakes them off and they swim again. They are smaller than water fleas I believe. The size of an actual piece of dust. I have tried ICH treatment to kill them and salt and no luck. Does ANYONE know what these are and how to get rid of them??? I am afraid if i start all over and clean out the entire tank that one will get in it that may be attached to betta when i put betta back into clean tank and it will start all over again, ANY HELP would be SO appreciated.... They are driving me and my POOR Betta CRAAAAZY! :crazy:
Housing:
How many gallons is your tank? 2 gallon temporarily
Does it have a filter? no
Does it have a heater? yes
What temperature is your tank? 78 to 80
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? yes
Does your Betta have tank mates? What kind? no

Food:
What food brand do you use? New Life Spectrum
Do you feed flakes or pellets? Pellets
Freeze-dried? Frozen Brine shrimp for treats
How often do you feed your Betta? How much? 2 pellets twice a day

Maintenance:
Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change? 25% every day
What percentage of water did you change? 25%
Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water? Vac once every 2 weeks.
What additives do you use? Tetra water conditioner

Water Parameters:
What are your water parameters? Please give exact numbers. If tested by pet store please get exact numbers. "Fine" or "Safe" won't help us help you.

Ammonia: 0 most the time, sometimes .25
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5.0
pH: 7.2
Hardness (GH): ?
Alkalinity (KH) ?

Symptoms and Treatment:
When did you first notice the symptoms? About 7 days ago.
How has your Betta’s appearance changed? Agitated from bugs crawling on him.
How has your Betta’s behavior changed? Agitated
Is your Betta still eating? Yes
Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how? aquarium salt and API ICH super cure
Does your Betta have any history of being ill? Fin rot that was taken care of.
How long have you owned your Betta? Was he or she ill or suffering some sort of damage when purchased? 2 years , healthy when purchased.

 

[PanzerTank]

Ich medicine will not kill whatever little parasites came along with your fish. I would get some kind of parasite killing tablet or liquid medicine. Tetra makes a tablet that kills various parasites. You might want to try that and see if it kills these things. Is there any way you can take a picture of some of them? I know you said they're small but I would like to see them for myself if possible! Also, did you just recently buy this fish?

 

[NickAu]

I would get some kind of parasite killing tablet or liquid medicine

Please do not suggest that members use medication without knowing what is wrong, You could end up with dead fish.


Check this site out and see if you can find your bugs
What is that bug in my Aquarium? .:. Various small creatures that can inhabit a Freshwater Invertebrate Aquarium

 

[RussellTheShihTzu]

+1 ^^ Please do not use or suggest any med unless you are absolutely sure of the problem.

Have you added something to your tank that could have brought in the critters? Is your tank open? If your Betta does not have Ich why are you treating him for it? Did someone tell you to? I ask because Ich meds are not going to kill whatever you have in your tank; neither will 90% water changes.

If you *can't* identify the critters using the link NickAu provided, put the Betta in a temporary tank and thoroughly clean the two gallon, all of its decor, substrate, equipment; everything. Use either bleach or vinegar to sterilize. Do not get any of the water from the temporary tank into the sterilized two gallon. Net your Betta and pour clean treated or distilled water over him to, it is hoped, rinse any bugs from his body; make sure to flip him over so you get both sides. I'd put him in a clean glass or container (not the two gallon) to see if I could spot any of the bugs. If not, net him again and rinse again. Someone else may have a better way to keep from transferring the pest critters back into the sterilized tank.

You should be vacuuming substrate with every water change; not every two weeks as that invites fin rot.

 

[Fishywishygirl]

No i have had him for 2 years. These things are CRAZY tiny, but big enough to barely see. they look to be slender in shape, almost like a worm but do not wiggle like a worm. Just swim and crawl on wall of tank and on betta until he shakes his head to get it off. Its so weird, they just appeared in my tank one day and got worse. I have 2 tanks and the other is fine. I couldnt handle it any longer and went ahead and changed the entire tank, washed it out with extremely hot salt water and added new gravel and decor and thank goodness they are GONE! I pray they do not return! The tank was not yet cycled so cleaning it out was probably best thing to do. My Betta is now happy and has RELIEF! Thank you for replying... just wish i knew how to prevent them!

 

[NickAu]

Normally things like that appear due to overfeeding and poor tank maintenance.

 

[torileeann11]

Things that come to mind...

Planaria: Aquarium Planaria; Wiggly Detritus Worms, in Tank Water, on Glass

Argulus (Fish Lice): CIDRAM
Though I have only ever seen argulus on goldfish.

 

[Fishywishygirl]

+1 ^^ Please do not use or suggest any med unless you are absolutely sure of the problem.

Have you added something to your tank that could have brought in the critters? Is your tank open? If your Betta does not have Ich why are you treating him for it? Did someone tell you to? I ask because Ich meds are not going to kill whatever you have in your tank; neither will 90% water changes.

If you *can't* identify the critters using the link NickAu provided, put the Betta in a temporary tank and thoroughly clean the two gallon, all of its decor, substrate, equipment; everything. Use either bleach or vinegar to sterilize. Do not get any of the water from the temporary tank into the sterilized two gallon. Net your Betta and pour clean treated or distilled water over him to, it is hoped, rinse any bugs from his body; make sure to flip him over so you get both sides. I'd put him in a clean glass or container (not the two gallon) to see if I could spot any of the bugs. If not, net him again and rinse again. Someone else may have a better way to keep from transferring the pest critters back into the sterilized tank.

You should be vacuuming substrate with every water change; not every two weeks as that invites fin rot.

Thank you! I have done just that because i couldnt handle it anymore! Cleaned entire tank and added brand new gravel. Bugs GONE. :grin2: The Petco guy told me to use ICH, and he is pretty fish smart compared to most of the fish store employees, but obviously he was wrong... he said he knew what they were but couldn't remember the name of them, and that they are some kind of parasite and to treat with ICH meds. This didnt work. The tank is covered. I checked out this link last week and could not identify the bugs unfortunately. :frown2:

 

[Fishywishygirl]

Normally things like that appear due to overfeeding and poor tank maintenance.

Definitely do not overfeed, i only give him 2 pellets twice a day and he eats each one immediately. but i believe it is because i needed to do more gravel siphons more often. I will definitely be doing that from now on! :wink3:

 

[Fishywishygirl]

Things that come to mind...

Planaria: Aquarium Planaria; Wiggly Detritus Worms, in Tank Water, on Glass

Argulus (Fish Lice): CIDRAM
Though I have only ever seen argulus on goldfish.

Yes i think it may be Planaria, but not positive. The wernt wiggly, but sort of slender, but crawled like a bug. I will check into fish lice. Thank you! :laugh: