Swimming crawlies??

[Patricia]

After a regular vacuum session, I found several things initially on seeing them i thought I'd sucked up sevral fry, closer inspection revealed they had legs,6 I think, using a split type of tail to swim with Strange looking critters. Am I in trouble here. Have no idea where they came from?has any one come across these before? Thanks

 

[TankGirl]

Welcome to AA, Patricia!

Sounds like some larval or nymph insect. It is summer there, I believe, so is the tank open to the outside where insects could lay eggs?

Some of these kind of critters are great snacks for the fish, and others are predatory (dragonfly nymphs in particular) but either way I think I'd feel better if they were removed. You can do frequent gravel vacs, a tiny area every day, or even use salt and/or heat to eliminate them. Your choice depends on how mature the tank is and what kind of fish you are keeping.

 

[Japola44]

When i was cycling my tank I must have gotten some insect larva in the tank or something. I was cleaning the mineral deposites left from evaporated water off the glass on my hoods, and found some little dead bugs that got cooked under the florecenst. Haven't seen them sense. They probably won't come back.

 

[Patricia]

Hi there,
many thanks for your reply. The community tank is a tropical one and as such has a lid.The fish are just livebearers. I can only assume it came in on plants bought from a reputable dealer some months ago. I have searched the web to try and find a name for these things but no joy
The fish are healthy,the plants taking off and the water clear! So I'll vacuum as you say and see if any more of these things come to light !!

 

[TankGirl]

Yep, plants can often be the source of interesting new critters to our tanks. No doubt your livebearers will make short work of them, plus your PWCs will keep their numbers down. Good luck!

 

[rollin_22]

this is a little off topic, but id there a way to keep that lime scale buildup off of the tank....