White specs in tank?

[RandomName]

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[theinnkeeper]

How big are they? I'm guessing they are either copepods or water fleas. Both which are completely harmless. But u'd be a better judge as you can see it in person.

What is that bug in my Aquarium? .:. Various small creatures that can inhabit a Freshwater Invertebrate Aquarium take a look at this site, you might be able to identify it with these pictures.

[Ursus sapien]

As theinnkeeper suggested, they're most likely copepods (which move along surfaces. daphnia stay more in the water column.) do a forum search for white specks, daphnia and copepods - there are a lot of threads about this:-)

[RandomName]

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[Ursus sapien]

honestly, uninvited doesn't automatically mean harmful. They're just detritus feeders - they eat organic waste, bacteria and microalgae. If anything, having them in your tank suggests your water quality is good. They are ubiquitous -present in most fresh water situations. In tanks with fish they get eaten so you don't see them; in fishless set-ups, you'll get a certain number of them and then the population will stabilize.
Keep up with tank maintenance, including vacuming, and stop fretting. Without fish, you'll probably get other microcritters as well, like the little black, pinhead size critters that move along the substrate, or midge larvae, or tiny nematodes (little thread-like worms) - they're all detritus feeders and all harmless bonus inhabitants.
If you end up with planaria, a larger flat worm, then your snails are in danger. Planaria are easy to identify, even from photos. also, Grete_j has a great photo of a leech posted in a thread. But all these other things are something you should get used to. You'll more likely to damage your set-up and snails by fighting them than by leaving them alone.

[RandomName]

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[Ursus sapien]

Planaria are unmistakable - beautifull, really, in form and movement. In an aquarium -for me - they, like duckweed, come from the Dark Side of the Force.

Planaria are carnivorous flatworms, wide but paper thin, with two very noticeable eye spots on the dorsal (top) side. The front of the planaria has a distinctive 'arrow head' shape. They can be anything from white/gray to charcoal in colour. They move fluidly along surfaces, including glass, which is where they're usually first spotted. They have a similar body shape (a long oval) as leeches but are more compressed and move differently. Leeches (most of which are harmless to fish and shrimp, by the way) use an inch worm style of movement whereas planaria are gliders.

Nothing you've described comes close to fitting the 'planaria profile'. Honestly, I don't want you to have a bad experience with your tank and would hate for you to loose your animals (how much they cost is irrelevant - I adore my inexpensive white clouds). If I thought anything you discussed was harmful, I'd be telling you how to deal with it or who to ask if I didn't know.

I'm afraid people have been conditioned to think of sterile aquariums as healthy, and they're not. Quite the opposite, in fact. I'm hoping you'll come to see the naturally occurring micrcritters in your tank as a positive rather than running out to get a bottle of "Nuke 'Em!". You wouldn't believe the lengths I go to to cultivate the copepods you have in your tank!