Hey guys, urgent question for ya.... ID this weird thing

[ThePBM]

So a couple weeks ago during a water change, i see a long slender whitish clear thing that looked like a dragonfly/earwig type thing swimming around my tank that i haven't seen since. Just now, i see this thing in an adjacent tank which is much less dense in planting than the first one, so it was easy to see. but i swear it wasn't there days ago. I have no idea what this creepy thing is. It's in my cherry shrimp tank and i'm concerned because 2 of my shrimp are carrying loads of eggs and i don't want this thing feeding on them.

 

[santoury]

That is a damselfly larvae, and they are filter feeders if I recall correctly. No danger to fry/shrimp. They make a cool addition, and soon you'll find a beautiful insect in your room to let out the window!

 

[santoury]

Sorry, I mean a MAYFLY larvae

 

[ThePBM]

So you're tellin me some fly was in my room pooping out eggs or larvae into my fish tanks?

 

[fishtankdork]

looks like a dragonfly larvae to me. id kill it.

baby shrip are pretty small

 

[santoury]

Mayflies are not likely to be "coming in and laying eggs" in aquaria, but you probably picked it up in some new plants??

As before, they are filter feeders, and are just a really cool creature to watch.

 

[fishtankdork]

check the first pic out, it is bigger then the shrimp.. maybe im just pariniod...

 

[santoury]

Fishtank,
You may not know, but mayfly larvae have three "feathery" appendages (actually gills) which are what you are seeing at the rear end in the pictures.

 

[ShadowBass]

Yes, it's a mayfly larva. Most feed on algae and stuff, but there are a few predatory species (I don't know how to identify them), I have no idea whether those would bother shrimp or anything else that size, but you may or may not want to remove it from the aquarium.

The adults look like this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Eintagsfliege_fg01.jpg

Here's the actual article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayfly

 

[donaldastwood]

looks like a dragonfly larvae to me. id kill it.

baby shrip are pretty small

I agree. It looks like a Dragon Fly Larve to me. I would also kill it as they are dangerous to any creature that is their size and smaller.

If i were you keep a close eye on your inventory of fish...just to make sure no one is disappearing. And if there have been disapperances... Drop it in a tank with real big fish.. and let it become the meal..