What Are These Things??

Our Bettas have experienced this twice. We have tiny little (almost microscopic) white things floating in the tank. I don’t think it’s ich. We thought maybe dust got in the tank the first time. We cleaned it out with boiling water and used Campden pellets to clean. It’s been a few months, and now they are back with a vengeance. Usually, you see them floating all around in the water. They don’t just float...they move with purpose. We keep our tanks clean - he was in a 5 gallon. We took our Betta (Endumnd) out and put aquarium salt and Campden pellets in the tank. The salt seemed to kill them last time. Well, now they have congregated around the pellets...it’s eerie. Ugh - does anyone know what the heck these evil little things are?? I’m at a loss - I want them gone, and I want them to stay gone.

 

Could they be eggs? If not they might be cysts that have detached from their host- BottomDweller can help you, I think.

 

They are not eggs - he’s a male Betta on his own. We had another male about 3 months ago, Fernand, and he became sick after we found these in his tank. They float all over the water - it looks almost like cloudy water, but then we noticed that they move with purpose. They also gather around bits of food that falls. That’s how we knew they were actually alive! Has anyone ever seen these before??

 

Do you use salt? They swim around?

 

paramecium? I have some in my tanks, but not to that extent. i'm not sure how to get rid of them except for lots of water changes and keeping pristine water, since they like to eat decaying food, but they're harmless.

towards the end of this video, this guy will show you what a lot of them look like floating around.

 

I think that’s it! Paramecium - thank you!! I don’t know that they are harmless. My last Betta had many problems and died of a tumor. We took him out as soon as we realized these things were alive bc water changes did not make them go away for long, but it was too late.

We only get them in the bedroom Betta tanks - it’s weird. Maybe I’m over-feeding? We keep the tanks clean. I really don’t know. We cleaned Edmund’s tank with boiling water, cleaned all his leaves and plants as well. We put him back in, and now he has Popeye...ugh. At least that’s easy to treat. Anyone know more about Paramecium?