Weird bug in my tank

[Reconmasterxx]

what is this ? And is it bad for my fish ??

 

[Sylvan]

Looks like a nymph of some sort, possibly a damselfly nymph. Depends on what you've got in the tank as to whether it's dangerous or not. I had a problem with them in my shrimp tank, they ate all the shrimplets. I removed all of the ones I found.

 

[CassCats]

Damselfly nymph, and definitely a problem to fish and shrimp. Only way to get rid of them is to manually catch it and remove it. Check for more in plants, under driftwood, etc

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Confirming it's either a damselfry or dragonfly nymph. If you can, catch it and kill it. Depends on what what tank inhabitants you have whether it'll hurt them, it can catch and eat tiny fry and shrimp. Livebearer people like me are horrified by them.

I understand the temptation to release it into the wild if you catch it, but it is unethical to release anything that was in an aquarium into the wild. There are diseases and pathogens that could be spread that way.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Did you collect any plants or anything from outside to put into your tank? Because that's how critters like these and hydra often sneak into tanks. It's tempting to pull some elodea from my garden pond at times, but I don't dare risk it, have seen these and dragonfly nymphs in there. I think @NCaquatics has an awesome 'plant quarantine' system to make sure nothing like this gets in.

 

[CassCats]

Did you collect any plants or anything from outside to put into your tank? Because that's how critters like these and hydra often sneak into tanks. It's tempting to pull some elodea from my garden pond at times, but I don't dare risk it, have seen these and dragonfly nymphs in there. I think @NCaquatics has an awesome 'plant quarantine' system to make sure nothing like this gets in.

Yep. I sit plants in a container in the sunny window until i bleach dip them (i use 1 part bleach 9 parts water). Then let sit for a day after dipping to be sure everything is dead. Then add to tank.


Bleach dip:

Rinse plants off with warm tap water. Hotter helps too as it can shock some creatures off this way, but don't go too hot to damage the plants.

In a container add 9 parts water and 1 part bleach. Let the plants sit for no more than 30 seconds in the bleach mix.

Take out, rinse under tap water again, warm or cold is fine.

Then place in a container of heavily dechlorinated water for a day in the window again.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Yep. I sit plants in a container in the sunny window until i bleach dip them (i use 1 part bleach 9 parts water). Then let sit for a day after dipping to be sure everything is dead. Then add to tank.


Bleach dip:

Rinse plants off with warm tap water. Hotter helps too as it can shock some creatures off this way, but don't go too hot to damage the plants.

In a container add 9 parts water and 1 part bleach. Let the plants sit for no more than 30 seconds in the bleach mix.

Take out, rinse under tap water again, warm or cold is fine.

Then place in a container of heavily dechlorinated water for a day in the window again.

Thank you for this I'm not planning to take any plants out at the moment, but you never know when you might!
You know that pretty yellow guppy I showed you the other day? She's having swim bladder issues She's also gravid enough that I can see the eyes of the fry. I just made a thread, would really appreciate it if you could take a look <3

 

[Retired Viking]

Kill it, I had a damselfly nymph that killed 6 of my ghost shrimp before I found the little bugger and killed it. Look for more.

 

[dmpfishlover]

Definitely a damselfly nymph (larvae). They are very efficient aquatic preditors that feed on anything small enough for them to handle, just like Dragonfly nymphs. They are smaller, longer, and more slender than Dragonfly nymphs, but still very capable preditors able to eat shrimplets and fish fry. Definitely remove them, and as others have mentioned, search for more. Hope you are able to get all of them out before you have a problem.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Yep. I sit plants in a container in the sunny window until i bleach dip them (i use 1 part bleach 9 parts water). Then let sit for a day after dipping to be sure everything is dead. Then add to tank.


Bleach dip:

Rinse plants off with warm tap water. Hotter helps too as it can shock some creatures off this way, but don't go too hot to damage the plants.

In a container add 9 parts water and 1 part bleach. Let the plants sit for no more than 30 seconds in the bleach mix.

Take out, rinse under tap water again, warm or cold is fine.

Then place in a container of heavily dechlorinated water for a day in the window again.

Have to thank you again for this! Dosing the tanks with meds has killed a lot of the beneficial bacteria in the tanks, has caused a mini cycle crash in my tank, but a much bigger crash in my dad's 55. Mine is heavily planted enough that the plants helped me out a lot, has less stocking, and I barely got a reading, and it's much easier to do large water changes on a 15 gallon too. But the 55 has only slow growing plants, much heavier bioload, and the readings were much higher. ammonia 1.0ppm, nitrites 0.25, nitrates went to 80 or more. I'm doing water changes on it of course, but it also seemed like the time to pull a load of elodea from the pond. Have bleach dipped it and it's sitting in a bucket in the window now in clean declorinated water, will add it to the tank tomorrow to help out as the BB recover.

I did say that you never know when you might need to know how to do this, and turns out I needed it sooner than I thought! I feel so much more confident about using the pond weed after seeing and following your method, and knowing it worked for you. Thank you so much!

 

[CassCats]

Have to thank you again for this! Dosing the tanks with meds has killed a lot of the beneficial bacteria in the tanks, has caused a mini cycle crash in my tank, but a much bigger crash in my dad's 55. Mine is heavily planted enough that the plants helped me out a lot, has less stocking, and I barely got a reading, and it's much easier to do large water changes on a 15 gallon too. But the 55 has only slow growing plants, much heavier bioload, and the readings were much higher. ammonia 1.0ppm, nitrites 0.25, nitrates went to 80 or more. I'm doing water changes on it of course, but it also seemed like the time to pull a load of elodea from the pond. Have bleach dipped it and it's sitting in a bucket in the window now in clean declorinated water, will add it to the tank tomorrow to help out as the BB recover.

I did say that you never know when you might need to know how to do this, and turns out I needed it sooner than I thought! I feel so much more confident about using the pond weed after seeing and following your method, and knowing it worked for you. Thank you so much!

No problem! Anacharis and hornwort type plants are excellent sponges for nutrients!

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

No problem! Anacharis and hornwort type plants are excellent sponges for nutrients!

It was probably the hornwort in my tank that kept my ammonia levels low. With help from the swords, vallis and water lettuce. Plants seem to have a hard time in my dad's tank though, and his is mainly java fern and moss, and crypts. Hopefully that good handful of elodea will help, since doing big water changes on the 55 is killing my back and knees Kicking myself for not testing the tanks earlier than I did. I thought about doing it while medicating, but I thought the meds themselves might affect the test somehow, but should have checked anyway. I lost a shrimp, one of my new blue ones I suppose it might have been unconnected, but it was probably the ammonia spike. Luckily the fish in the 55 seem to have handled it well.