Fly Infestation

[Helena]

Hello! I have an infestation of these flies (they are about 1/4th inch big and very slow at flying). I was told they are Drain Flies and I have so many in my tank that I have to remove everything and start over. My biggest concern are my marimo moss balls. They are currently in a quarantine mason jar while I reset my tank. But as you can see in the gif, there's already visible larvae wiggling around. Do you have any advice as to how I can save my moss balls but kill any larvae that might have worked their way deep into them? Thank you for your help!

[Luciferkrist]

I would imagine just about any medium-sized carnivore or omnivore fish would have a field day with those. I know I had a similar problem in an experiment tank, and just 6 khulis cleaned it up in just a week. And, if I'm being honest, a few of them would probably be fine in that jar while you breakdown and rebuild - Just not long term. They may seem to like being everywhere they aren't supposed to be, but they deserve enough room to actually HAVE their random spaz sessions.

[Helena]

Thanks for the advice. My local fish store is watching my fish while I reset and after seeing how many larvae I have: I am definitely adding some khulis loaches!!

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 11/4/2022 at 6:32 AM, Helena said:

Thanks for the advice. My local fish store is watching my fish while I reset and after seeing how many larvae I have: I am definitely adding some khulis loaches!!

African Butterfly Fish have a field day with larvae, as do bettas and most barbs/danios.

[Flumpweesel]

Snag with using fish to clean them is that they might pull apart the moss balls to get to larvae. My goldfish ripped them to shreds looking for cory eggs.

I would get the moss balls into a jar of tap water filled to the lid place it somewhere warm and let larvae mature if there is no air gap the flies will drown without being able to breed again.

Keeping it in a warm window sill should speed up the life cycle.

Edited November 4, 2022 by Flumpweesel
Undoing auto correct

[Guppysnail]

I’m sorry you are having this issue. Your marimo balls and any other plants can be cleaned of all larvae by using Reverse Respiration without damaging them and without chemical residue. 
 

Soak your Marimo and plants in plain seltzer for 12 hours. Then place them in plain water. 
 

Here is the article describing the process in detail. 

 

Edited November 4, 2022 by Guppysnail

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 11/4/2022 at 11:02 AM, Guppysnail said:

using Reverse Respiration

Can RR also dance the cha cha cha and fly a F-15? There seems to be no end to its usefulness! 😜

[The endler guy]

On 11/4/2022 at 2:49 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:

African Butterfly Fish have a field day with larvae, as do bettas and most barbs/danios.

Any top dwelling fish will have a field day with flys 

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 11/4/2022 at 12:27 PM, Aiden Carter said:

Any top dwelling fish will have a field day with flys 

True!

[Helena]

I just emptied my tank and it's fair to say that I had over a couple thousand larvae is not an understatement. I only have a Columbian zebra pleco, panda corries, and fry zebra Danios. I think the khulis loaches would be the best fit for my 20 long but I appreciate all of the advice. My moss balls are currently plastic wrap in my fridge to help slow down the flys reproductive cycle. I have 6 moss balls so my plan is to use one as a guinea pig to make sure I don't lose them all but they are not going in my new tank until I am certain they are free of flies

 

[Flumpweesel]

On 11/4/2022 at 10:02 AM, Guppysnail said:

Your marimo balls and any other plants can be cleaned of all larvae by using Reverse Respiration

Ahhh that's good news, I wasn't sure (not really been keeping up with that thread) if it was safe for marimo with them being a algae .

[dasaltemelosguy]

On 10/31/2022 at 4:39 PM, Helena said:

Hello! I have an infestation of these flies (they are about 1/4th inch big and very slow at flying). I was told they are Drain Flies and I have so many in my tank that I have to remove everything and start over. My biggest concern are my marimo moss balls. They are currently in a quarantine mason jar while I reset my tank. But as you can see in the gif, there's already visible larvae wiggling around. Do you have any advice as to how I can save my moss balls but kill any larvae that might have worked their way deep into them? Thank you for your help

 

I'm a little late as I had misplaced the videos linked below but @Guppysnail is correct in that Reverse Respiration will asphyxiate most anything that relies on oxygen such as insect larvae. We actually tested this on two types of insect larva and recorded two short videos of RR being applied to them. 

The first one is a larva where the seltzer is applied at 12 seconds in. The second video is better, but the seltzer is applied to that larva at 1:06 seconds in. In both instances, the larva expires in less than 30 seconds. Once it 'goes flat' it leaves no residue.

Seltzer Applied to Insect Larve at 12s

Seltzer Applied to Insect Larve at 1:06s

Marimo algae is quite resistant to RR's algicidal effects and requires 4+ treatments before it sees any damage. It is not uncommon for sellers to recommend soaking marimos in seltzer to accelerate their growth:

Using Club Soda (CO2) to Help Boost Marimo Photosynthesis

I hope this helps, good luck with the bugs. 

[boylesdowntothis]

On 11/4/2022 at 9:52 PM, dasaltemelosguy said:

I'm a little late as I had misplaced the videos linked below but @Guppysnail is correct in that Reverse Respiration will asphyxiate most anything that relies on oxygen such as insect larvae. We actually tested this on two types of insect larva and recorded two short videos of RR being applied to them. 

The first one is a larva where the seltzer is applied at 12 seconds in. The second video is better, but the seltzer is applied to that larva at 1:06 seconds in. In both instances, the larva expires in less than 30 seconds. Once it 'goes flat' it leaves no residue.

 

@Guppysnail...........cha, cha, cha!😆

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 11/4/2022 at 11:02 AM, Guppysnail said:

I’m sorry you are having this issue. Your marimo balls and any other plants can be cleaned of all larvae by using Reverse Respiration without damaging them and without chemical residue. 
 

Soak your Marimo and plants in plain seltzer for 12 hours. Then place them in plain water. 
 

Here is the article describing the process in detail. 

 

 

On 11/5/2022 at 5:52 AM, dasaltemelosguy said:

linked below but @Guppysnail is correct in

 

On 11/5/2022 at 3:38 PM, boylesdowntothis said:

@Guppysnail...........cha, cha, cha!😆

There's a theme here isn't there?

Would @Guppysnail like a throne out of Easy Green to be made for her? 😜

[Guppysnail]

On 11/5/2022 at 11:16 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:

 

 

There's a theme here isn't there?

Would @Guppysnail like a throne out of Easy Green to be made for her? 😜

How about a cast instead for when I break an ankle doing the cha cha 🤣