Tiny white specks on glass. Sand fleas?

[cdearing]

I just noticed last night while looking at my tank with a flashlight, that I have tiny, little white specks walking around on the glass, just above the sand bed. I looked again today and while the blue actinics were on, I could still see them with a flashlight. I tried googling sand fleas, sand hoppers, etc but didn't see anything that applied to my situation. Does anyone know what this is and if I should be alarmed. Well, I AM alarmed. Can anyone tell me not to be? Is this good or bad. Do I need to do anything? If I took a picture, you wouldn't be able to see them. They are almost microscopic.
Thanks. Cyn.

[zhenya]

I think most likely what you see is some type of copepods. It is hard to tell without actually looking at it, but here are some articles about various small things that we all call "pods".

You Can't Tell Your "Pods" Without A Program by Ronald L. Shimek, Ph.D. - Reefkeeping.com
Bitty Bugs: Copepods in the Reef Aquarium by Ronald L. Shimek, Ph.D. - Reefkeeping.com

[cdearing]

Thanks Gene for sending the links. Unless I had a microscope, however, I wouldn't be able to tell what these specks are. I've seen plenty of pods running around on the sand and rock at night and can tell what those are. These "new" ones are so minute that I can't tell what they are. Harpacticoids maybe? Geez! I just hope that I don't find out too late that they are parasitic. My fish seem fine. I'll just keep a close eye on everyone.

[zhenya]

Bigger pods(amphipods) are easy to recognise as they much larger than the copepods, I agree. Having said that, I doubt very much that what you are seen are prasitic organisms of any kind. I too saw similar microscopic bugs running all over the sand bed when I added live sand from a vendor. No harm was done to any of my fishes, so just keep an eye on things but do not worry too much.
Most of the time bugs that parasitize fish are much larger than what you see.
You can read about those type of "bugs" here

[johnmaloney]

Sand Fleas aren't actually parasites despite their name. They feed on plankton, and are reef safe. With that said, you don't have sand fleas. Sand fleas are large and cool looking. Small sand fleas are about 1/4 of an inch. Try Isopods, although they are usually bigger than copepods. Probably one of the planktonic animals.

[fleameds01]

Your information is good..
Sand crabs live under sand water near shore. Their lifespan is two to three years. They are the color of the rippled sand at the water's edge and live mostly buried in the sand .