How to best deal with water aphids on floaters

2861 Views 5 Replies 4 Participants Last post by zackariah, Dec 29, 2016

bbroush

Discussion Starter · Dec 29, 2016

I don't know how I got them but they're on my floaters. It looks like they originated in the frogbit that is in one of my Jarrariums. I took some tweezers this morning and squished many of them and submerged many of the leaves. Has anyone had experience with these and found a good solution? I found some older threads on it but their wasn't much consensus.

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thanatopsian

· #2 · Dec 29, 2016

I dont know anything about water aphids, but im kinda surprised your fish aren't eating them. Do you have top feeders in the tank of sufficient size to make a meal of them?

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zackariah

· #3 · Dec 29, 2016

For me unless the "pest" is going to endanger my plants or fauna I consider it a feather in my cap that I'm providing an environment that all steps in the food chain can thrive. But if your insistent on removal. Take all your floaters out rinse them in tank/ jar water and put them back. This may not remove them completely but it should lower their numbers.

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Turningdizzy

· #4 · Dec 29, 2016

Aphids will suck the life out of a plant-literally. If you could move the plants to a separate container you can spray them with a mix of Dawn and water to kill the aphids. I don't know how you can get rid of them if left in the tank. Maybe Dawn and water won't hurt the fish but I really don't know.

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bbroush

Discussion Starter · #5 · Dec 29, 2016

thanatopsian said:
I dont know anything about water aphids, but im kinda surprised your fish aren't eating them. Do you have top feeders in the tank of sufficient size to make a meal of them?

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Well I just added a female betta

zackariah said:
For me unless the "pest" is going to endanger my plants or fauna I consider it a feather in my cap that I'm providing an environment that all steps in the food chain can thrive. But if your insistent on removal. Take all your floaters out rinse them in tank/ jar water and put them back. This may not remove them completely but it should lower their numbers.

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Well at this point I have heard conflicting info on whether or not it actually damages the frogbit

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zackariah

· #6 · Dec 29, 2016

Well you are the best judge at this point. If you see damage then you know. I never had seen a problem when I had them. That being said I had a high tech tank with water lettuce that grew incredibly fast.

In your case I say it's better safe then sorry and I would remove. I would imagine plants do not grow quickly in Your set up.

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