Help! Mosquitos breeding in my tank?

[kdross]

Hello, folks.

The other morning, I awoke to find three mosquito-looking insects on the wall behind my aquarium, and two hanging upside down on my light hood (just above the water). They look just like mosquitos (maybe a bit bigger than what I thought mosquitos were).

I took a look in my tank and didn't see any obvious larvae at the time. I took a look in my Tetra-Tec filter, and in the wells were a number of these insects, along with what looked like small, red, tube-like things... I assume they were larva.

I took the filter out, completely cleaned it (including replacing the BioBag filter and cleaning the BioFoam... my undergravel filter is very mature, so I don't think I killed off too much bacteria by doing that). I then performed my usual water change and got everything back to normal... no signs of these insects or larva.

Well... that was about 3 days ago. This morning, I woke up to find about 5 more of them, along with one floating larva in the tank itself!! I have searched high and low for their source, but can't.

What can I do? My wife is a mosquito magnet... if she starts getting bitten, my tank is going to be the first thing thrown out of the house... with her husband a close second.

HELP!!!!

 

[jblitz99]

do you have much circulation at the surface of the water. the only thing i could think might help is to turn a power head facing up so that the flow is agitating the surface of the water. i know mosquitos like standing water.

 

[SoCal]

What size is your tank, what type of fish do you have in it. Most smaller fish would love to eat your mosquito larvae and keep your problem under control. I have guppies and zebra danios in my tanks (that are outside uncovered) and I don't ever see mosquito larvae in the tank. I would imagine that any fish that targets small prey will eat the the larvae. I have just recently added "mosquito fish" to one of my tanks. They are used by the department of fish and game and the department of agriculture as a natural way to control mosquitos. I have read many web sites that say these departments will actually give you the fish for free. Check your state laws first.

 

[Cherry Barb]

Well, first let me say I totally agree with SoCal. If these were mosquito larvae they would be gobbled up almost instantly by the fish. Second, let me say, I don't think what you're describing is mosquito larvae. I think their larvae is clear/whitish. So, I'd be looking into other possibilities as to what these red tube things are. Have you possibly added a new fish or something recently? Or fed a live food product? I hate to say it, but sounds to me like you have some sort of parasitic infestation, not mosquitos. And I'll do some research myself to see if I can be of any help.

 

[kdross]

Thanks, folks, for your suggestions.

I haven't added any new fish in a number of weeks. I feed my fish flakes in the morning and freeze-dried brine shrimp in the afternoon. No live food at all.

As for surface movement, I actually have quite a lot. The output of the undergravel filter tubes churns it up pretty well, plus the Tetra Whisper filter helps circulate. It is in constant motion.

Again... I'm not 100% sure that the red tube things were larva, but I do know that I have not introduced anything that looked remotely like that. The closest thing that looks like that would be the freeze-dried brine shrimp, but I can easily tell the difference.

As for fish that would eat stuff like that, what should I have? My current inventory is:

2 rosy barbs
1 Long-fin rosy barb
4 neon tetras
2 black skirt tetras
2 glass catfish
3 hatchet tetras
1 black and white molly

Would any of these eat mosquito larva (if that is what this is?).

Also, I've been searching like mad for info... I ran across a description for midge flies. Does anyone have any experience with infestations of these? They evidently look a lot like mosquitos.

Thanks, again, for your replies. If you have any ideas or run across anything for me to try, please let me know.

 

[madasafish]

If you feed a flake food to your fish, the red tubes you're seeing could be their droppings (I often see that in my tanks), as some of the flakes are red in color. This would, however, almost certianly drop to the bottom, but it would accumulate in the filter.

 

[Allivymar]

Take a look here and see if anything matches: http://userpages.umbc.edu/~rrhudy1/insect.htm and http://userpages.umbc.edu/~rrhudy1/insect2.htm

 

[afFISHionado]

You are very possibly looking at Midge larvae. They are a mosquito-like insect. In fact, Bloodworms are just another name for Midge larvae. As for your fish not eating them (if they are indeed Midge larvae), well, thats not entirely odd. I know when I switched the diet of my fish to live food, they did not immediately take to it. If you could take a pic and post it that would be great - maybe I or someone else could help

 

[TankGirl]

You are very possibly looking at Midge larvae. They are a mosquito-like insect

My money is with aFISHionado on the midge larvae. When you posted this that is the first thing I thought, and I also thought how much my fish would love it!

 

[kdross]

Ok... I must have been hallucinating on the red larva the other day. When I got up this morning, I found 4 more insects on the wall, and saw another larva-looking thing stuck to the side of the glass... half of it was in water, the other half was stuck to the glass (due to the wetness). I gently grabbed it, and took a very close look.

It is definitely a mosquito larva. Looks just like the ones I have seen in pictures... kindly clear with stripes, and a "head" of sorts on it with a tapered opposite end.

Now, the question I have is... what do I do to stop this cycle? The surface of the water is moving fairly well. It's not whitewater rapids by any means, but it is definitely not stagnant (enough current for the glass catfish to be really happy there). The surface is nice and churny (is that a word) due to the bubble tubes for the undergravel filter.

I have read about a bacteria-based product called mosquito dunks. I gather they are just for ponds and such. Is there any equivalent for freshwater tanks?

Again... if my wife ends up getting bitten, I can pretty much kiss my aquarium goodbye. I guess I can get a mosquito net and cover the aquarium. 8O

(Don't even suggest a net for my wife. I'll be needing the net when I'm in the doghouse.)

 

[Allivymar]

You might be able to teach your guys the larvae are yummies, and they could take care of the prob for you. I'm thinking especially the molly and the barbs as insects are part of their diet in the wild.

I have heard of clown loaches that didn't eat snails initially. They had no idea snails were delictable (to loaches anyway LOL yuck). So what the person did was smoosh the snails; the loaches got a taste and after a very short while figured it out themselves. Maybe smooshing (ick) a few larvae and letting them drop would give your fish a hint? I know my angels would absolutely INHALE them. We started dropping the occasional bug this summer in the tank; causes a feeding frenzy when something is floating at the top now LOL

 

[AtodaJ]

Just to add to what Allivymar suggested... try cutting back the amount of food you provide your fish. Maybe only feed once a day and even skip a day here and there. If you simply spoon feed your fish yummy shrimp every day they might be too lazy to get the larvae. If they are hungry you can bet they'll eat those bastages right up and its good food for them!

 

[TankGirl]

Well, if you really want to remove the problem then the only definitive solution is to tear the tank down and start over, then maybe put everyone back in the tank with BIO-Spira and go on your merry way. Scrub everything out and let it dry in the sun or something to be sure there are no moist pockets left. Otherwise, assure her that this problem is one of the most unusual, if not bizarre problems I have heard about so the chances of it happening again are slim. You will need to address the issue of how they are coming into your house in the first place, and eliminate the source. Dump out standing water outside and spray any bushes (that is where CLOUDS of them reside around my house) near your house. Maybe they are coming in your window, so check your screens. I am otherwise at a loss!

 

[kdross]

Just to add to what Allivymar suggested... try cutting back the amount of food you provide your fish. Maybe only feed once a day and even skip a day here and there. If you simply spoon feed your fish yummy shrimp every day they might be too lazy to get the larvae. If they are hungry you can bet they'll eat those bastages right up and its good food for them!

Yeah... a buddy of mine who has, gosh, probably 8 or 9 aquariums suggested I do that... cut down on the food for a few days and let them go nuts on any larva that hatch.

 

[kdross]

Well... I held back on feeding the fish last night. I found no mosquitos or larva this morning (the first in 5 days of this problem). I took the hood off the aquarium last night and did a thorough inspection of the surface of the water (especially along the edges). I have no idea what mosquito eggs look like, so I thoroughly scrubbed and cleaned the edges of the water line. I did find one larva behind the waterfall from my power filter. The surface behind the waterfall is rather calm.

I took the filter completely off the tank the first day I noticed the issue, but I didn't see any larva under there at that time. (I may have been too busy with the insects in the filter to notice).

Anyway... with any luck, I'll get this fixed. I'll keep you all posted on the progress.

And, by the way... thank you all for your help. I've been lurking in these forums for about a month, and this was my first post. Thank you for a warm welcome into your society. This is my first aquarium, and I'm excited beyond belief about having it. And having a great resource such as you makes it that much more enjoyable.

Thank you.

 

[sumphead]

DON'T USE DUNKS!! They contain terrible poisons that will kill everthing in your tank. The Dunks I use are for an outside pond that have no fish in it. They are primarily used for standing water outside to prevent mosquitos from populating. Being in GA mosquitos and midges are possible and both bite! I'm still at a loss as to why your bards aren't tearing them up. Other than suggesting not to use anti mosquito tablets such as dunks I'm at a loss.

 

[Punkymom]

I'm glad your fish finally got the idea and gobbled those suckers up! BTW, what part of Atlanta are you from? I'm about 30 min south.

 

[kdross]

Hi, Punky.

Me, too... I haven't had any more in days.

I'm in Douglasville now, but lived in Newnan for a year when my wife and I first moved to Georgia. As a matter of fact, I drove through Newnan just this last Sunday on the way to Peachtree City for the airshow with my three year old son. Newnan sure has changed a lot since I was there just 3 years ago! Bullsboro @ I-20 has grown, grown, grown!

 

[Guest]

I have read about a bacteria-based product called mosquito dunks. I gather they are just for ponds and such. Is there any equivalent for freshwater tanks?

http://www.pestproducts.com/mosquito_bits.htm

This stuff only contains BT, NOT a poison. I use them outdoors in barrel gardens, no fish, tadpoles snails or frogs died. they do great!

Edited first post this link is better.

 

[Guest]

http://www.marchbiological.com/L/mosquito_control.html

Dunks have no poison either!