splendidbetta Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 I got home a short time ago and checked over my 'spawn-tank-in-waiting' and I found these monstrous creatures just hanging about, moving around, eating, and wriggling in their cocoons, inside my tank! They are about the length of a single wisteria leaf, out of which they make these protective cases by sewing/sticking several bits of leaf together into a sandwhich, and then using that as a portable home to tag along with their rear-ends and retreat into when necessary. Some were without cocoons, just crawling slowly around on the vegetation. They have white/yellow/clear bodies and much resemble terrestrial caterpillars. They have a very visible digestive tract and this is why they appear green. They have short stubby pointy legs. They are covered in a long white fuzz. They are segmented. Their heads and mouthparts are small. They seem to eat only wisteria, they have not touched my watersprite. Coincidentally, 2 whole big bunches of wisteria which I got on the melbourne fish crawl, have dissintegrated, and I suspect these monsters to be responsible. They seem to go through heaps of plant matter, and actually 'shoot' their waste out of their cocoons, or that was how it appeared. I've tried looking up what they may be, and all I could come up with was Aquatic Caddisfly larvae. If they are something similar, I believe that although they are herbivorous, they may also turn predator. I have fished out about 10 larvae, and undoubtedly there are many more hiding in my watersprite. I don't want to drain the tank because it is absolutely teeming with micro-life. But I'm scared that these things may eat my future fry. Please help! Here are the pics I have taken, and 1 short video. Many thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckie Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 OMG, I have no idea what they are but they are strangely fascinating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splendidbetta Posted October 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 I'd share your perspective if they werent in my spawn tank! :no: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterJ Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 Dunno what they are, but definately insects. Caddis came to mind when you mentioned the coccoon but I've never dragged one out of it's tube for a proper look. Do you have fry in the tank currently? If not throw an adult betta (or any other species of generalist predator) in to see if they'll clean them up. I wouldn't worry about emptying the tank because these guys won't be breeding. More than likely they'll need to metamorphose into a winged adult of who knows what and your tank condtitions won't be suitable for them to breed... Unless of course they were ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splendidbetta Posted October 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 Unless they were what? I don't have fry in there yet. And I don't want my adults to try eating them incase they are poisonous. They look pretty big to be eaten by bettas anyway. I wonder if a couple of applesnails would clean them up? Would the applesnails also eat the bloodworms I have in there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterJ Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 Just messin with your head dood . Check this out. Prolly not the same species but looks reasonably close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splendidbetta Posted October 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 They certainly look similar were it not for the legs. Maybe that's how mine will look in a few more instars. I can't see any more in the tank. I'll keep a close eye out for more, hopefully they all reveal themselves before I can spawn. Thanks for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pritch33 Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 they are a form of midge wich covers a wide range of insect larvae belonging to the fly be carfull as some can eat small fry a relative to the bloodworms we feed to our fish i do like the link peterj put up look cool http://www.bugsurvey.nsw.gov.au/html/popup...dge%20larvae%22 Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splendidbetta Posted October 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 Thanks Ray! :unsure: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celeste84 Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 i'd suggest finding out a lifecycle for them, and waiting until after the period of time required for them to mature is over that way you know there's none left in there and you can spawn away! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishchick Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/course/ent425/com...m/caddis~1.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splendidbetta Posted October 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2006 Thanks for the help everyone! I haven't seen any in the tank lately (famous last words). I'm keeping the ones I fished out in a 350ml plastic cup. Lets see what the suckers turn into! We need an evil laugh/grin emoticon :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Figure_8 Posted October 7, 2006 Report Share Posted October 7, 2006 thats a great idea Stefan.. I'm curious to see what they end up as! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.