# Strange white scary centipede inside aquarium!



## Oceangirl (Feb 5, 2013)

Get rid of it, it looks like it preys on fish. Those spikes don't look friendly! Make sure it doesn't sting you.


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## iadubber (Jan 23, 2012)

Looks like the bristleworms I used to have in my saltwater tank


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## stanjam (May 12, 2013)

It is a predator. Looks like possibly the water stage of an insect. Get it out!


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## Sergeant Dude (Mar 7, 2014)

Looks like a mayfly or stonefly nymph to me. The pictures aren't the greatest so I can't be too certain about it though.


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## WestHaven (Jun 30, 2012)

It's definitely a mayfly or stonefly nymph. Most of them are herbivores, but some are carnivores and will prey on small fish. Get rid of it.


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## Acro (Jul 7, 2012)

There is no doubt that that is a centipede. It's all in the antenna, the way it's body is positioned and the last pair of "hook legs". Hellgrammites, mayfly nymphs and stonefly nymphs do not have the same anatomy. The difference is very clear. 

My first thought, is that the centipede fell into the aquarium (yes, they can climb on your ceiling) and started walking around (like many land invertebrates will do, some can't swim so they will try to walk on the bottom hoping it will bring them to land before they drown).

Aganor, I hope you still have this animal. If you do, please put it in an enclosure with a land/water area and see how it does.


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## Knotyoureality (Aug 3, 2012)

Possibly Serradium semiaquaticum. Semi-aquatic freshwater millipede.


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## Acro (Jul 7, 2012)

Good thought Knotyoureality! Serradium semiaquaticum has been found in Northern Italy, so Portugal is not too far. However, the photo is of a centipede. Serradium semiaquaticum is a millipede.


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## Betta132 (Nov 29, 2012)

It's a very lost centipede. Scoop him out before he drowns.


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## Aganor (Oct 6, 2013)

Now i got the chills :/

This small bug got into the little cave i have, so i can only hope for him to expose itself again and i grab him,

I really hope it doesnt morph on something else, now im on alert stage!!

Thanks all for the help,

Its doesnt really seem like a Serradium semiaquaticum, or at least one i can relate to, 
We have a bunch of these bugs in the garden and they have a lot more legs and antenas.

The bug inside my tank doesnt seem to be able to crawl the glass so he may be trapped inside,

As i said, 2 fish tried to nag it but they didint like it or make any damage hah!


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## Acro (Jul 7, 2012)

There really aren't any fully aquatic centipedes that I've ever heard of (and I've been studying invertebrates for over 15 years). Centipedes can stay under water with little oxygen for a while, but eventually they will drown. I fear that this will happen with that centipede. If it is actually an aquatic centipede, then you have discovered something amazing. In the pet trade, you could easily sell that animal for at least $1000.

I wish you (and the centipede) the best of luck!

(Also, what fish are in that tank?)


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## limz_777 (Jun 29, 2005)

hmm... how it get in the first place ?

the second last pic sure looks like a centipede to me , keep it in a separate tank and see how big it grows


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## Aganor (Oct 6, 2013)

Well my tank has a window cover, not fully covered, so the centipede could enter it from the ceiling (my tank is beneath the stairs).

The fish are Hemigrammus erythrozonus and Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi as well a colony of red cherries,

Some weeks ago a female pink neon had gone missing, no signs of her inside or outside the tank in a space of hours since i last saw her...maybe it was this nasty bug to kill her? 

Now i have to be watchful of it!


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## cowichanplanted (May 22, 2014)

Well if it isn't a terrestrial centipede it is a larvae or nymph stage of some sort of aquatic beetle. If its a larvae they can be highly predatory remove it to another container for observation.


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## Fishly (Jan 8, 2010)

I found a centipede in my filter once. Scared the heck out of me. I am more afraid of centipedes than any other bug, so that experience left me with a bit of filter-cleaning phobia.


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## ylot77 (Feb 11, 2008)

Is it still alive today?


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## Aganor (Oct 6, 2013)

I bet the creature didnt live long after he found her out 

Well now the first thing i did after arriving from work was to look to the tank to see if i can spot the bug, even with lights out and almost without seeing anything on the tank...i guess im going to be paranoid :help:


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## Betta132 (Nov 29, 2012)

It's not a beetle larva. Beetle larva are squirmier and grub-looking. If you see it again, put it in another container and make sure it has a way to crawl out of the water and stay out. That way we can check and see if it's aquatic, but I doubt it is.

If we're talking about bugs in filters, I think I can top the centipede. I had a filter that wasn't running for a while. When I turned it back on, two cockroaches and a click beetle ran out... And one of the roaches ran up my arm and vanished. Cue unhappy dance.


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## cowichanplanted (May 22, 2014)

Most centipede's do not have the different colored head as seen in the photo. There are many different Beatle larvae not all of them are as you describe squirmy.


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## greaser84 (Feb 2, 2014)

That's a centipede, I see them under houses all the time. They like dark damp places. Looks like this one got a little lost.... They don't breathe like we do, they breathe through tracheal system, which is probably why its able to live under water for a certain amount of time. It will eventually drown. They can however easily kill a fish or shrimp. Its probably just a random occurrence.

-Pest Control Tech


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## Betta132 (Nov 29, 2012)

I know not all beetle larvae are grub-y, but most of them are more so than this thing. Judging by the color, this guy may have shed recently. That could account for color differences.


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## Aganor (Oct 6, 2013)

day 2 - still cant find the guy, even done some gymnastics to see from the behind of the tank through the rocks and driftwood but without any success,

Still have all 13 fishies and the shrimps as well, if it inst aquatic it may be dead and eaten by shrimp already.


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## Chr1s (Mar 21, 2021)

I have 1 in my tank did you find out what it was


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## Zoidburg (Mar 8, 2016)

The weird stuff that pops up years later...  


@Chr1s that looks like a house centipede...


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## Mark Fisher (Dec 29, 2011)

Yep, a house centipede: House centipede


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