# What is this insect?



## Jakeintheboxxx (Oct 2, 2011)

Recently my tank began to have all of these crazy web like hairs all over it, I couldn't decide what was making them. I thought maybe the snails were since I often found them hanging and crawling across them in mid umm air/water. So i was giving the tank a good cleaning today and my gf found this little critter, any ideas on what it is or where it came from (I suspect the plants).


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

Dragonfly nymph or damsel fly nymph. They'll eat small fish. They also bite fingers. GET IT OUT OF YOUR TANK!


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## Jakeintheboxxx (Oct 2, 2011)

Where would it come from? just a random plant like I thought? and yea I couldn't get that bad boy out of the tank any faster. It's a dung beetle now (lol)


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## poolplayerpro3 (Dec 1, 2011)

i have white hair like stuff in my tank on the walls and in my filters but i havent seen any of those yet but i have the same type stuff in my tank i just did a water change and gravel vac today so maybe i got it with the vac


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## Jakeintheboxxx (Oct 2, 2011)

It was huge and did not fit through the slots on my gravel vac, though that is how i got it out of the tank. What would it eat? None of my fish are missing, though my corydora is missing its barbs.


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## poolplayerpro3 (Dec 1, 2011)

i dunno but im sure your corydora's barbs will grow back


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## iheartfish:) (Jan 19, 2011)

If it came from your plants, I wouldn't buy from the same person EVER again.
Things like that will appear on plants that have been harvested from lakes, and you probably could do better picking plants from lakes yourself. 

If you took those plants from a lake, then next time separate each stem and make sure to check each one numerous times. You will still miss some eggs of bugs, but.... 

Just stick to buying plants, and not from the same person you got these from.

Any sort of bug like this will enter your tanks on anything brought from outside lakes, be it rocks, wood or plants. If you put rocks in your tank, always be sure to disinfect by pouring boiling water on them.

Keep an eye out for more bugs! The cory's whiskers could have been bitten off by the bug or other fish. Also, watch your other fish for signs of "mistreatment" by bugs or other things. 

Infestations of bad things are easy to start, but very hard to get rid of.


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## Mikaila31 (Nov 29, 2009)

Its just a damsel fry nymph. While it is predatory its not going to attack anything much bigger then fry.


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## YellowBelly (Mar 27, 2006)

Definitely dragonfly nymph, not damselfly. (Damselfly abdomens are very long and thin, with three flat "tails" at the back end.) He won't hurt anything (well, bigger than he is, anyway) and he will not bother your fingers. I'd return him to a pond or lake, if you have access.


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## Mikaila31 (Nov 29, 2009)

Unless you can ID it down to the species or know the plants were locally grown I would not release any unknown insect into local waters if there is the chance it is non-native.


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