Spaghider Posted August 16 Share Posted August 16 Checking in on my fish tank after school and came home to this… thing. Entirely unsure of what this is, besides maybe some sort of larva/nymph. Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woowala Posted August 16 Share Posted August 16 dragonfly most likely 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted August 16 Share Posted August 16 very possibly a dragonfly nymph. short, round compact body, with a larger abdomen. very good predator, depending on his size and your fish size. picture is a bit blurry so could be wrong. also depends on the size, no size reference. if very small, could be an aphid nymph. not a predator, unless you're a plant. also not aquatic, so won't be there long. without a clearer picture, very hard to tell 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaghider Posted August 16 Author Share Posted August 16 I’d estimate it as slightly bigger than a sesame seed. Also, would this happen to get bigger if it was a dragonfly nymph? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheChosenOne Posted August 16 Share Posted August 16 after a quick search. definitely a dragonfly nymph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted August 16 Share Posted August 16 On 8/16/2024 at 7:51 PM, Spaghider said: would this happen to get bigger if it was a dragonfly nymph If it was a dragonfly nymph, it might be bigger already. Leaning towards another type of nymph, just not sure which one. The banded legs are typical of some terrestrial bugs. On 8/16/2024 at 7:53 PM, TheChosenOne said: definitely a dragonfly nymph. yeah, I'm not so sure. the form is correct. the size and the banding are off. But there are so many species variation from place to place. The form does remind me of gomphids though 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woowala Posted August 17 Share Posted August 17 likely predatory anyway, I'd remove it if you haven't yet 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted August 17 Share Posted August 17 My next question is what's near the tank. Does it have access to outside through and open window? or do you have a bunch of potted plants near it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaghider Posted August 17 Author Share Posted August 17 (edited) No lid, but also 0 access to the outside or any potted plants. Haven’t even seen any dragon flies lately, so I don’t know how it’d have gotten in. On 8/16/2024 at 8:21 PM, Woowala said: likely predatory anyway, I'd remove it if you haven't yet Larva recently just disappeared into the folliage, any way to lure it out? (Update on this, just saw it and it DOUBLED in size already) Edited August 17 by Spaghider Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woowala Posted August 17 Share Posted August 17 I'd probably just wait with a net and keep an eye out for more. I wouldn't worry about it too much either unless you have fry/very small fish. Just watch and pull them as you find them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted August 17 Share Posted August 17 On 8/16/2024 at 10:52 PM, Spaghider said: No lid, but also 0 access to the outside or any potted plants. Haven’t even seen any dragon flies lately, so I don’t know how it’d have gotten in. Yeah, that was my thought. Unless you collected something from the wild. There are several things it could be. But I don’t think it’s a dragonfly. Although, the shape is close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biotope Biologist Posted August 17 Share Posted August 17 It’s a dragonfly nymph. dragonflies and damselflies cut holes into aquatic plants to lay their eggs and then seal them back up. The nymph will then burrow its way out of the plant. They can lay dormant for quite a while 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaghider Posted August 17 Author Share Posted August 17 On 8/17/2024 at 8:10 AM, Biotope Biologist said: They can lay dormant for quite a while That might actually be why! I bought quite a few plants a while back (and a few botanicals, but not sure if they could hide in it). Question though, how big will it get? I have two female shrimp (1.5 - 1.75 inches) and don’t wanna lose ‘em. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biotope Biologist Posted August 17 Share Posted August 17 They get fairly large. A bit bigger than an adult dragonfly… I would remove it before it gets that big as they are known to eat anything that moves. When they are small though they mostly just eat detritus worms and small insects Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted August 17 Share Posted August 17 On 8/17/2024 at 9:36 AM, Spaghider said: Question though, how big will it get Think of something a bit smaller than the size of your thumb, for a large one. So basically anything it can catch it’s going to eat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaghider Posted August 17 Author Share Posted August 17 (edited) Finally got the nymph out! Curious though, anyone got an idea of what species this could be? Edited August 17 by Spaghider 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt B Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 Wow! That's cool! Personally, I would let it grow and see what it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biotope Biologist Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 On 8/17/2024 at 10:44 AM, Spaghider said: Finally got the nymph out! Curious though, anyone got an idea of what species this could be? Won’t have much of an idea until it’s an adult. They are pretty hard to tell apart and if this came from your plants it is very likely a Florida resident which doesn’t narrow it down any haha…. Florida has a ton of dragonfly species 😅 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 Just to give you an idea of the complexity of iding juveniles. I still have a text book on fly identification. It’s close to 1200 pages. In it you look at things like antennae base formation. You look at what hair is in what place on what plate. Granted, flies are much more complex than dragonflies with many many more species. But juvenile anything makes it much harder 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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