weird things in my tank

Question
Hi karen,
Whats up? I was checking out on all my aquariums before i went to bed yesterday when i noticed something the size of a point(or a mustard seed), white in color in my flower horn tank. Some were sticking to the sides of the aquarium and some were free flowing. They are a lot in number.
What is they? Are they parasites. They dont seem to bother my fish. Still they look like parasites. THEY ARE MOVING EVEN ON THE SIDES OF THE TANK. Can you help me out?
I am planning to have a pair of red devil juveniles, about 1 inch in size. Will they fight and kill each other? i am initially planning to have them in a 30gallon aquaria, with some vallis, cabomba and coconut shell caves. Will they do fine?

......srinivas
P.S:Are Jordan's Catfish compatible with Red Tail Catfish?(initially atleast?)  

Answer
Hello!!!!!!
You might have planaria...These are tiny little creatures that usually inhabit all aquariums to some extent. However, they are particularly common in cichlid aquariums or tanks housing large fish that comsume lots of meaty foods. They are harmless for the most part, but they are a sign there is quite a high nutrient load in the aquarium. You see, usually these critters hide in the gravel and remain in small numbers...But when there is a high amount of food for them, they may come out and multiply in large numbers--crawling everywhere, even on the fish! Some extra water changes, including good vacuming with a siphon of the gravel will help remove many of them. Otherwise, they are just another natural inhabitant of your aquarium.

Well, about the juvenile reds.. As long as they are raised together they should do fine. I you were unlucky enough to have two males they could grow and fight and be a problem as they mature...But they should do fine...as long as they've lived together basically their whole life. Just provide lots of places for them to get out of each-others way as you have already done nicely! You may have to upgrade your aquarium size as they grow larger since they may need more territory room.

Jordan's Catfish----Redtail cats?
I afraid these two catfish will be uncompatible. What is known as 'Jordan's' catfish at your place is called the 'colombian shark' here! ;-) Really strange. Of course these fish aren't sharks at all..Just a beautiful silvery catfish whom grows quite large but makes a decent pet. Red tails are called the same around here... But unlike the Colombian shark, Red tails are one of the biggest commitments to make. We're talking about a usual size range of 5 Feet in length. And these catfish grow very fast and have some of the biggest mouths. I once heard of a redtail chomping down on a 12 inch Goldfish. And another instance where a 3 foot catfish was happily muching down on a 18 inch clown knife. Colombians usually don't get anywhere near this big, topping at around 1 1/2 to 2 feet. So unfortunately, I don't think these two beautiful fish would get along long term. Red tails just grow too large and want to eat every fish in sight. I have heard some sucess with Shovel nose catfish but any creature is at risk when you have a very large redtail. Redtails also pollute their aquarium to out of this world standards. They would really need a 1,000 gallon aquarium when they reach their full size. A pond might fit the bill for you. Sorry about that. Initially probably, the redtail and Jordan would probably be OK. But I highly doubt a long term peace between both of them would be possible. Sorry..... Jordans or Colombian shark on the otherhand, grows to about 2 feet or may even mature at less than that. But they can live with other large fish, even big cichlids..Of course they will need a good sized aquarium still.

I really hope this helps! Great to hear from you again Srinivas! May I ask you a question myself please? ~ How do you keep Bettas? Or do you keep them at all? Like do you house them in jars, bowls, or tanks? Have you bred them before?~ Thank you very much! Just wondering...

Anyway, Best of luck with everybody!
 Happy fishkeeping!
 ~*Karen