# Damselfly larvae, Is it a threat to fish or shrimps?



## scapegoat

Just got home to find this guy chilling on the front glass of my tank, managed to get a shoddy phone
pic before it scarpered, its a damselfly larvae right? Is it safe to be in the tank? I added a few fish yesterday inc some neons and some shrimp, will they be alright? I've seen similar things hunting in my pond taking tadpoles like it going out of fashion any stories of these guys hunting aquariums?


----------



## Gill

I would worry more about the shrimp than the shrimp with this little beastie, and I think it is a damsel fly larvae


----------



## Nathaniel Whiteside

Cue damselfly eating lamp eye video...


----------



## LondonDragon

Get rid of it or your shrimp might vanish


----------



## scapegoat

Ouch not good! Although that lampeye does look like a youngen, think I'll try and get it next time I see it just in case.


----------



## LondonDragon

If they can hunt fish like that, shrimp are even more easier to catch


----------



## scapegoat

Didn't see this guy again until yesterday, I spotted it again today and tried to feed it a blood worm but it wasn't interested, I noticed small lumps on it back as if wings were growing. This evening I spotted him climbing up the aponogeton so I lifted the top the leaf out of the water and he slowly climbed out of the water, a couple of hours later it had hatched out and I had a damselfly chilling in my hood!

I've got a couple of picture which I'll upload tomorrow

Now the question is what to do with it, it could be from another country so I shouldn't really release it, if I did release it I imagine it would soon freeze. Can I look after it? I have a small fluval edge I could put it in but it wouldn't have much room to fly.


----------



## mafoo

I put a few tadpoles from the pond in a 2L jar with some water, weed and some other fauna. One of which was the damson fly larvae to watch one day.

The larvae proceeded to eat almost every single one of the tadpoles it could lay its hands on. Wouldn't recommend leaving it in with your other livestock 

When hatched they only live for a few weeks normally. If you want to keep it - put it on a plant in the house and let it do its thing.


----------

