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Bugs you might encounter in your aquarium

From a bucket in the garden i noticed a lot of Mosquito larvae and ofcourse i immediately thought "Dinner Time!!" for the fishies.. As you know they all hang at the surface also noticed another one behaving differently, it wiggeled like a worm around the mosquito babies.. There where quite a few couldn't realy avoid scooping them up.
It definitively is a larvae of some kind of fly, looked at it under a microscope, can't seem to figur out what it is.. But it more looks like a maggot.

This is the best pic i could get of it..
DSCF9496.jpg

Funny is it lives in the water swimming at the surface among the mosquito larvae, but in the aquarium it kinda stationary roams at the substrate and the fish seem to avoid it. Curiously looking at it, but do non of the fish takes it. It also can't be found among the known freshwater larvae for fish food..

Anybody familiar with this one? From which fly is this obviously bad tasting bugger?
 
sparkyweasel said:
It's not easy to identify these larvae, but it could be Tanypus, a genus of midge.
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I looked at it under the microscope, it isn't that one.. Unfortunately i can't take microscopic pictures.. But i took one out of the water and left it on the dry to see what happens.
It happily lived on for over an hour crawling around, then i dumped it in the garden.. By now i doubt it is aquatic, any larvae known as fishfood and aquatic doesn't live on out of the water as far as i know.. No idea how it ended up between the mosquito larvae.. 🙂 syphoned the rest out as well, no fish would eat it anyway. Tho still curious what it might be.. But as you say, will be a long shot to find that out. 🙂
 
It looks like genera Tipula or Pedicia larvae...either way they're ugly looking grubs; put me off my dinner :sick:
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Thought of them a few also have aquatic larvae, these are often imitated in fly fishing... I just found it very odd that the fish didn't bother to eat them, gave me the hunge these are probably not realy aquatic. And indeed dry didn't bother it it and crawl on like a caterpilar and or even stand like a cobra snake. Also got them in different sizes largest about 5mm long and 1 mm thick and much smaller. Yet not found any bigger, the pic above was one of the biggest. Found a lot simuar looking and yet not, but the fly genus also is darn large. Under the microscope it clearly looked brown, with one end hairy shaped as a chinese foldable fan, other end somewhat square with a brush mustache, it moves about as a caterpilar on spiky hairs. 🙂 I guess they do not move backwards so the mustage side was it's head.

First time i've seen this one among the mosquito larvae.
 
dw1305 said:
Hi all,It might be a Soldier Fly larvae (Stratiomyotidae).

stratiomyidae20130511lmtm.jpg

cheers Darrel
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No not realy that one either.. But they all look somewhat simular.. I realy need to do some savings fro a microscopic camera.. 🙂
If i had to draw from memory what i think to have seen i come up with this.
grub.jpg
Not sure if the fan shaped tail was split couldn't get a propper look, didn't kill it ti moved around to much. Could be just one or maybe 2. It didn't have any clear showing caterpilar feet, more like a spiky haired worm. Some hairs had something round shaped body to it, but not all. The head had a clear brush mustage and a sucker mouth, it clearly was sucking in water. The head reminded me a bit of the blackfly larvae without mustage, that made me think it's a fly larvae.. On the dry it crawled like a caterpilar and submersed in stagnant bucket it was among the mosquito larvea at the surface swiming like a little worm. But in the tank, probably the flow, they went to the substrate, hooking in with the tail and stand upright waving about. The larger ones now and then crawled over the substrate, not fast and not far, more stationary than moving around. Submersed it looked more white colored, but once it was dry it colored darker towards brown.

They must already smell awfull, most fish only looked at it, didn't even bother to nibble.. Even the little agresive Dario's didn't bother to look and these use to get realy nuts over living larvae. 🙂 The only one trying was a that cocky roaring Gourami, but backed off at the first bite.
 
There still are e few in the bucket, the worm like one at the top of the screen.
 
Anyone has an idea which critter this is?

My money is on (some kind of) amphipod ATM but not sure. Mainly because the "owner" is not convinced... this implies that the bugger is not in my tank so I only have these images for identification (for now... hopefully detail shot of the underside tomorrow.)





Many thanks in advance... 😉
 
dw1305 said:
Hi all, Judged by its swimming style it looks like it might be <"Crangonyx pseudogracilis">.

cheers Darrel
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Thanks for your reply!
I thought i replied on your post last week but obviously didn't... :cyclops: Sorry...
I kinda followed your opinion (because it looks simular but also based on your (obvious) knowledge in such matters (and way beyond!) 😉).
So i posted your answer, some people agreed but "the lucky owner", " the infected one ", "the Original poster" or ... (you catch my drift, no doubt) was not convinced.
Someone said they were likely Ostracoda and somehow she seemed to favor that answer....:shy:
She also said she was going to update with a macro picture but no updates yet.
When (if) she does i will post them here for identification.
 
Hi all,
Hades said:
Someone said they were likely Ostracoda and somehow she seemed to favor that answer..
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Could be an Ostracod, some of them are very speedy, but it looks a bit big. It is easy to tell if you have the specimen, Ostracods are enclosed in a hinged shell, so they look <"like a bean with legs just showing"> and Crangonyx is much more shrimp like.



cheers Darrel
 


Scooped from a bucket with Mosquito larvae... A harmless maggot and eaten by the fish, tho it grows steadily and at one point to big for small fish, such as Boraras will not take it on when it's about their own size. In the aquarium not likely to grow this big, because initialy they float the surface and picked off at a much smaller size. Interesting and looking intimidating, but the long dangerously looking telescopic tail, it's a breathing pipe. 🙂

Most likely a baby from this fly.
dscf1165-jpg.jpg

But it could be from a number of these flies bellow..
vlieg661.jpg
 
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Wow this is great, now I really hope I don't get midges in my tank, there are enough of the outside!
 
After I lost an Apisto Cacatuoides pair due to Camannallus worms.I took remaning dwarf pencilfish to a quarantine aquarium, left all plants in the tank, kept lights and sponges filters on than siphoned the substrate water and did water changes several times.It has been more than 3 months. I was hoping camanallus worm would die eventually. But I still can see some tiny little worms on wood. I am not sure they are camanallus but I dont want to take any chance and I dont want to nuke the tank with NaOHCl neither as it will be a pain to wash all substrate again. Is there any way to deworm the tank with any other medication that will not harm the plants but definitely will kill all worms?
 
Edvet said:
Go see a vet and see if he can prescribe Levamisole (5gr/100 gallon, 3 treatments an week apart. with a good clean and large waterchange in between)
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Thanks for your reply. I have it and used it already, it did not save my fish but they passed some of the worms and saw them on the substrate. Levamisole does not kill it but stuns it.That is how it works.Normally the way you described should have been enough. But I have been unsuccessful to remove them mechanically so they are still in the tank. I did complete WC and substrate siphoning for 3 times.And still cant get rid of them.
 
I have seen people us a dewoemer med for dogs to treat planaria. Would this working in this instance?
 
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