What's that bug? How to recognize them

[jaidexl]

Originally Posted by Spachi

i just pulled one out of my tank. what are the odds of having only one of these? i only saw it in the tank once, and then it ended up in my siphon-bucket. i hope its the only one.

The odds are pretty high if it hitched in on a plant, from an outdoor farm. If a dragonfly or damselfly actually laid eggs in your tank, then it's possible more will hatch out. Whether they survive very long is another question.

Edited typo (form=farm)

[ZooTycoonMaster]

Ahhhh I just looked at all of the different pictures on this thread while eating.

there goes my appetite

[crimsonbull57]

Do shrimp eat Tubifex worms?

[conebone69]

Originally Posted by echo135

Found one swimming around my tank. Today when I'm cleaning my cannister filter 3 or 4 of them popped down the drain...mananged to get 3 of them on a food containter.

i found 2 of these guys in my 10 gallon. had no idea what they were. anyone know where these guys come from and if they are dangerous to my shrimps?

[Esox lucius]

Originally Posted by conebone69

i found 2 of these guys in my 10 gallon. had no idea what they were. anyone know where these guys come from and if they are dangerous to my shrimps?

if they look similar to those pictured they are damselflies, which are carnivorous, related to dragonflies (Odonata suborder zygoptera), they might possibly eat baby shrimp, but i wouldnt worry about adult shrimp. If it is in fact a low instar dragonfly nymph then you should be worried. Many dragonfly nymphs can take very large prey and even small fishes when they reach higher instars. Damselflies are native to almost everywhere in the world, so without keying it out I couldnt tell you where it is from.

[funkyfish]

Oh wow I never knew that any of these can be found in a tank. Good to know. But looking at the pictures they gmaking y skin crawl, I don't like worms.

[B16CRXT]

Just found live blood worms in my shrimp/snail tank. thank you for your identifying picture! Should I try to get rid of them, or just leave them and let them breed/whatever and use them as a food source for my fish?

[Cyriss]

Help!!!! ...I notice my tank infested with these tiny creatures swimming all over the tank! When I switch the filter off, most of them end up swimming on the surface. How do I remove them? Are they harmful?

They are quite tiny .. this was the best picture I could get of them. I'm running DIY CO2 with bread yest .. could that be the problem?

[B16CRXT]

I don't know what those are, but I would be worried and I would be doing DAILY water changes until they are gone. they look like fleas or some sort of larvae.

[jaidexl]

Worried about what? Critters are a part of healthy water, it's natural. The only things to worry about are fish parasites, which are obviously only found on fish. Those are probably planaria, copapods or possibly daphnia if their swimming. Either way, not something to worry about in the least, they're interested in the water, gravel and glass, not livestock. I'd guess there are no predatory fish in that tank, or else they wouldn't be there. That's a hint on how to get rid of them. Don't be paranoid over things that aren't understood, it's really simple, if it's on a fish, then it's a problem. Gill flukes, Camallanus, and Creoland Isopod (SW) are probably the only parasites you will actually be able to see, and notice how uncommon they are by the number of first hand posts about them, I've personally seen none in my time except for Camallanus. Scavenger pods and worms like the ones pictured above will overpopulate if the tank is overfed, or can come out of topsoil if used as substrate.

B16, the scientific name if water "flees" is Daphnia (150 species), and just so happens to be one of the most sought after live fish foods.

[Esox lucius]

Originally Posted by jaidexl

Worried about what? Critters are a part of healthy water, it's natural. The only things to worry about are fish parasites, which are obviously only found on fish. Those are probably planaria, copapods or possibly daphnia if their swimming. Either way, not something to worry about in the least, they're interested in the water, gravel and glass, not livestock. I'd guess there are no predatory fish in that tank, or else they wouldn't be there. That's a hint on how to get rid of them. Don't be paranoid over things that aren't understood, it's really simple, if it's on a fish, then it's a problem. Gill flukes, Camallanus, and Creoland Isopod (SW) are probably the only parasites you will actually be able to see, and notice how uncommon they are by the number of first hand posts about them, I've personally seen none in my time except for Camallanus. Scavenger pods and worms like the ones pictured above will overpopulate if the tank is overfed, or can come out of topsoil if used as substrate.

B16, the scientific name if water "flees" is Daphnia (150 species), and just so happens to be one of the most sought after live fish foods.

right on! They look like daphnia or copepods, nothing to worry about.

[B16CRXT]

ah, okay. In that case, I would just add a fish that enjoys eating those critters. My guppies tend to eat things off the glass and love when I dunk a mosquito in the water for them. I guess they are mosquitoes anyway. They stay around the aquariums and leave black, worm looking exoskeletons behind in the tanks.

[Cyriss]

Jaidexl: You're right, it's a 5g with only 1 betta inside. The betta's not eating them though .. too tiny maybe? Should I be putting more small fish into the tank? I'm hoping to introduce some CRS in once the plants in the tank are more filled in.

Good to hear that they are not harmful to the fish. (betta is swimming about w/o anomalies) But the sure immensity of them really made me worry @_@ So many!!! It was like blurry cloud on the water surface @_@

Thanks guys for the inputs!

[B16CRXT]

Do you have a filter on the tank?

[Cyriss]

Yes, I've got a submersible filter in it. Here's a pic of it (on the left). Will this suffice for a 5g tank?

I did a 50% water change prior to taking this photo