Looks like tiny white mites?

[Any Huit]

Hi everyone,

Upon super-duper close inspection of my 5-gallon tank (1 purple female betta), I saw lots and lots of what looks like tiny white mites crawling around the glass!

I got really worried and deep cleaned my tank - 100% water change, rinsed tank in bleach solution and gravel in hydrogen peroxide mixture. I dipped the live plants in a hydrogen peroxide mixture too. I was so worried that these were parasites, or they could bite my betta.

Initially, they seemed to have vanished. But this morning (about 1 week later) I see a few tiny mites crawling around on the glass. I also see some on the glass of my 10-gallon! They're significantly fewer than before - I saw a hand full today but before there were hundreds - but I want to know how they came back after a deep clean (which I don't want to repeat) and what's causing them.

What should I do? I want to post a picture, but they're so small and won't appear. Does anyone know what these might be? I have sponge filters and heaters in both tanks. I googled and found "detritus worms" but mine don't look like worms, they're barely visible and my parents cannot see them at all.

Water parameters according to the API freshwater master test kit are OK. I also add tannins - Indian almond/catappa leaves, bark, and casuarina cones – after boiling them first.

Please send help,

the worried betta mom

Edited January 12 by Any Huit

[Colu]

It sound like you have cyclops their nothing to worry about here's a picture to compare them to the ones in your tank @Any Huit

Edited January 12 by Colu
Stupid autocorrect

[cinnanoodles]

Sounds like copepods. I got worried about them too, but they're nothing to worry about - just little cleaners. Could also be amphipods, which are similar but look like tiny shrimp. Don't nuke the tank. Also, if it were detritus worms, the only reason is an abundance of organic matter (dead plants, fish/snail poop, etc.), so still not much to be concerned about.

Copepod. You won't see them in this high quality of course, but if you look really close, you may see those two round things on the bottom (egg sacs).

Amphipod. I think this is a Gammarus one, but if you have these, they're probably a lot smaller. They make good fish food!

[Rube_Goldfish]

I have what look like super small white sesame seeds scooting around on the glass and substrate in a tank that no longer has any animals bigger than small bladder snails (that is, nothing is eating them). After some anxious research, I think I've concluded that they are rhabdocoela, a harmless flatworm. Do yours look like that? Does your fish show any signs of distress? Has she noticed them at all?

@cinnanoodles , @Colu  For copepods/amphipods, can you actually see the body segments or antennae or anything with the naked eye?

Edited January 11 by Rube_Goldfish

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

There are a lot of small microfauna (organisms) that can appear in fish tanks. Ostracods, copepods, etc.  In general, seeing microfauna means you have a healthy tank and ecosystem!  If you have a betta, it probably enjoys eating some of these!  Microfauna benefit your tank by consuming algae and fish waste.

Edited January 11 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Any Huit]

Thank you everyone for being so nice and suggesting what these could be! I guess it's okay after all 🙂 I don't see segments or antennae clearly with the naked eye, but based on everyone's descriptions of copepods, amphipods, etc. I agree that they are probably the same. In general my water parameters look okay, so I hope my tank is a healthy mini ecosystem.

I think Glimmer will appreciate the fish food now, I feel silly for thinking they could bite her!