Aquarium Pests (what are they, what can I do?)

[zelibeli]

I wasn't sure where to post this. This isn't a disease but it is harming my aquarium fish, snails and shrimp so this seemed like the place to post. 

To clarify, this only happens at my office tanks. My home tanks do not have this issue. This is the second time I've tried to have tanks at work. The water tests fine (attached pic of test strips) and I do weekly water changes of 50%.

And keep in mind this is the same water source for all of our water needs in the office - drinking water, dishes, coffee, etc.

What happens:

Last time, I brought in a 10 gallon tank that had established substrate and filter media. I kept it in about an inch of water for the trip to the office. Things seem fine for a couple of days and then the fish get weird... Fish that are normally giddy at the top of the tank for feedings begin hiding in the back of the tank and stop coming to the surface to eat. The snails die almost immediately, with only 1 or 2 survivors that seem to struggle. Shrimp have a similar fate as the fish. Most die almost immediately with only 2-3 survivors.  I gave up after about 2 months and, not wanting to spread whatever it is I had in this tank, I threw everything out... the tank, filter, heater, everything. I took the surviving fish home and ran them through meds and they returned to their normal behavior. I lost the shrimp and snails in the meds.

Assuming that I must have had a fish with a disease last time, I tried again. This time, I brought a filterless 3 gallon bowl and a 5 gallon tank (with filter & heater). Both were running in my fish room at home for 3-4 months before I brought them in. Life was fine. My son helped me set up and we were careful to keep the plants and substrate wet in the transition.  Again, the next morning, almost all snails and shrimp are dead. I brought 1 guppy for the 5 gallon. He was always like a puppy begging for food at the top of the tank at home and now he hides and allows food to sink to the bottom without touching it. My only conclusion is that it's the water at the office.  See attached image for test strip results for both. 

The other day, I was taking a pic of my surviving shrimp in the bowl. I zoomed in to about 6x and I noticed little critters. Can anyone tell me what these are? Where they could have come from? Are these hurting the fish, snails, & shrimp or is it just a coincidence?  I went home and check my home aquariums and I did not find these little critters in my tanks there. I tested a glass of water from the office faucet on my desk overnight but it does not have these critters. So, although it seems like these critters are introduced at the office, it does not seem to be from the water. I do have a lot of plants... sometimes there are little flies. Could this be their larva? I have no idea and my google search is not giving me any results that look like these things. I found info on copepods but these don't look like the images I see on google image search. I just cannot figure out how I can be so successful at home and fail so miserably at fishkeeping at work. 

Any ideas? I'm about to dose with a bunch of meds but I know it'll hurt the surviving ramshorn and shrimp so I'm hoping that maybe someone here will have better information. 

Okay, trying to upload the vid but it's not an acceptable file type and you can't really see the critters in a still image so here's a youtube link: 

 

 

[Theplatymaster]

temperature? 

[zelibeli]

Bowl is 70 F and tank with guppy is 74 F

[Guppysnail]

Hi. I’m sorry you are having issues. Those critters look like seed shrimp. Nothing to worry over. They help clean up detritus. 
 

Your explanation of shrimp AND snails dying immediately indicates to me there is possibly high amounts of copper or some other substance in your water at work that shrimp and snails cannot handle that is not immediately harmful to fish but exposure causes issues. 
 

Your bowl is open for view on all sides. I’m guessing your tank at work is also. Fish get skittish with to much activity (aka office setting) and when they feel overly exposed. This could account for them no longer feeling safe to be out frolicking. As well as prolonged stress causes weakness and fish to fail to thrive  

Try covering 2-3 sides and test your water at work for copper. I’m assuming you do use water conditioner. Prime specifically treats heavy metals such as copper and may bring it to a safe level until your plants can absorb it. 
 

live plants -They absorb many toxins in the water helping it to be safer for critters. But it takes time so prime closes that gap. 
I hope this helps. 

Edited November 16, 2022 by Guppysnail

[Colu]

Another possibility if you have an office cleaner might have accidentally go cleaning chemicals in the tank such as air freshener or surface spray 

[JettsPapa]

I also have a small office tank.  I bring water from home for water changes.  You might try that.

[zelibeli]

I will not sweat the little buggies then. That's really good news.

I will try water from home this week but I tend to change about 3 gallons total, and I honestly can't see myself hauling that in every week. Maybe if I did 1 a day for 3 days 😛

I use Fritz Complete for my water conditioner.  Should I switch to Prime? Is it better for metals?  I'll bring in my test kit from home and see what is going on in more detail there. 

As for activity, maybe. It's a pretty chill place but it is slightly busier than my fish/game room at home.  I'm a casualty of a declining budget at a library and I work in tech services (not with the public). I'm the only staff person in this room. I have a red Swingline stapler, to complete the picture (office space reference). It's a super quiet gig. Night cleaning staff does come in here, and they sometimes spend their lunch hours in here, but they are not allowed to clean our desks. Because of the danger of harming the paper materials, they aren't supposed to use spray chemicals in here. I have to wipe surfaces down myself with wipes. The only thing they can do is vacuum and take out the garbage cans. They do try and help out by watering our plants sometimes. Maybe they're topping off the tanks? It doesn't seem like it though. I'll post pics of their environment, but the tank is painted black on one side and wall on the other and potted plants on the other. The bowl is more open but still little activity around here. The water is low in the pics because I didn't do any top offs or water change last week to see if that improved the situation and the test strips said things were okay. Maybe the guppy needs a buddy. Maybe 2 guppy guys will perk each other up. I don't want to overdue it though, since it's only a 5 gallon. I certainly have enough guppies at home to choose from though.

I will check the metals. That seems most likely now. And I'll bring in water from home for this week to see if that helps. 

And thank you for all of your suggestions! 

[JettsPapa]

On 11/16/2022 at 10:39 AM, zelibeli said:

I will try water from home this week but I tend to change about 3 gallons total, and I honestly can't see myself hauling that in every week. Maybe if I did 1 a day for 3 days 😛

My work tank is just a 5.5 gallon, and I change one gallon every week or ten days, so hauling that much water isn't a problem.

[zelibeli]

I've been doing 50% weekly water changes for my tank and bowl, but I'm sure I don't have to do that much. I can change less water and haul it in too. 

[zelibeli]

Just for an update, I have been bringing in water from home and it has solved the issues. Shrimp, snails & guppies are doing great. Guppies greet me like little pups happy to see me in the mornings.

My copper test kit is still in the mail, but I'm not as worried about it since the home-water is so successful, I'll just keep doing that regardless of the test results. But curiosity, I will still test to see if that was the issue. 

Thanks all! 

[Guppysnail]

I’m so glad you found a solution and your guppies are happy now 🤗