i have a 10 gallon i'm cycling. i have 3 ghost shrimp (one dead, one gravid) and many many live plants (that came with lots of baby mystery snails). i started cycling on 2/3/11. well today i saw an arthropod with the shape of a pond skimmer swimming around my tank. what in the world is it? it had the 4 long legs it used to paddle with and it looked like the front legs tucked under head, it was super tiny, and i am pretty good with insects, it looked remarkably like a pond skimmer, but under the water (due to the filter's waterfall pushing it under). so any ideas?
Weird Swimming Bug In Tank
- Thread starter Spydr
- Start date
Can you get pictures?
Would probably help with ID. There are plenty of beetles and other bugs that can slip in with live plants sometimes. I have seen something like you described appear in ghost shrimp tanks at stores, but it is usually pretty big.
Would probably help with ID. There are plenty of beetles and other bugs that can slip in with live plants sometimes. I have seen something like you described appear in ghost shrimp tanks at stores, but it is usually pretty big.
sorry, haven't seen it again, and it's so tiny i'd need a macro lens. looking up ghost shrimp babies, they don't seem to be the same in appearance. but i could be wrong. i'm in nevada, only lived in this state a little while, are there even pond skimmers in nevada?
still looks like a pond skimmer that got pushed under. have never seen i again and it was super tiny! so if pond skimmers have an incomplete metamorphosis, that's probably what it was. just curious, makin' sure i don't have any crazy parasite. any harmless arthropods are more then welcome in my house and tanks.
That sounds like one of those unexpected pond or aquarium hitchhikers that can be difficult to identify without a clear photo. I’d avoid removing it immediately if possible and check its shape, movement, and whether it came in with plants or other materials. For outdoor ponds, I’ve also found that Pond Skimmers can help keep unwanted surface debris and insects from accumulating.
https://www.protopond.com/collections/pond-skimmers
https://www.protopond.com/collections/pond-skimmers
