Other creatures found in tanks

[AlienSnail]

There may be several creatures found in the tanks with you snails, many of them harmless.

Here is a place to post about these, I will use the information to put into the caresheet section at a later date.



Here are two:
Sciarid Flies and Larvae (common name fungus gnats).
The larvae are tiny clear leggless grubs with a dark heads, and eat vegetation.
The flies are approx 2mm long and are found crawling around the tank and eventually the rest of the house.
Again these are harmless BUT if you are trying to grow either fungi or certain seedlings the larvae can eat these and kill your crop.
Their numbers can be reduced by purchasing Hypoaspis Miles predatory mites.
supersnails.proboards76.com/index.cgi?board=links&action=display&thread=1189954255 (link to several places selling these, thank you Tigs)
www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/B/I-DP-BRAD-AD.013.html adult fungus gnat
www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/B/I-DP-BRAD-LV.004.html larvae


Grindalworms or Whiteworms both of which are clear thread-like legless worms, and are harmless. They feed on rotting vegetable matter.
members.optushome.com.au/chelmon/Whiteworms1.jpg
(Thank you to CharismaLove and to Kevin fior the information)

[Arno]

Also good info can be found here:
www.petsnails.co.uk/problems/flies.html#start

[Charisma Love]

Oh those grindalworms really freaked me out when I saw they were covering the tank!
Once I cleaned the whole tank out I realised they could have been fed to my housemate's newt. ahhh well.

[stephenie191]

somone sent me a snail and in the moss their were like a bug and a larve thing.

I HATE INSECTS - so threw the moss out and everything with it ! -

i use eco - earth no bugs tehn ! lol

[GlitterBug]

was it like a small white bug running around and did it jump?

[stephenie191]

stacie said:

was it like a small white bug running around and did it jump?

no, a black thing, almost like a nit type creature and a long, black, larva thing urghhh just grose they were

[lilmissvix]

you know the flies from outside, do these hard my snails?

[AlienSnail]

I doubt it very much.

[feebix]

I see the odd house fly that`s managed to get into my tanks, I can`t help but worry they might lay maggots in the tanks, as they`re nice and warm and humid. I always get the fly out, but to be honest, I clean and check my tanks so often, I`d see any problems quite quickly. It is easy to worry when you see some creature other than your snails in your tanks isn`t it? I`ve got all sorts in mine these days lol I started off with nine wors, I now have oooooh hundreds! lol

[AlienSnail]

House flies won't as far as I'm aware lay their eggs just anywhere, they'll lay near a food source of something rotting. As long as you haven't got old meat or something similar it should be fine. They're germy of course, so it's better they don't go anywhere in the house, but of course they do and they're not very problematic.

[feebix]

Yeah it`s easy to worry but you don`t really need to do you..........

[lilmissvix]

mine are like midges ??!!?? as i live in the country side

[crossless]

I have read that u can sometimes find from peat centipedes or millipedes. Little black/brown/White/pinkish things looking like little worms. I my peat haven't been anything extra maybe few flyies when I have few days row nektarin or something juicy fruits.

[feebix]

I get millipedes all the time, it doesn`t seem bother them at all, I wouldn`t want too many of them in there mind you............

[AlienSnail]

Yeah I've got a cute little millipede in a tub in one of my tanks. I'm thinking about releasing him to live freely among the snails, but I haven't done so yet.