# bugs looking like shrimp!



## mordalphus (Jun 23, 2010)

copepods?


----------



## punchy (Jul 3, 2011)

daphnia?


----------



## johnny313 (Apr 15, 2011)

no. these are maybe 1/4" and greenish. they have legs!!


----------



## Jeffww (Aug 6, 2010)

amphipods come to mind.


----------



## GeToChKn (Apr 15, 2011)

Scuds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## johnny313 (Apr 15, 2011)

GeToChKn said:


> Scuds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


are they bad in a shrimp only tank??????


----------



## johnny313 (Apr 15, 2011)

i just googled scuds and they are pretty much shrimp. these are more bug like


----------



## mordalphus (Jun 23, 2010)

sounds like dragonfly nymph maybe, and those _ARE_ bad


----------



## johnny313 (Apr 15, 2011)

here is a pic....


----------



## johnny313 (Apr 15, 2011)

damselfly nymph?


----------



## zachary908 (Feb 12, 2011)

Yes, Damselfly nymph.. I'd remove it to be on the safe side.


----------



## Jeffww (Aug 6, 2010)

They're carnivorous larvae of damselflies. Be happy you didn't get a dragonfly nymph. Those are huge and disgusting.

and...
Just for the record scuds = amphipods.


----------



## johnny313 (Apr 15, 2011)

are damselfly nymphs bad? i took out 15 already. where do they come from?


----------



## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

wow that's a bug......kill it...


----------



## johnny313 (Apr 15, 2011)

i took about 20 or SO out already. seems they like driftwood. they dont seem to be after the baby shrimp. but im on a mission now!


----------



## Jeffww (Aug 6, 2010)

johnny313 said:


> are damselfly nymphs bad? i took out 15 already. where do they come from?



Sounds like a damselfly laid eggs in your tank. Did you receive any plants recently? Put anything from an outdoor water source into your tank (Rocks, plants, wood, water, sand). Is your tank open to the outside? Have you left the doors open on accident recently? Damselflies are like dragonflies but smaller and their larvae aren't as carnivorous (but they are still a danger to shrimp). 

Kill them if you believe they came from a non native source. Otherwise return them where you got them from. Damsels eat mosquitos!


----------



## johnny313 (Apr 15, 2011)

damsel flies are cool looking! I can't kill them now! im in NJ so its going to get cold soon. i might keep them in a bowl or something


----------



## mordalphus (Jun 23, 2010)

They are carnivorous, they will eat things living in your tank!


----------



## johnny313 (Apr 15, 2011)

mordalphus said:


> They are carnivorous, they will eat things living in your tank!


I pulled out about 20. how many eggs do they lay????


----------



## mordalphus (Jun 23, 2010)

No idea, but also be careful handling them. Not sure if they bite like dragonfly larvae do, but dragonfly larvae HURT when they bite.


----------



## Jeffww (Aug 6, 2010)

johnny313 said:


> I pulled out about 20. how many eggs do they lay????



I think anywhere from 10-100.....Depends on the species. 20 sounds about right though. There may be a few more lurking around.


----------



## johnny313 (Apr 15, 2011)

im up to about 40 now!! hahah this is crazy!


----------



## dakotaice (Apr 8, 2006)

Yikes!! That would totally gross me out!


----------



## johnny313 (Apr 15, 2011)

i know!!


----------



## dhavoc (May 4, 2006)

put em in a spare tank if you have one. you will need to feed them or they will eat each other (a meals a meal). daphnia or spare scuds if you have any. my outdoor water gardens are infested with dragon fly nymphs (my wife loves the adults) but they are pretty nasty looking in the nymph stage and they are eating my guppies and moon fish, wish i had damsel flys instead. oh and cover the container or you'll have bunch of damselflys in your house when they morph to adult form. i loved watching damselflys as a kid, though we dont see them as often nowdays.


----------



## johnny313 (Apr 15, 2011)

dhavoc said:


> put em in a spare tank if you have one. you will need to feed them or they will eat each other (a meals a meal). daphnia or spare scuds if you have any. my outdoor water gardens are infested with dragon fly nymphs (my wife loves the adults) but they are pretty nasty looking in the nymph stage and they are eating my guppies and moon fish, wish i had damsel flys instead. oh and cover the container or you'll have bunch of damselflys in your house when they morph to adult form. i loved watching damselflys as a kid, though we dont see them as often nowdays.


do you want me to send you these???


----------



## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

johnny313 said:


> are damselfly nymphs bad? i took out 15 already. where do they come from?


geez! 15! Yes, they are bad. They could kill shrimp and small fish. They come in on plants that are grown outside.


----------



## johnny313 (Apr 15, 2011)

up to 50 now


----------



## johnny313 (Apr 15, 2011)

I dumped them in a near by pond! hope they live. I was going to keep them in a tank, but I dont want 50 damsel flies in my house when they turn into flies!


----------



## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

johnny313 said:


> are damselfly nymphs bad? i took out 15 already. where do they come from?


An adult laid eggs in your tank.


----------



## johnny313 (Apr 15, 2011)

we dont even have them where I live.


----------



## Alyssa (Sep 16, 2011)

johnny313 said:


> we dont even have them where I live.


Um ... then the absolute worst thing you could have done was release them into your area - that's how invasive species get introduced. Would have been better to just outright kill them, but hopefully they won't survive in the wild.

Never just release non-native bugs or critters into the area where they can possibly wind up being a serious issue for native wildlife and bugs is the best rule of thumb to go by IMO.


----------



## johnny313 (Apr 15, 2011)

Alyssa said:


> Um ... then the absolute worst thing you could have done was release them into your area - that's how invasive species get introduced. Would have been better to just outright kill them, but hopefully they won't survive in the wild.
> 
> Never just release non-native bugs or critters into the area where they can possibly wind up being a serious issue for native wildlife and bugs is the best rule of thumb to go by IMO.


they cant be that bad, they eat nuisance critters! maybe by me populating the area is a good thing... less mosquitoes newt year!


----------



## dhavoc (May 4, 2006)

i agree with Alyssa, they dont just eat mosquitos, they eat anything small they can catch both as nymphs and adults. you dont want to introduce a species that may not have a natural predator, they would run rampant, think zebra mussel and carp in the great lakes area or snake heads in the south. i dont think they will survive your winters, but still.....


----------



## johnny313 (Apr 15, 2011)

dhavoc said:


> i agree with Alyssa, they dont just eat mosquitos, they eat anything small they can catch both as nymphs and adults. you dont want to introduce a species that may not have a natural predator, they would run rampant, think zebra mussel and carp in the great lakes area or snake heads in the south. i dont think they will survive your winters, but still.....


we have dragonflies, maybe we do have damselflies and I always thought they were dragonflies. I have a freind who works in the plant section in Home Depot. he told me he sees soooo many crazy bugs come in from other countries its actually scary. Who knows what comes into this country with tropical plants.


----------



## Jeffww (Aug 6, 2010)

You're probably fine. I think damsels are indigenous across the states. Even all the way up in canada they have them. The question is if they're from a foreign country.


----------



## johnny313 (Apr 15, 2011)

Jeffww said:


> You're probably fine. I think damsels are indigenous across the states. Even all the way up in canada they have them. The question is if they're from a foreign country.


I flushed them. i am still finding them in my tank.. about 70 now!! GEEEZ!


----------



## johnny313 (Apr 15, 2011)

100 and still sucking them out. now i know where the little creatures went


----------



## Jeffww (Aug 6, 2010)

That's just horrifying....Good thing you're getting rid of them. Just imagine 100 damsels buzzing around your house lol.


----------



## ShadowBeast (Jul 27, 2011)

johnny313 said:


> here is a pic....


 I had those, I thought I had gotten rid of them all in my 10 gallon shrimp tank but one hid in the moss and ended up killing almost all of my shrimp.


----------



## johnny313 (Apr 15, 2011)

mine are too small to eat shrimp yet. Im hoping I can get them all out before that happens


----------



## chiefroastbeef (Feb 14, 2011)

I remember having one of those in my tank in hong kong, it was in my tank for a week or so before I found it again and killed it. Luckily that was the only one. Hope you catch them all!


----------



## johnny313 (Apr 15, 2011)

chiefroastbeef said:


> I remember having one of those in my tank in hong kong, it was in my tank for a week or so before I found it again and killed it. Luckily that was the only one. Hope you catch them all!


Thanks, Im still catching a few a day. I think I have most of them because the copepods are starting to come back. when I had 100 nymphs, I couldnt find any copepods.


----------



## chiefroastbeef (Feb 14, 2011)

That is good to hear johnny, those things are so gross, it is like having a prawn from district 9 living in your tank..


----------



## johnny313 (Apr 15, 2011)

Im just wondering how many baby shrimp were eaten? I have 100's of little baby shrimp so I wouldnt even know if they were gone. I'm hoping that the nymphs were only eating the copepods....


----------

