What are these little bugs in my shrimp tank?

[FeederGuppies]

I noticed these today on the gravel. There weren’t that many, but still enough that I’m concerned. What are they, and are they harmful?

 

[Newbie1234]

Well first of how often do you vacuum your gravel?

 

[richiep]

Apart from the two snail shell's I find it difficult to id anything, can you get a closer picture , clean the algae off the front glass to improve picture quality

 

[deadhead]

Do they move?

 

[FeederGuppies]

Well first of how often do you vacuum your gravel?

Not much. I’m afraid of sucking up the shrimplets that I often see hanging out on the gravel.

Apart from the two snail shell's I find it difficult to id anything, can you get a closer picture , clean the algae off the front glass to improve picture quality

Sorry, the picture was a lot clearer before I posted it. For some reason it’s blurrier on fishlore. I’ll try to get a clearer one, but I’m not sure I can with my phone. They basically look like tiny black beetles (they’re the tiny black dots under the gravel in the pic).

Do they move?

Not that I’ve seen, but I didn’t observe them for long. They have legs, so I know they’re some kind of animal.

 

[richiep]

I can see them now they are quite harmless heres a picture of them in my shrimp tank they are
Oribatid mites

 

[Utar]

Can you find a picture from the internet that looks like the bugs in your tank. But don't copy and paste then unload the image to fishlore, because it is copyrighted and will be removed by a moderator., but you can post a link to the picture like this Water Bug image. You can click on the words Water Bug for a link to the image.

 

[FeederGuppies]

I can see them now they are quite harmless heres a picture of them in my shrimp tank they are
Oribatid mites

Thanks for the help!

Can you find a picture from the internet that looks like the bugs in your tank. But don't copy and paste then unload the image to fishlore, because it is copyrighted and will be removed by a moderator., but you can post a link to the picture like this Water Bug image. You can click on the words Water Bug for a link to the image.

They look like these, except smaller(?)- https://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f12/very-tiny-black-bug-infestation-in-aquarium-369338.html.

 

[FeederGuppies]

Thanks for the help!

They look like these, except smaller(?)- Very tiny black bug infestation in aquarium. - Aquarium Advice - Aquarium Forum Community.

I just read the thread I linked to and if they’re the same thing (water mites) it sounds worrying... :/

 

[richiep]

I dont understand whats there to worry about, they don't harm anything in my tank, if you're concerned siphon them out, they are a lot smaller than my picture which I took with a macro lens

 

[Utar]

I just read the thread I linked to and if they’re the same thing (water mites) it sounds worrying... :/

I read the same thread you linked to and they had no idea how to get rid of them. So you might not be able to kill them but surely something eats them. You might do a little research to find out.

 

[FeederGuppies]

I dont understand whats there to worry about, they don't harm anything in my tank, if you're concerned siphon them out, they are a lot smaller than my picture which I took with a macro lens

Oh, that’s good! I hope you’re right.

I read the same thread you linked to and they had no idea how to get rid of them. So you might not be able to kill them but surely something eats them. You might do a little research to find out.

I’ll do that. I’m just worried because that thread mentioned they might harm shrimplets.

 

[richiep]

I've read the same link and they don't know what they are but we do.
Another statement says they eat shrimp larvae shrimp don't have a larvae stage

 

[Pfrozen]

very cool, I have never seen those mites before. Personally I like to keep any micro organism that appears in my tank unless its harmful. I have a GIANT daphnia population living in a mat of Christmas moss