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ID this mysterious creature

3K views 35 replies 12 participants last post by  trueblu8 
#1 ·
This little green guy either snuck in with my shrimp or on a plant last night. Not to sure exactly what it is......
 
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#13 ·
Make sure you have your removal tools ready. They're absolute masters of camouflage.

It's a damselfly larvae. Miniature versions of a dragonfly but still great underwater predators for all things small.

Once you decapitate them, they're harmless. I watched my barbs battle with a swarm of the nymphs. Barbs always win, but sometimes it takes a while for them to break free of their jaws.

They're essentially a underwater praying mantis until they turn into adults
 
#15 ·
Dragon and damselflies are among the most interesting insects one can keep. They're quite aware of their environment. Bright for a bug.

One day maybe I'll get lucky enough to have one stowaway.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S III using Tapatalk 2
 
#30 ·
You had nymphs, and nymphs can't lay eggs because they aren't sexually mature. You were unlucky enough to get plants from someone who had an adult damselfly go "hog-wild" in their plants before shipping them off to you.

The picture in this thread is actually of a dragonfly nymph, while yours were damselfly nymphs (same insect order but different families). The dragonfly nymphs are bigger, and I'll betting the adult dragonflies don't lay as many eggs as do the damselflies. Damselflies are pretty prolific. ;)
 
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