Moth fly larva infestation

[KKAY27]

I am so upset I have been battling these things for a few months now! I finally found out what they are! I have been thinking they were fruit flies but they are not! They are moth flies! They have laid eggs and little white worms have hatched into my planted tank! I have a pleco and 2 ottos in so I put a guppy in to see if it would eat them! They look so bad and I have no idea how to get rid of them! They are in another one of my tanks with many guppies and I can still see a few! I kill the fly when I see them! But honestly there isn't many I see! I do water changes ever week and bee. Feeding very little! I have no idea what to do! They look so bad! And I don't know if they will hurt my fish! I have 12 tanks to so I'm freaking out

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[Delapool]

New one for me. Did you have any luck getting rid of them?

 

[KKAY27]

New one for me. Did you have any luck getting rid of them?

Oh my goodness no! They are everywhere I have them plus planteria! I know I have both because I see 2 different worms and then the drain moth babies on the top lid and the mom I have already killed! The guppies didn't touch them

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[TMRC Exotics]

It sounds rough for a planted tank but how about pulling everything out and a 100% water change, suck them all down the drain with a siphon? I'm not aware of a product to kill them without harming plants or fish. If they stick on the glass could you attack and kill them with a mag float?(I feel funny saying attack and kill with a mag float lol).

 

[KKAY27]

It sounds rough for a planted tank but how about pulling everything out and a 100% water change, suck them all down the drain with a siphon? I'm not aware of a product to kill them without harming plants or fish. If they stick on the glass could you attack and kill them with a mag float?(I feel funny saying attack and kill with a mag float lol).

I was afraid I would have to pull my plants but I tried running the mag float over them and it doesn't kill them! They just wiggle through the grooves out of the mag float! And move on It's so weird I just want them to dieee!!!!

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[nkoyko]

I have midges in my tank. They came in as larva in some java moss. The only way to get rid of these things that I have been able to find is to break down the tank and clean everything. If you drain and refill the larva will still be in the tank and you will run into the same problem.

To get rid of my problem midges I'm breaking down my tank, tossing my substrate (you can boil your substrate and that will get rid of them too. I just have 50lbs of sand and can afford to ditch mine), bleaching my tank, and dipping all of my plants in potassium permanganate. I spent a long time trying to find a solution to allow me to keep my tank as is but in the end I would just prefer to be 100% rid of them.

Good luck in your fight against PITA bugs!

 

[KKAY27]

I have midges in my tank. They came in as larva in some java moss. The only way to get rid of these things that I have been able to find is to break down the tank and clean everything. If you drain and refill the larva will still be in the tank and you will run into the same problem.

To get rid of my problem midges I'm breaking down my tank, tossing my substrate (you can boil your substrate and that will get rid of them too. I just have 50lbs of sand and can afford to ditch mine), bleaching my tank, and dipping all of my plants in potassium permanganate. I spent a long time trying to find a solution to allow me to keep my tank as is but in the end I would just prefer to be 100% rid of them.

Good luck in your fight against PITA bugs!

Oh that just makes me so sad!!! I sure didn't want to do that but I guess I will have to!! That's a lot of work? but I'm tired of them

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[nkoyko]

It makes me mad too. I don't want to do it either but I'd rather do it right the first time and permanently get rid of them rather than dealing with them again in a week or so. And it is a ton of work! I'm breaking mine down slowly because I have classes and other fish tanks to take care of. So I'm going to start by draining it and then every day or so I'll be doing a little more to it. But next weekend will be draining and releasing the midges outside so they can go die in the freezing Ohio weather. Then I'll try to dip the plants, bleach the tank, and boil the driftwood during Thanksgiving. Hopefully by the end of thanksgiving weekend I'll be able to set the tank back up pest free.

Do you know where the drain moths are coming from? If it is from your drains you'll want to bleach or treat your drains to prevent them from reoccurring.

 

[Delapool]

Have you asked around at the lfs if they have seen anyone else with this maybe?

I hunted back to a tank thread here Australia with mosquito larva but no luck on another solution.

 

[nkoyko]

Delapool, I called a place and they told me guppies but I can't have those and I believe the OP said they had guppies in these tanks but they weren't able to get rid of all larva.

I found my info from a Google search. It was on a planted tank forum and most people said guppies or to be thankful for live food but if the fish won't eat insect larva then live food becomes an issue. The person having their issue on the planted tank forum had midges and some other pests and had tried the drain and refill without cleaning thoroughly and the pests came back about a week later. The person then said they took their tank apart and boiled all decor and substrate and that finally got rid of the pests problem.

 

[Delapool]

Delapool, I called a place and they told me guppies but I can't have those and I believe the OP said they had guppies in these tanks but they weren't able to get rid of all larva.

I found my info from a Google search. It was on a planted tank forum and most people said guppies or to be thankful for live food but if the fish won't eat insect larva then live food becomes an issue. The person having their issue on the planted tank forum had midges and some other pests and had tried the drain and refill without cleaning thoroughly and the pests came back about a week later. The person then said they took their tank apart and boiled all decor and substrate and that finally got rid of the pests problem.

That got mentioned as well here with using fish. The trouble for the OP in that other thread was high temps might cook the fish. I thought another suggestion was made but unfortunately can't find it. Pretty sure there was no med treatment thought of as I think I would of remembered that (unless it was salt maybe). Sounds pretty annoying. I wouldn't fancy breaking down a tank

 

[KKAY27]

It makes me mad too. I don't want to do it either but I'd rather do it right the first time and permanently get rid of them rather than dealing with them again in a week or so. And it is a ton of work! I'm breaking mine down slowly because I have classes and other fish tanks to take care of. So I'm going to start by draining it and then every day or so I'll be doing a little more to it. But next weekend will be draining and releasing the midges outside so they can go die in the freezing Ohio weather. Then I'll try to dip the plants, bleach the tank, and boil the driftwood during Thanksgiving. Hopefully by the end of thanksgiving weekend I'll be able to set the tank back up pest free.

Do you know where the drain moths are coming from? If it is from your drains you'll want to bleach or treat your drains to prevent them from reoccurring.

Yea I might as well go ahead and start breaking mine down! I'm so scared my other tanks are going to get them. I have been very careful though and not let anything that's been in contact go into the others!
Where can you get the potassium stuff? I think they were coming from my bathtub but I have been pouring bleach down the drain but there may be another source! I kill the moths when I see them, I have only seen 2!

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[KKAY27]

Have you asked around at the lfs if they have seen anyone else with this maybe?

I hunted back to a tank thread here Australia with mosquito larva but no luck on another solution.

I haven't but I will as soon as I go back! When you Google it not alot of information shows up either!!!?

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[nkoyko]

Delapool, they didn't mention upping the heat (midges actually breed in hotter water) in the tank at all. I'm curious if that would work on the drain moth. The one thread I found said to boil everything for awhile. Nothing really survives a good boiling.

KKAY27, I wonder if maybe you could close off your drains when not in use and maybe they would die off or leave. I had drain moths a long time ago (before I had any fish) and I remember dumping bleach down all of my drains. You might even be able to try drain cleaner too. If they have a nest or something it might knock it loose.

I just bought it off of ebay. I found some at lowes but it is 2lbs! That's way too much for me. I got 1lb off of eBay for half the price.

 

[Delapool]

Delapool, they didn't mention upping the heat (midges actually breed in hotter water) in the tank at all. I'm curious if that would work on the drain moth. The one thread I found said to boil everything for awhile. Nothing really survives a good boiling.

KKAY27, I wonder if maybe you could close off your drains when not in use and maybe they would die off or leave. I had drain moths a long time ago (before I had any fish) and I remember dumping bleach down all of my drains. You might even be able to try drain cleaner too. If they have a nest or something it might knock it loose.

I just bought it off of ebay. I found some at lowes but it is 2lbs! That's way too much for me. I got 1lb off of eBay for half the price.

Sorry, I didn't explain well. The water was over 86F already I think it was so had to throw the fish idea out. It did get talked about for what fish could handle high heat well but in the end too risky.

 

[nkoyko]

Oh! I miss read. The OP in the mosquito larva thread had raised their heat. Now it makes sense.

I'm kind of curious how the larva will do in different temps. I know that midges die off in the cold but their larva have to survive it some way for the next generation to survive. Part of me is wanting to unplug the heater on my tank to test the theory but I don't know if the tank would get cold enough to kill of the adults.

 

[KKAY27]

Delapool, they didn't mention upping the heat (midges actually breed in hotter water) in the tank at all. I'm curious if that would work on the drain moth. The one thread I found said to boil everything for awhile. Nothing really survives a good boiling.

KKAY27, I wonder if maybe you could close off your drains when not in use and maybe they would die off or leave. I had drain moths a long time ago (before I had any fish) and I remember dumping bleach down all of my drains. You might even be able to try drain cleaner too. If they have a nest or something it might knock it loose.

I just bought it off of ebay. I found some at lowes but it is 2lbs! That's way too much for me. I got 1lb off of eBay for half the price.

That's a good idea! I will start covering the drains up when not in use! I been pouring bleach down them every now and then to see if that helps!

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[Fresh2o]

If it is a bathroom sink, you might want to pour/spray bleach into the overflow hole (usually placed near the top front of the sink bowl). Let it sit a bit and then close the drain and fill the sink with hot water. Allow it to fill and drain into the overflow.



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[KKAY27]

If it is a bathroom sink, you might want to pour/spray bleach into the overflow hole (usually placed near the top front of the sink bowl). Let it sit a bit and then close the drain and fill the sink with hot water. Allow it to fill and drain into the overflow.



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This is so strange I completely drain and washed tank out all accessories and they came back I haven't seen a moth but it was back in a matter of days! It blows my mind!!!

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[nkoyko]

Did you boil the substrate and scrub under the rim of the tank?