I've asked about these bugs before but I can't remember where or much about what people said. I think it was on DG. Anyway, they infest my roof pond. They are hiding in the soil of the plants, near the surface, under the hard water buildup on the sides of the pond, in the folds of the plastic weave bag I put the pump inside, and in a pot of aquarium grass that is growing under the water. They are underwater bugs, they die if they are exposed to the sun.

I cleaned the pump and fertilized the lilies today and these things are everywhere. I only have a few Mollies and a zillion fancy guppies in that pond, I thought I saw one of the guppies go after one that I threw in but when I tried it again, threw a bunch in the water, they ignored them.

As I recall, on DG they said they were a sign of healthy water. I'm not so sure. I really just don't like them, they give me the creeps. They are about the size of a tick, they zoom away quickly if disturbed, they hide in dark places and I don't like much of anything that does that.

When I pulled the pump out the bag around it was covered with them. I dropped it on the ground and went to do something else. When I came back there was only one small place with any moisture left and they were all huddled in that spot. I took these pictures with my phone. I really hope someone can tell me what they are for sure.

I'm considering putting some of my cichlids from downstairs in that pond in the hopes that they will root them out and eat them. Or, I could get a couple more Angel Fish and I'm sure they would eat them.






Any suggestions for what they are and whether they would be too much protein for the Malawi type cichlids I have or whether I should just get the Angel fish or another kind of tropical fish are greatly appreciated. I have been wanting a Sumatra fish for awhile now but can't put it in with the cichlids, maybe one or two of those, problem is they would probably eat all of the guppies. Eating some of the guppies fry is not a problem, they are breeding like bunnies, but I love their fancy tails and would like the adults to live.

I blew up your pics on photoshop but they only became blurry. Firstly they seem to look like miniscule prawns. But I've seen things like that under damp/wet rotting vegetation. Not swimming freely in water. On the ground they hop around like very large fleas. (Don't jump anywhere near as high though.) That's about the limit of my experience/observations. Maybe in Mexico they are something that looks similar but is totally different. One of our local fish would make short work of them, the Spangled Grunter. They eat every thing in with them. A small turtle would probably clean them up as well.

a Turtle, I hadn't thought of a turtle. There's no shade at all though, and I think one would need a way to get out of the sun.

I cleaned out the filter on that pond this morning and it too was full of the things. They don't swim around if they can help it but they can really move through the water to get back to the muck or hidden somewhere. This pond turned green about 8 months ago after being clear for a few years. I can't get it to clear again and I'm wondering if these things are mucking around and stirring things up? Also, every day there are chewed leaves from the aquarium grass floating. I thought that might be the fish going in there after the bugs, or it is the bugs themselves. Something is chewing the grass blades off so that every day I clean out lots of floating grass.

I might try and catch a couple of the cichlids downstairs and see what they do up there. They are really fast so they could catch the bugs (or the guppies) if they are interested.

Jonna

I haven't seen anything like them before - Are we too cold here to have them? I would think soemthing would eat them.

If they are insects, or even if they are some sort of aquatic there has to be a fish that will eat them! I have plain ol' comets, that were 29cent feeder fish from the pet store in my little pond. They eat anything that gets in there that's smaller than themselves. Go buy a few cheap goldfish, I'd say.

As for clearing up your water, have you tried barley straw? Also irises make great filter plants. I've never, ever had cloudy water, and I'm sure its because I grow clumps of iris in my pond. They provide shade and hiding places for frogs and turtles, too.

I added a pair of rosy barbs last week. The fish store told me they would eat the overabundant guppy fry and hopefully they will also go after these bugs. Yes, the bugs are aquatic, they will follow the last traces of water when I clean them off on the roof. The lilies have covered the surface with leaves and I'm really not sure why the water is still green. It's a cattle trough pond on the roof, not visible unless I show it to someone, so I don't care as much that it isn't clear. My main pond is clear and that is more important as it is a feature in the garden.

I don't think that Iris do well here, too tropical. I do have a lot of lilies and some papyrus and those floating snowdrop plants in the pond. I have had canna in there in previous years but they tend to blow over and are kind of a pain so I didn't replace them when they blew over and drowned last year.