tiny white bugs?

Question
I have tiny white bugs one my freshwater tank. At first I thought it was just dirt until you stare at them and see that they move. they are on the both flaps that i open to feed my fish. I have 3 frogs 3 fish, and a chinesee algae eater, and a cat fish.  what are these bug are they harmful? can I get rid of them. I cleaned the whole lid off and the next day the bugs were back. Please help if you can. thankyou so much.
Tammy

Answer
Dear Tammy,
So the white 'bugs' are out of the water? If they were in the water or the aquarium lid came in direct contact with the surface of the aquarium water the I would say they were some kind of round or flatworms. Planaria are very common and appear as tiny white worms.

It's very hard to determine what exactly your bugs may be, I'm not very sure without being able to see them. Whatever it is it is some critter that has found your aquarium water or hood to be the best place to live.

I'm sorry I can't be of anymore help but what I can say for you to do is to investigate where these bugs are coming from and if they are in the aquarium water too. The presence of planaria indicate there is too much pollution in the aquarium, they appear when nutrients from large amounts of fish food are leftover. This would require a 30-50% water change ((always make sure to make the replacement water equal in temperature to your aquarium's and make sure it is properly dechlorinated))

What I would do is to continue wiping down the hood and cover everyday if they are still crawling on it...With time they should eventually be gone.

Well, let me know if you don't have any luck getting rid of those odd critters on your aquarium...And let me know if you have anymore questions or concerns...

Best wishes and happy fishkeeping!
Karen~