Sudden little crawling bugs...

Question
QUESTION: Hello Chris,
    My tank has been set up for around a week. I had previously had a problem with fungus from some sand I tried as substrate but then changed it out, due to the problem, and replaced it with normal gravel and am starting to re-cycle my tank. My tank is 30 gallons and I only have two albino cory catfish. I use a regular powerfilter with a bio bag. My pH is 6.8, ammonia is around .20, and my nitrite is 0. Considering I have just completely re-started my tank I have not changed any water for around a week. However, I will begin changing water, by siphine every week. I will change around 15-25%. Ok, my problem is that I have recently noticed I have billions, yes billions, of tiny white moving bugs on my aquarium walls. I do not know if the bugs are anywhere else because they are too small to see, almost to small for me to see on the glass. They are smaller than a grain of sand. I have asked a few local petstores and they say they are just small crustations or planaria, or another harmless creature. However, they started with being only on the bottom of the tank walls but now are from top to bottom on the walls. My albino catfish are acting normal and eating, they have no signs of sickness or distress but the bugs are stopping me from continuing with my cycling. They seem to be multipling. I really would like to get rid of them. I have had fish tanks for over 10 years in my own home ad have never had a big problem with these bugs. The fact that there are so many worries me. Literally, all the glass is covered with the tiny white, or look white, bugs. The interesting thing also is that from one foot away the tank looks clean and normal but as you look closer the bugs are everywhere. Sometimes it seems like the catfish go along the walls eating them but that is just how it looks to me. How can I quickly get rid of them? Are they harmful to humans? Can humans get the bugs? What is the best way to not harm my two cory catfish? Is there a fish who will help with getting rid of them or would a medication work better? If a med, what kind? Please, any help would be wonderful. I know I have alot of questions and I appreciate your help but I really do not like to look at the tank and see the bugs crawling around. Thanks.
ANSWER: Hi Rachel;

The fish store is right, they are just a harmless little bug that is common in ponds and lakes. In a closed environment as small as a fish tank, these kinds of creatures can easily get out of hand. They aren't going to hurt you or the fish. Any fish will eat them but if they are already well-fed with fish food, they won't bother. If you stop adding food to the tank for week or so the cory cats will be more willing to eat the bugs instead. It will also decrease waste so the bugs will starve out. The bugs have probably consumed all the waste available in the gravel and are now looking for food in other areas. It looks like there are more of them now because they are exposed.

It really would not help to try to use chemicals or medications to kill them. These kinds of creatures are very hardy and they would probably survive it, and the fish would be stressed. Even if it did work, there would be all those 'dead bug bodies' in there polluting the tank. It's best to just let the fish eat them and let the rest starve out.

Do your normal water changes of about 25% weekly, even during the break-in period. It is best not to vacuum the gravel until it's balanced but if the gravel is excessively dirty you can do it anyway. Just do it lightly so as to keep the beneficial bacteria colonies growing with a minimum of disturbance.

I hope your tank becomes "bug free" very soon!

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for your help. Is there any fish I could get who would work well with my corys to help clean up the bugs? Should I get a few more corys or is there another fish who would work better? Also, where do the bugs come from? I had added a small sword plant which was pre-packed, it was the kind they sell packaged to be snail free, could that have caused them? Thanks again, I will follow your advice.  

Answer
Hi Rachel;

You are very welcome! I'm glad to be able to help.

Creatures like those exist everywhere. All tanks have organisms of all kinds but we often never see evidence they are there because they aren't thriving as well as yours, for whatever reason. It's easy to hide tiny critters when there's only a dozen or less. How do they get into our tanks? I wouldn't blame the plants, they could come from almost anywhere. They just like your tank. The eggs that started them could have come from fish food, bugs in the air, rocks, from your fish's waste after eating food before you got him that had them, etc.

There are fish that seem to like bugs a little more than others. Dwarf gouramis, bettas, tetras and loaches. You just don't want to add more than a couple of small ones until things fully stabilize. More fish will add to the already elevated ammonia. Just remember not to feed them for a few days so they will see the bugs as food when they get a little hungry.

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins