# Tiny insects on floating plants.



## nawilson89 (Apr 9, 2012)

Hey all!

I was checking my platy tank becasue i recently had a baby boom! 

While i was checking from the top of my tank i noticed tiny little yellow/orange bugs smaller then ants on top of my floating plants. Thinking i could just use em for fish food i pushed the floating plants down into the water so that they would fall in...

Well they didn't. These little buggers are skipping across the water line and driving my platy crazy who are trying to get a snack! Any idea what they might be?


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## marshallsea (Apr 30, 2012)

They might be mites and if so I think they are harmless. They eat stuff on the surface of your water. Try to scoop them with a net. If you can increase surface agitation of your water it might make life rough for them and cut down on what they're eating. That might also crowd them into a corner and you could vacuum them out.


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## nawilson89 (Apr 9, 2012)

Sounds good. I didnt want to agitate the water though and disturb the fry. I'll probably wait a bit until the fry become a good size and then go at it.


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## marshallsea (Apr 30, 2012)

Have your platys been able to eat any? Mine would go crazy. At least it will keep them occupied.


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## nawilson89 (Apr 9, 2012)

oh they eat fine. those mite things dont do anything, but the platys eat anything they see


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

They're harmless, leave them, some will get eaten. They are common in tanks with floating plants.


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## nawilson89 (Apr 9, 2012)

Byron said:


> They're harmless, leave them, some will get eaten. They are common in tanks with floating plants.



I checked on them today and it seems like they have depleted in numbers. I guess i know whats going on when I hear a splash in the tank. My platys can be viscous to get them it seems.


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