Help in IDing this creature

[Savethemall]

Hi I found this creature in the pangasuis pond. I saw 3 of the semi floating in the water, didnt see any on the fish.
Do you know what this is?

 

[puffers4puffers]

Dragonfly larva...maybe

 

[Deadeye]

Definitely a larvae, the face seems like a dragonfly, but seeing how it looks underwater would help.

 

[Savethemall]

I'll try to take another pic. A larvae of an insect tou mean? Not some kind of fish parasite?

 

[Redshark1]

It looks like the shed exoskeleton of a young dragonfly nymph. They have to shed their "skin" in order to grow. Its a predator of small things including fry or very small fish. Not a parasite.

 

[Deadeye]

I'll try to take another pic. A larvae of an insect tou mean? Not some kind of fish parasite?

Exactly - a large number of insect species have larvae and nymphs (damsel/dragonflies being nymphs) that grow and develop in water.
These guys don’t parasitize off of fish but will eat anything small enough to be a meal. I had a damselfly do some substantial damage to an amphipod population.
They are pretty cool though - they have extendable mouthparts that work like the xenomorph in Alien.

 

[Cal Amari]

Definitely not vegan

 

[jjohnwm]

Definitely not vegan

...but maybe it can be coerced?

I mean, it's halfway there already...you can see right through it...

 

[jjohnwm]

Kidding aside, I think that's merely an empty cast-off skin, rather than an actual critter. Did you ever see it alive and moving? And look at the tiny size of it; could be anything, even a simple mosquito or other small fly. Hard to say if that's the full size of the thing upon transformation to the adult...or simply the very first of many molts as it grew into a much-larger adult.

 

[Sinister-Kisses]

Definitely not vegan

I'm officially declaring that you win the internet for today.