# Small, horseshoe crab like organisms in frogs tank?!?



## broncobabe87 (Dec 6, 2006)

Greetings to all! I need help with my 50 gal. Albino Frog tank. Just discovered lots of small, semi-transparent stingray or horseshoe crab like creatures in 50 gal. tank. They swim very fast and frequently rest throughout the gravel. Range in size so looks as though they are hatching at different stages. Have had frogs for 2-3 years and never noticed this before. Did do a complete water change 2 weeks ago. Any ideas on what they are and how do I get rid of them, and thirdly, have noticed the frogs scarfing on a few. Is that bad? Thanks in advance for you help!


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

Hi and welcome aboard.:wave:

Sounds like fish lice(Argulus) although I doubt it as mostly they happened to manifest themselves on fish.
Can you get a picture?


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## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

Fish lice was the first thing to cross my mind, also, but without a picture, it's hard to say exactly what it is. The thing about the fish lice is that they are a parasite that needs a living host to survive. Are they sticking to the frogs at all? A picture would be very helpful.


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## broncobabe87 (Dec 6, 2006)

Don't know if I did this right but here's pic's. I had to project them onto my tv and then take a pic w/camera so it's not the best. No they are not sticking to the frogs. They swim independantly showing no interest in fish or frogs. They have small antennas and they have a crunchy/hardish shell. They almost remind me of pond life creatures. Feeding/diet has not changed but there is one adult frog that showed some signs of dropsy so I began treating the tank with "quik cure" and actually just purchsed Metafix or something like that. Was going to treat tank when I noticed these little dudes. In size comparison, they might be the size of a hole that a thumb tac might leave in a wall. That's about the best I can describe the size.


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

Nah! Your description reminds me of pond fleas or daphnia.:mrgreen: Fish will eat them.:crazy:


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## joeshmoe (Aug 2, 2006)

im betta tank had these but he ate them all


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## weaselnoze (Nov 30, 2006)

i would guess daphnia as well. its hard to tell w/ those pictures. they look like this... is this what you are seeing??


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## fish_4_all (Nov 13, 2006)

Copepods is my guess and it is actually a sign of a healthy tank. I have a ton of them in my tanks but they are a microscopic variety. My fish chow on them when I take my filter sponges out as they flow into the tank. 

I have seen a site where they actually grow a certain species specifically to feed fish but I will have to find it again. Can't find it yet but you will know if you find it, it looks like a big ugly tadpole!

Well couldn't find the site but did find some information. 
Copepods are a huge family of many speices all of which are predatory. They have small fin like structures almost looking like gills and have a "foot" that is used to grab their food out of the water column. Only predatory to animals 1/4 their size until they get larger than a pea then can eat much larger creatures. They are common in all qater bodies and are found in well maintained aquariums and are and indicator of water quaility although they are also an indicator of excess food which is feeding their food source. 

When I found mine, I watched them eat the nematodes in the same sample, kinda cool but kinda makes you wonder what other "things" are in your tanks. :shock:


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