strange creature id

[smilla4]

I don't know how to describe this thing and have no idea what it is, but I will try.

It's brown - sorta mulm-colored.
It's approx 3/8in long and cyndrillical.
The body is stiff, no sine-like movement.
It appears to have 4 legs that are jointed - the legs are very close to the head. It also appears to use them for swimming and crawling.

I have no idea where to look up info on it. What is this thing?

 

[smilla4]

Oh yuck. I think it's a caddisfly larva.

 

[trenac]

Do they have a forked tail split into three, swim sideways & bury in the gravel head down?

 

[millipede]

bug

what do you mean "yuck"? Bugs are our friends... just flipped through my field guide and it says that caddisfly larva eat ALGAE... so... he's friendly Adults aren't known to eat anything but a cute little bug that eats algae... nothing wrong with that is there

 

[Guppyman]

Bugs are our friends

Hi. The caddis fly larva can stick its head and legs out of its case, which looks like a long tube. When in danger, it can tuck itself inside. The larva can also crawl around, carrying its case with it, much like a hermit crab. Inside the case, the larva has small hooks at the end of its body to help hold onto it. As the larva grows, it can add onto its case.

Larvae feed during the day. They are grazers and eat whatever they can find on the bottom, including algae, fungi, detritus, and very small invertebrates. - Frank/Guppyman

 

[smilla4]

You know, now I'm not so sure... but it seems the closest thing from what I found on the net.

It swam forwards, not in a smooth fashion - I could see by the slightly jerky movement that it was propelling itself forwards with its legs. And it would land on the side of the bucket and peck at the walls. I haven't seen it since. No forked tail. It mostly hung out in middle and top parts of the water when I saw it, and not on the bottom, but then it did go to the bottom I wouldn't know - it would blend in. It also seemed to dislike light, or at least a lot of it. It looked a lot like the drawing on the top left of this page http://www.bugsurvey.nsw.gov.au/html/popups/bpedia_04_sens_ca-la-a.html

I don't mind the larvae, I just mind the flying adults. The thought of something someday crawling out of the bucket to fly around the house freaks me out.

I already have my pond snail platoon, so the algae is taken care of