What are these bugs that came with the plants?!

I got some plants yesterday from a pet store. Any idea what these are? (Right in the middle, they are the size of a mosquito larvae). They mainly swim around the bottom. And what do I do to quarantine these plants before putting them in the tank?

here’s a better picture

I'm not 100% sure but that kind of looks like a hydra.

Kind of does but it has little bug legs - 4 I think. And like a bug head. Hydras seem to have longer tentacle like things

In that case I'm completely stumped I'm afraid. I've searched long and hard and can't find anything that looks exactly like your critter.

I have too! So weird and I tried spraying the plants with hydrogen peroxide as the pet store had recommended to me in the past “to kill off anything that might be on them.” They are still alive and every time I rinse the plant there’s 10 of them in be water. I even tried pouring some hydrogen peroxide directly into the water with them in it and they’re still alive. Idk if I should try a bleach bath or if there’s anything you could recommend or just return the plants or throw them out. The critters almost look like little crab things living in a tube like body. It retreats back when it swims up and then when it’s down it sort of sticks its legs out to walk around the bottom. They’re small so it’s hard to tell exactly what they look like and I’ve also tried searching and haven’t found anything other than them sort of resembling a dragon fly larvae but not quite

Can't help with the ID - but I would not take the risk with my fish.

I've n idea what those are, but I agree with seangee. I would ask the store about them, and indicate you have no intention of planting them in the tank and will not consider future purchases if they can't help you. Use kind words, but you get the drift.

Agree with both of you. I’m super annoyed that they would sell those. I’ll take them back tomorrow and see what they say

This was also with the plants. Couldn’t get a great pic but it was the size of like a fly head. It was moving around. Along with some long squiggly skinny worms that are usually white and supposedly harmless but these were brown

Take them back. The store needs to be aware and quarantine all of those plants.

If the things with legs live in a sort of case and retreat back inside, they sound like some sort of caddis fly larvae. The ones commonly found in UK streams make casings out of things like pebbles or sand. Since we don't know the origin of these plants, there could be caddis fly-like insects somewhere in the world that have larvae like your 'things'


I agree with everyone else - take the plants back. And the 'things'.

Interesting... I looked up caddis fly larvae and it’s probably the closest looking to anything I’ve come across. The only thing is it doesn’t really look like the casing it retreats intro is made out of anything like sand or dirt and they all have the same looking casing. So it looks almost like just biological material - like a little bit transparent, greenish color. Of course they’re so small that I can’t be sure.

I took one of the “creatures” in a cup of water back to the pet store. The water still had hydrogen peroxide in it from three days ago and it’s still alive and swimming, clearly unphased by what they said would “kill of anything.” No one had any idea what they were. And sadly, they didn’t seem too concerned. One girl actually said that she likes having different bugs in her tank because it creates an ecosystem. I told her it’s one thing if you know what the bugs are and that they’re safe. Anyway, they said they would take the plants back but they don’t seem worried about quarantining the ones that they have to prevent other buyers from purchasing them and potentially killing their fish

Chironomid Midge larvae (aka bloodworm larvae). They are harmless and nothing to worry about.

They have antennas and legs. I’d vote for hydra.