Pests? they look like pine cone leaves in the tank?

[Brian DeGolier]

My 55 gal. aquarium has been set up for a year now and doing very well. A few months ago, I noticed these little critters that seem to not move, they resemble the leaf or the seed of a pine cone, about 1 mm or 1/16" and are reddish brown in color. They are concentrated in one area and are spread out on the substrate and the rocks, mostly at the lower levels. I don't think they are harming anything I have not been able to identify what they are. Does anybody know what they are and are they a threat in anyway to my system. Thanks in advance for your input.

[seans tank]

the things in your tank are copa pods they do no harm to your tank and are a sign your tank is healthy to deal with copa pods you can buy a manderan goby which eats copa poda or buy a sedative from a local fish store.

[Sk8r]

The sedative suggestion eludes me, I fear.

Mandarin, however, might work...but I fear that what we are talking about is not near microscopic copepods, but flatworms...which the spotted mandy will supposedly eat.

Remember the Star Trek symbol, the blue arrowhead with the notch in the bottom. That's the shape of a flatworm. They're either brown [better] or red.

Flatworm Exit can kill them---but does it so abruptly the huge mass of dieoff can crash a tank; and they also release a toxin, apparently.

Predators of brown flatworms: blue spotted goby, green spotted mandarin [what is it about spots?], and the 6-line wrasse, plus, one reported, somebody's fanged blenny species unknown. None of these are guaranteed to stop them once they bloom into an inch-deep tide.

[Brian DeGolier]

Thanks for the reply's. I poked around and it is indeed flatworms. So I will see what I can do a will post the results.

[Brian DeGolier]

I decided to go with the Salifert flaworm exit and it worked fine, but after 3 days, this is the first time that I discovered ammonia in my tank due to the die off and my shrimp have relocated and are inactive. I'll keep an eye on it, put in more carbon and a water change. That stuff works well. After adding, the worms became active, kealed over, started to float and melted in 24 hours. Thanks for your posts.