aquarium bugs

Question
hi,i have white mollies,platys and guppies in a 20 gallon tank,but now i am noticing pin head sized grey bugs on artificial plants,2 days ago my mollies and platys had babies,i am worried please help.


Answer
Hi Farah
It's hard to say exactly what they are from you're description.  Plus, they're so small, I know they won't photograph, and are probably hard to see to get a good description of.  My guess from what you've described, is they're daphnia or cyclops.  Both are generally harmless to the fish, and great food for them.  They also could be baby snails you're seeing.  There's not a whole lot of info on aquarium "critters", but here's some links I do have saved:

http://www.planetinverts.com/what_is_that_bug_in_my_aquarium.html

http://www.petfish.net/articles/Aquarium_Basics/bug-worm.php

http://www.pond-life.us/

I would say, whatever they are exactly, you most likely don't need to worry about them harming the fish.  Usually if something you see in the tank is parasitic to fish, it's attached on the fish already.

Christy