What is this little creature I found while cleaning my sand?

[Boaz1021]

(I'm really new to reefing)

I bought a used tank a few months ago, nothing alive in it for a few years except algae (which was why they were selling it). Anyway, I was cleaning the sand, and came across these little things wiggling in the water. What are they and do I need to remove them / how do I do that?

 

[Boaz1021]

I don't know if that video is working, so I posted it to my YouTube page.

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[Dcal]

too quick of a vid for me to be sure but google amphipods and see if they look the same

 

[PR_nano]

Almost looks like fish fry. Don't look like amphipods movement.

 

[Mastiffsrule]

I couldn’t see the pic, did it look like this?

 

[Dcal]

also could be a caprellid

 

[LgTas]

movement reminds me of mosquito larvae

 

[G Santana]

I can't see the vid, but I'll take a guess and say it might be this guy, an amphipod

movement reminds me of mosquito larvae

My first thought lol

 

[vetteguy53081]

Baby dorvillidae worms. In the future, please film any videos for at least 15 seconds

 

[Boaz1021]

Baby dorvillidae worms. In the future, please film any videos for at least 15 seconds

Are those worms detrimental to the tank?

Keep in mind, when I bought it, I put all the sand and rock into 45gallon trash cans and its been sitting in my garage since July 20th. Could they have survived in the dark, stagnant water that long?

Does this close up picture help?

 

[Double monti 61]

That is what makes this hobby so much fun because you never know.

 

[Double monti 61]

P. S. Diid you add anything to the tank that they may have arrived on.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Are those worms detrimental to the tank?

Keep in mind, when I bought it, I put all the sand and rock into 45gallon trash cans and its been sitting in my garage since July 20th. Could they have survived in the dark, stagnant water that long?

Does this close up picture help?

Looks like a segmented epitoke in which i would remove it

 

[Boaz1021]

P. S. Diid you add anything to the tank that they may have arrived on.

My tank isn't even together yet (technically). I bought a used setup that had been sitting for a WHILE with no fish or corals in it, but still had water and filter running. I refinished the stand and got the tank clean and on the stand, and today I was cleaning the sand that has been sitting in a 45gallon trash can for the last month with the rock that was in it and I noticed those guys swimming around when I was filtering the water to clean it. I just was amazed that anything survived in the can that long and figured that if it was still alive after all that, it had to be a pest because nothing that people WANT in their tanks survive that easily.

 

[Boaz1021]

Looks like a segmented epitoke in which i would remove it

I removed all that I saw and made sure the water I was using to clean the sand was running clean before putting it in 5 gallon buckets to add to my tank once I get the rock in it.

 

[Clarkjw2002]

Mosquito larva. Going to guess the sand was sitting in a garage or someplace easily exposed to the outside. Next question would be is the sand in saltwater still? Assume so but you never know. Not sure where Flowood is but would guess you are in the south somewhere that has salt marsh mosquitoes. Hard to tell from the pic but it almost looks like an Anopheles spp but I don't think we have any saltwater Anopheles in the US.

If you could get a better view of the tail that would help. A Culex/Aedes has a distinct Y shape w/ the siphon and anal papillae. Or, let some float on the surface at rest. If they rest parallel to the water surface they are Anopheles, if they hang down 45 degrees it's a Culex, Aedes, or any other genus besides Anopheles.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Mosquito larva. Going to guess the sand was sitting in a garage or someplace easily exposed to the outside. Next question would be is the sand in saltwater still? Assume so but you never know. Not sure where Flowood is but would guess you are in the south somewhere that has salt marsh mosquitoes. Hard to tell from the pic but it almost looks like an Anopheles spp but I don't think we have any saltwater Anopheles in the US.

If you could get a better view of the tail that would help. A Culex/Aedes has a distinct Y shape w/ the siphon and anal papillae. Or, let some float on the surface at rest. If they rest parallel to the water surface they are Anopheles, if they hang down 45 degrees it's a Culex, Aedes, or any other genus besides Anopheles.

While some mosquitoes will lay eggs in seawater, few survive. The females lay eggs that float on the surface of a pool of water; if the pool dries up, the eggs will desiccate and perish, and thus the association with persisting habitats. In saline wetlands,

 

[vetteguy53081]

One type of baby dorvillidae:

 

[DrZoidburg]

Kind of agree that it does look like mosquito larvae. Can't tell 100% blurry photo.

 

[Boaz1021]

Mosquito larva. Going to guess the sand was sitting in a garage or someplace easily exposed to the outside. Next question would be is the sand in saltwater still? Assume so but you never know. Not sure where Flowood is but would guess you are in the south somewhere that has salt marsh mosquitoes. Hard to tell from the pic but it almost looks like an Anopheles spp but I don't think we have any saltwater Anopheles in the US.

If you could get a better view of the tail that would help. A Culex/Aedes has a distinct Y shape w/ the siphon and anal papillae. Or, let some float on the surface at rest. If they rest parallel to the water surface they are Anopheles, if they hang down 45 degrees it's a Culex, Aedes, or any other genus besides Anopheles.

I live in Central Mississippi, about 400 miles from any saltwater. The sand was wet, with saltwater from the original setup, but it wasn't pooling in that trash can, plus the can was sealed shut.

I was using water from my garden hosw to clean the sand and noticed the bugs wiggling when the water was higher than the sand. They would be still when the water drained out though. I was using a water permeable weed blocker under a piece of acrylic in the old sump setup to try and find an easier/faster way of cleaning the sand. I ended up going back to the 5gallon bucket method and dumping the water initially, then pouring the water through the screen setup in the sump to collect any sand that may have accidentally escaped. I didn't notice anything else in the sand with that method, assuming they got dumped out of the bucket instead of being collected the screen initially. I did check constantly once the sand was rinsing almost clear and didn't see any more.

I do appreciate all the help. Sorry about the short video though, I was using 8K resolution on my phone and even that 2 second clip was 200mb LOL.