jibriggs Posted December 16, 2021 Share Posted December 16, 2021 Hi all, and happy holidays. I've scoured the Google to no avail looking for what the bugs might be. They appeared and proliferated very quickly and are eating the dwarf grass and algae in my tank. My black racer snail is hiding, terrified. The bugs appear as little almost 1/2 inch mossy sticks, that are actually tubes that they live in. They walk around easily in the tank and are voracious.. Twice a day I'm cleaning the floating grass from the top of the tank as they clip the stalks near the root. I'm thinking this is drastic. Anybody? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted December 16, 2021 Share Posted December 16, 2021 On 12/16/2021 at 11:09 AM, jibriggs said: 1/2 inch mossy sticks, that are actually tubes that they live in This makes me think a variety of caddisfly but I could not accurately identify one. @Biotope Biologist??? 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biotope Biologist Posted December 16, 2021 Share Posted December 16, 2021 @Guppysnail is correct that they are caddisfly larvae. They overwinter in ponds and appear in plant shipments. Without a location I could not ID to species 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jibriggs Posted December 16, 2021 Author Share Posted December 16, 2021 Oh, that's great to know. I'm located in Edmonds, WA. Interesting as I've made no changes to the aquarium. Only thing I could think of is that I store my cleaning supplies outside. Maybe the gravel vacuum got eggs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jibriggs Posted December 16, 2021 Author Share Posted December 16, 2021 They are really amazing and can chew through a blade of grass quickly. What remediation can I do? They seem to be very active burrowers.. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HH Morant Posted December 16, 2021 Share Posted December 16, 2021 Wow, I never heard of caddisfly larvae until today. I watched a Youtube video which says that the larvae can live for a year, while the caddisflies only live for a couple of weeks. Having watched one YouTube video, I am now an expert. I recommend that you reach into the tank and take them out and flush them down the toilet. Or use a net. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biotope Biologist Posted December 16, 2021 Share Posted December 16, 2021 They are pretty prolific eaters. If you want to distract them from your plants algae wafers and vegetables work. Otherwise throw them in the nearest pond. It is likely they are natives and came in through your cleaning supplies. When first hatched they are barely detectable by the human eye. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jibriggs Posted December 16, 2021 Author Share Posted December 16, 2021 Thank you. It's easier to see the chain of events now. Really helpful. I keep my old water to water houseplants and didn't clean the vacuum or the bucket. Did a really big cleaning a few weeks ago and BAM! Since they are larval they will not lay more eggs, I'm assuming.. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biotope Biologist Posted December 16, 2021 Share Posted December 16, 2021 You are correct. Like dragonflies they do a very majestic display over the water as adults and lay their eggs on the side of a rock or aquatic vegetation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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