Parasites? Missing fish? Filter problems? Snail problem?

[aqua.land]

Hi,

Wasn’t sure where to post this as it’s a mix of things but I put it here.
So I went away for a few weeks, and it was cleaned 2 times during this time. My tank has been running and stocked for a few months now.
When I came back, I noticed a few problems.

1) Parasites?
When cleaning the tank, I noticed a white squiggly creature, I fished it out of the net and removed it. I later found 2 more. There are photos of them at the end of this post. What is it? Are they dangerous to my fish? How to get rid of them?

2) Missing fish?
I had 5 neon tetras, now there are 4. Before I left, I noticed one was smaller and often alone, and now it has disappeared. I looked everywhere but cannot find it...I think they have eaten it? Maybe this is what the parasites fed off? What should I do?

3) Filter problems?
My filter - Interpet filter
The filter seems to be going much weaker...and the water is still murky no matter how many times I change the water, it has tiny particles of dirt that settle on the gravel and plants, I attached a photo. I have special aqua balls that are supposed to help water clear...not sure if they work anymore (they used to work well). Any ideas?

4) Snail problems?
Now, this one is definitely my fault. A few months ago I made the horrible mistake of putting in a snail into my tank that I accidentally got with my shrimp. For some reason most of the cherry shrimp I get die...not sure why. Now, this snail was a pets snail and now I have so so so many snails...they make the water stink and they aren’t a very good idea. Can I buy a special solution? Or get assassin snails?

The photos:

The parasites? White creatures? (One is greenish).

Dirty aquarium:
This is AFTER a 75% water change, and I cleaned The gravel as much as I could.

Thank you so so much!
Any help appreciated.

 

[Essjay]

The creatures in the tub are insect larvae of some sort - they have legs. Maybe some sort of damselfly larvae? Whatever, I would remove any I could find as they are usually carnivorous and will catch and eat fish.

Missing fish - all fish, snails, shrimps and damselfly larvae will eat dead fish. If it died while you were away there will probably no trace of it left.

Snails - these are actually a good part of a tank's ecosystem. They are only a problem if they threaten to take over. Their population increases if there is plenty food for them, so the way to control their numbers is by not overfeeding the fish and by cleaning the gravel during a water change.
You could try a DIY snail trap. You'll need a jar with a lid. Punch holes through the lid from the outside so that the spikes made point into the jar. The holes should be big enough for a snail to get through but small enough to stop fish getting through. Then bait the trap with a bit of lettuce or some other vegetable, put jar in the tank on its side last thing at night and remove the jar, hopefully containing a lot of snails, next morning. In theory, the spikes around the holes will stop the snails getting back out of the jar.

The filter. Filters don't usually remove heavy debris, it's the fish keeper's job to do that. With the filter you have, it's got things in it that you don't really need. Carbon is not needed full time, that would be better replaced with sponge. The algaway pad looks like a sponge that is supposed to remove phosphates which they say to replace every 3 months. if it is a sponge, just leave it there; if it's not really a sponge, I'd replace that too.
I have to be honest and say that the stuff all over your tank looks light enough to be be sucked in by the filter. There have been other members report stuff like this, but I can't remember if they discovered the cause or how to get rid of it. Hopefully someone else will have a better memory than me

 

[aqua.land]

The creatures in the tub are insect larvae of some sort - they have legs. Maybe some sort of damselfly larvae? Whatever, I would remove any I could find as they are usually carnivorous and will catch and eat fish.

Missing fish - all fish, snails, shrimps and damselfly larvae will eat dead fish. If it died while you were away there will probably no trace of it left.

Snails - these are actually a good part of a tank's ecosystem. They are only a problem if they threaten to take over. Their population increases if there is plenty food for them, so the way to control their numbers is by not overfeeding the fish and by cleaning the gravel during a water change.
You could try a DIY snail trap. You'll need a jar with a lid. Punch holes through the lid from the outside so that the spikes made point into the jar. The holes should be big enough for a snail to get through but small enough to stop fish getting through. Then bait the trap with a bit of lettuce or some other vegetable, put jar in the tank on its side last thing at night and remove the jar, hopefully containing a lot of snails, next morning. In theory, the spikes around the holes will stop the snails getting back out of the jar.

The filter. Filters don't usually remove heavy debris, it's the fish keeper's job to do that. With the filter you have, it's got things in it that you don't really need. Carbon is not needed full time, that would be better replaced with sponge. The algaway pad looks like a sponge that is supposed to remove phosphates which they say to replace every 3 months. if it is a sponge, just leave it there; if it's not really a sponge, I'd replace that too.
I have to be honest and say that the stuff all over your tank looks light enough to be be sucked in by the filter. There have been other members report stuff like this, but I can't remember if they discovered the cause or how to get rid of it. Hopefully someone else will have a better memory than me

Thank you, I'll remove any that I see.
Yes, unfortunately the snails have gotten out of hand...thank you for the snail trap idea! Not sure what is wrong with the filter... I have thought about changing the carbon filter to a sponge before but I was using it after medication, but that was a while ago so I'll think about changing it again... I guess I'm worried that the water will become even dirtier but I doubt it.

Thank you for the help!

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

The creatures in the tub are insect larvae of some sort - they have legs. Maybe some sort of damselfly larvae? Whatever, I would remove any I could find as they are usually carnivorous and will catch and eat fish.

They are damselfly nymphs, and they are a very predatory insect, as you can probably tell by a close up of their face *shudder*. A very bad thing to have in your tank if you have fry of any kind, and if you have shrimp. They might well explain what is happening to your shrimp, they will make short work of tiny shrimp, and might even be able to handle an adult, I'm not sure. Both dragonfly and damselfly nymphs are bad news in a tank.

The fact you have more than one is very worrying.You need to actively hunt though the tank for more, since there could well be more. Have seen people resort to tearing tanks down to get rid of these things, they're nasty. They could have came in on plants as eggs if you took any plants from the wild without bleach dipping, or bought plants that had been grown outdoors.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

I agree with the damselfly larvae. These larvae will catch and eat small fish and shrimp.

Here is an analysts on them, done by a fellow member a while back:

“
Damselfly nymphs

Suborder Zygoptera
Danger: May consume fry.
How it gets in your tank: Plants, Live food, damselflies laying eggs in your tank(unlikely if indoors).
Size: Often ≤ 2inch
Larval stage of damselfly life cycle, are [acronym="Insects (Class Insecta) are the biggest class of arthropods and the only ones with wings. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet. They are most diverse at the equator and their diversity declines toward the poles. With over a million described species—more than half of all known living organisms—with estimates of undescribed species as high as 30 million, thus potentially representing over 90% of the differing life forms on the planet. Insects may be found in nearly all environments on the planet, although only a small number of species occur in the oceans, a habitat dominated by another arthropod group, the crustaceans."]insects[/acronym]. Have extendable jaws. Live underwater for several years before turning into adults. Have a three pronged 'tail'. Link, Identification Help.”

 

[PheonixKingZ]

They are damselfly nymphs, and they are a very predatory insect, as you can probably tell by a close up of their face *shudder*. A very bad thing to have in your tank if you have fry of any kind, and if you have shrimp. They might well explain what is happening to your shrimp, they will make short work of tiny shrimp, and might even be able to handle an adult, I'm not sure. Both dragonfly and damselfly nymphs are bad news in a tank.

The fact you have more than one is very worrying.You need to actively hunt though the tank for more, since there could well be more. Have seen people resort to tearing tanks down to get rid of these things, they're nasty. They could have came in on plants as eggs if you took any plants from the wild without bleach dipping, or bought plants that had been grown outdoors.

Didn’t mean to copy you.

 

[aqua.land]

They are damselfly nymphs, and they are a very predatory insect, as you can probably tell by a close up of their face *shudder*. A very bad thing to have in your tank if you have fry of any kind, and if you have shrimp. They might well explain what is happening to your shrimp, they will make short work of tiny shrimp, and might even be able to handle an adult, I'm not sure. Both dragonfly and damselfly nymphs are bad news in a tank.

The fact you have more than one is very worrying.You need to actively hunt though the tank for more, since there could well be more. Have seen people resort to tearing tanks down to get rid of these things, they're nasty. They could have came in on plants as eggs if you took any plants from the wild without bleach dipping, or bought plants that had been grown outdoors.

Oh no...
I found another one yesterday but I fished it out and haven't seen any since. I actually do have fry, but they aren't that small anymore.
Last week we had really hot weather so that might explain why they hatched in the tank.
I do have a sickly looking plant, but in came from a fish store...I'll post later in the plants section and ask what people think.
Thanks.

 

[aqua.land]

I agree with the damselfly larvae. These larvae will catch and eat small fish and shrimp.

Here is an analysts on them, done by a fellow member a while back:

“
Damselfly nymphs

Suborder Zygoptera
Danger: May consume fry.
How it gets in your tank: Plants, Live food, damselflies laying eggs in your tank(unlikely if indoors).
Size: Often ≤ 2inch
Larval stage of damselfly life cycle, are [acronym="Insects (Class Insecta) are the biggest class of arthropods and the only ones with wings. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet. They are most diverse at the equator and their diversity declines toward the poles. With over a million described species—more than half of all known living organisms—with estimates of undescribed species as high as 30 million, thus potentially representing over 90% of the differing life forms on the planet. Insects may be found in nearly all environments on the planet, although only a small number of species occur in the oceans, a habitat dominated by another arthropod group, the crustaceans."]insects[/acronym]. Have extendable jaws. Live underwater for several years before turning into adults. Have a three pronged 'tail'. Link, Identification Help.”

Thank you for the information

 

[Naughts]

Reference the debris.. if you don't rinse the filter media regularly that would improve things. Use old tank water in a bucket and give the sponges a few squeezes each week. Other media can be swished in the bucket too.

 

[aqua.land]

Reference the debris.. if you don't rinse the filter media regularly that would improve things. Use old tank water in a bucket and give the sponges a few squeezes each week. Other media can be swished in the bucket too.

Yep, I do that regularly.
I read the instructions to the filter again and I realised that every three months you need to dissemble the filter and clean inside - I have never done this, so this might be what is causing the problem.
Thanks.

 

[aqua.land]

Hi everyone,

I did some more research, and could there be a possibility that the parasites are anchor worms?
Lernaea - (Anchor Worms)
They look very similar and they are much more common so it would explain why they appeared in the aquarium, because the aquarium is indoors and damselflies are very uncommon where I live.
I could be wrong though.
What do you think?

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Hi everyone,

I did some more research, and could there be a possibility that the parasites are anchor worms?
Lernaea - (Anchor Worms)
They look very similar and they are much more common so it would explain why they appeared in the aquarium, because the aquarium is indoors and damselflies are very uncommon where I live.
I could be wrong though.
What do you think?

Nope, sorry, they're damselfly nymphs. Look at the head and legs. Anchor worms don't have a head like that, nor legs, and you'd be finding them stuck to your fish, not loose in the substrate.

Google image damselfly larvae, and dragonfly nymphs, you'll be able to see the differences between the two, and find out more info on them.

Usually they wind up in home aquariums through plants that have been grown in outdoor ponds or tubs. The damselfly lays eggs on the plants, which end up in your tank then hatch.