insect larvae in RCS tank

redcaptrio

Junior Poster
Jan 20, 2008
15
0
1
Philippines
hi everyone.. still a newbie in the shrimpin farm.. i would like to ask how can i remove insect larvae in my tank?

i thought at first that they are shrimplets of c.babaulti var. malaya as they are very small at first but just today i noticed that they are some kind of insect larvae..they have three-pronged tails and their body seems spiny.. they are about 2mm in length and seems to flutter instead of swim in the water..

are these larvae harmful to shrimplets?

these are my tank specs: 15gal 24inx12inx12in.. with rcs and malaya.. with xmas moss and flame moss, pearlweeds, and HC.. running for a month and a week now.. WC every 4days..

thanks so much in advance!
 

tedr108

Lifetime Charter Member
Lifetime Member
Nov 21, 2007
514
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Los Angeles, CA
Those almost sound like mosquito larvae, but they shouldn't be in non-stagnant water. Mosquito larvae have spiny heads also, so they would be easy to spot. (I used to go to some stagnant water near here and collect hundreds of mosquito larva for my cardinal tetras -- they loved them.)

Anyway, I had a similar problem with larvae of some sort in my shrimp tank in the past. I put a little fish or two in there (tetra or whatever) -- the larva will be gone in a day. It's been over a month since I removed the fish and the larvae have not returned yet. Of course, if you have newly hatched shrimp, you will lose some or all of them to the fish too.
 

redcaptrio

Junior Poster
Jan 20, 2008
15
0
1
Philippines
thanks for the response.. i am sure it is not mosquito larvae as i am familiar with them.. these larvae just turned blackish this week.. well, they are not bothering the shrimps as of the moment so maybe i will just let them finish their cycle.. i also thought that these larvae maybe hitch-hikers to the HC (i bought it emersed)..
again, thanks so much..