Habitat - Indoor :: Bug infestation

[Michael119]

Ive had my turtle for about 6 months now and I currently have four Chinese algae eaters (Yes, Ive learned that they barely eat any algae) and i noticed very very small "bugs" on the glass and surface of water. They move around and dart around so i know that they aren't a form of bacteria or just left over food. they only appear close to the water level or right below the waters surface floating. I asked my dad what they are and he said he had no idea and that he never saw something like that ( he has had a lot of experiences with Aquria). A couple days before my water became infested with these bugs my water became strangely clear for being a week old. it was the clearest water Ive ever had, clearer than the first time we filled the aquarium with water! my Ph is very high and my water quality is not the greatest. Any ideas of what these bugs may be? I did some research and i thought they were copepods ( a type of plankton). they are about 1/10 of a mm and as thick as a piece of hair and almost transparent/sandy color. They also have very small whiskers that are barely visible to the naked eye(1/100 of a mm). I still have no idea what they might be and will they hurt my turtle? I wish i could supply photos but all would be visible would be specks ( don't have the highest definition camera laying around) If you have any idea what these may be, please tell. Thanks!

[steve]

Not sure what they could be, have you added anything into the tank recently? What are you feeding him? This page might help ID them: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=25780

[Michael119]

Yes these are what Ive seen in my aquarium. Ive been feeding him super worms as treats and i guess that might be the cause because i haven't added anything else besides his regular floating sticks recently. Now that i know they are freshwater copepods, how do i remove them? Although they are harmless i just don't want them overpopulating the tank to a extent where its out of hand. Thanks for the link though. Very much appreciated!

[steve]

Drying out the tank and replacing the filter media would be a start. I don't think they are harmful, though I have no first hand experience with them.

[Michael119]

I will test the levels of ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, etc. and see if there are any differences than what should be normal. If there are any abnormalities in the water i will try to restore them and see if the copepods will die. I do not want to immediately reset my aquarium's balanced ecosystem and if it matters i used to have a air stone running 12 hours a day (same as light period) just for bacteria growth and i recently stopped using it. the next day the copepods showed up.

Thanks for all the help, greatly appreciate it!