What in the heck is this thing

[jaydivingboard]

Can someone please tell me what this bug is and how it would have found its way into my tank?

 

[MrBryan723]

That is a dragon fly nymph. Probably came in on a plant. They are cool, but predators, so if you have any small fish, it would be best to remove it.

 

[jaydivingboard]

That is a dragon fly nymph. Probably came in on a plant. They are cool, but predators, so if you have any small fish, it would be best to remove it.

I keep trying but i have so many hiding spots it just darts away

 

[Ihaveupsindrome]

it is a dragon fly nymph. dude how did you get one of those? those are so cool I keep wanting to get one. you can take out the nymph by having two people?

 

[Megaanemp]

Try lowering the water level, and take out any decorations that you can!

 

[Ihaveupsindrome]

Try lowering the water level, and take out any decorations that you can!

thats a really good idea hope that the other guy can get rid of the bug

 

[Donthemon]

So will that turn into a dragon fly and fly away eventually? That is cool!

 

[Ihaveupsindrome]

one time when I was little I saw a dragon fly larva land in my back yard then in a few hours it emerged and flew off! that was one of the coolest things i have ever seen besides the time when I went to the aquarium.

 

[RedGallant]

Have you bought any plants lately?

 

[Redshark1]

It will turn into a Dragonfly adult and fly away if it gets enough food to grow big enough and gets something to climb out of the water on to dry its wings.

Hopefully this happens in the right season. Alternatively it could be placed outside in a suitable environment.

 

[FishBoy101]

I can image it flying off into the sun set naruto running.

 

[jaydivingboard]

Try lowering the water level, and take out any decorations that you can!

I cant remove the decoration it is a bunch of rocks glues together and shrimp are all in the crevices and I don't want to squash them, I will have to wait till I see it again, I saw it twice today once on my water wisteria and the other time i was able to get this picture, both times I tried to grab it with tweezers but I will try netting it next time

So far luckily I dont think it is putting a damper on my shrimp colony, do they eat snails? If so it would explain my tanks bladder snails being gone, I will put it in my goldfish pond once I net it

 

[Utar]

Here is a youtube video for Dragonfly life cycle, it is interesting.

 

[Megaanemp]

I cant remove the decoration it is a bunch of rocks glues together and shrimp are all in the crevices and I don't want to squash them, I will have to wait till I see it again, I saw it twice today once on my water wisteria and the other time i was able to get this picture, both times I tried to grab it with tweezers but I will try netting it next time

What about sucking it up with a siphon or turkey baster? I can’t really tell how big it is

 

[aquaticamanda]

Oh god. Imagine turing the lights on in the morning, all tired still ...and this little bugger looks right at you...

 

[Flyfisha]

Seriously you need to watch this video. At the 6 minute mark .

As a trout fisherman I am familiar with the life cycle of these creatures ,Or at least some of the hundreds of varieties that there are. The insect lives 12 months or more in water then has just a few weeks in the air to mate and lay more eggs.

 

[FishBoy101]

Oh god. Imagine turing the lights on in the morning, all tired still ...and this little bugger looks right at you...

that my friend, sounds scary

 

[yukondog]

Keep in mind it is a predator, and will kill and eat your fish, if it was in my tank I would do whatever it takes to get it out.

 

[jaydivingboard]

Got it last night while the lights were off, haven't seen anymore while rummaging through

 

[Starbella]

Good catch. That thing would freak me out knowing it was in my tank.

 

[jaydivingboard]

Good catch. That thing would freak me out knowing it was in my tank.

It did. Every 15 minutes or so I'd scan the whole tank trying to catch it out. I keep shrimp and endlers so it was only a matter of time till Alien started heavily denting my tank stock, it was at least an inch so no telling how long it was in there, makes me wonder if I will see a shrimp population explosion more so than I already had

 

[cpuphantom]

I would just die if I saw that in my tank.