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Odd parasite in tank. HELP?

Kristina

Seedling
Joined
21 Jan 2013
Messages
9
I went to do a water change today in my ten gal. and I found tiny little swimming bugs in the water that I had taken out. I managed to get one to swim into a tiny container to examine it. It looked like a tiiiiny spider inside of a Hornwort plant tube. It wasn't attached to my live plant but I worry that it could cause arm to my plant and my other tropical fish.
2hgwq3m.jpg
 
Hi Kristina. Unfortunately your image is only showing as a tiny thumbnail, we'll need to have it a lot bigger to manage any sort of ID I think.
Posted more photos. A friend that works in a pet store says it sounds like baby lobster?
 
You sure its not something like this?

5uqura9e_zps4d389868.jpg

Dum,dum
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Deeerrrrrrrrruuuummmm.
 
Hi Kristina,
Unfortunately as you say the photos are difficult to make out.
If it does resemble the picture posted by londondragon then you need to get rid as its a damselfly larvae and can grow large enough to eat small fish, they easily consume shrimp......they are a nuisance!
Cheerio
Ady.

Edit: had dragonfly larvae, more like a damselfly!
 
If it does resemble the picture posted by londondragon then you need to get rid as its a dragonfly larvae and can grow large enough to eat small fish, they easily consume shrimp......they are a nuisance!
How do these actually enter the tank? do they come along with plants and rock?
 
Hi all,

Caddisfly larvae?
Caddis%20leaf.jpg


cheers Darrel
Hi Darrel,
Are these little fellas as nasty as the others? I seem to remember finding lots of these in the bottom of my ponds over the years, they make a little stick house around themselves? Do they tolerate the warmer temperatures of our tropical tanks?
Cheerio
Ady
 
Hi all,
Are these little fellas as nasty as the others? I seem to remember finding lots of these in the bottom of my ponds over the years, they make a little stick house around themselves? Do they tolerate the warmer temperatures of our tropical tanks?
I think they are largely detrivores, so they aren't going to eat fish etc. There are thousands of species of cased Caddis, and they occur world wide, so it could be either temperate or tropical <Trichoptera>, and probably came in with the plants. I would expect that any pond or stream would have at least 2 or 3 different species, and you even get them where the water is seasonal etc.

The adults fly, and are attracted to light (they are quite moth like) so it could have come from an egg laid in the tank, but I'd be surprised if it didn't come in with the plants.

cheers Darrel
 
Hi all,

Caddisfly larvae?
Caddis%20leaf.jpg


cheers Darrel
Yesssss... that's it. :( How do I get rid of it?! them...all of them. Are they dangerous? Mine seem to hold onto that piece of debris as they swim. so they look like the plants fallen "leaves"
 
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