Tiny surface jumping bugs on floating plants

[JuiceBox52]

On average there is an average of 2 freshwater fish species discovered each week, so it only makes sense there would be other creatures too!

 

[FishHobby99]

very interesting. I will google all this soon. can you easily point me to some some references? I wouldn‘t want to put you out, however, & can investigate on my own.

 

[GaryE]

Jenny - an aquarium linebred mutation or hybrid is never a species. I'm talking about distinct species found in nature, backed up by DNA and what we can see with dissection, that vary enough to be 'real' species. I'm just a fish guy with friends, not a scientist myself, but this hobby really lets me follow my curiosity.
For example, with our beloved Corydoras, I've spoken with researchers who say almost every notable stream has its own Cory. Scotcat is a Scottish site that looks at catfish, and if you go to 'identicat' on their site, then click on 'CW numbers', you'll see a lot of the Cory species with no names yet, but that have been imported from the wild.
They're just one example.
Lake Mweru in the Democratic Republic of Congo is a recent example of 'new" (to us) Cichlids. I've kept 3 of them, and they're neat fish. A bit rowdy and hard to tell apart without DNA work, but cool little mouthbrooders. I have a Steatocranus here from the buffalo-head group that doesn't fit anyone's picture of the group - a pleasant little (grey) fish.
As people begin to take rainbows out of Papua-New Guinea, the number (and beauty) of the new finds is jaw dropping.

When I was a kid, my fishbook said there was Corydorus aeneus, melanistius, julii and paleatus, and that was all. Guess it wasn't....

 

[FishHobby99]

Did you notice the link I posted above? Fascinating!

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I've always assumed there would be more species of creatures like that than we could ever name. I'd be content with a Genus name, or any name other than "hopping things".

Tank fairies?

I believe they are family Collembola. Common name springtails. I suspect you're right, that the genus/species are little studied and probably impossible to classify without a microscope and a whole lot more knowledge than I'll ever have.

 

[klc43]

floating plants can be fully submerged for over a week without any harm to them. So I would suggest taking a few of the best plants and putting them in a container filled with tank water and them putting something like a wire screen over the plants and suing that to keep them submerged. Then in the main tank remove all the floating plants. hopefully with no floating plants the bugs will die off. And hopefully any on the submierged plants will also die. Once you are sure all the bugs are gone put the submerged plants back in the main thank.

@StevenF Good idea, Thanks for the suggestion!

Its good to know these guys are harmless. My pearl gourami aren't eating them, even though they usually feed from the surface. (Or not eating enough for me to notice a different in the population.)

Somehow my notifications didn't get through and I didn't know all this activity was happening.