Critters In My Fishless Cycle Tank

[Togsticles]

I am in the process of a fishless cycle and have got home from work today to find what i can only really discribe as a catterpillar type critter strollling around my tank.
It appears to have created a shell like structure out of plant leaves. it also seems to have the ability to make a thread of some type to allow the current to transport it while it is still anchored downn.

Any ideas? do i remove it?
should i leave it as the ammonia will remove it for me?

https/picasaweb.google.com/104110843339405430778/Fish03?authkey=Gv1sRgCNya5sC6l5PIrAE#

 

[sadguppy]

I say anything you haven't put in is probably best off coming out and being squished to be sure!

 

[Baccus]

Sounds like a caddis, Gerald Durrell had lots of fun with caddis's and supplying them with different colours of glass (small pieces of course) and seeing the wild effects as the caddis added the material into their moving disguise/ home.

Not 100% sure it will be harmless to all fish, but while your cycling the tank (if its a fishless cycle) then it could be an interesting critter to watch.

 

[Togsticles]

Thank you both for your replies. It does indeed seem to be a caddis fly larva, and although I would enjoy watching it progress through its stages of life it has already done some damage to one of my plants. It appears there are different types of caddis fly larva and the ones that make their own cases live on plant life so unfortunately it needs to come out.

 

[Tuxyu3]

You've probably already sorted this out but i recently had these hitchhikers in my tank and did some research in to them, i found out that although they can damage plants they are not too bad as they can't reproduce (as they are not adults) so they will eventually die out. I personally just took them out and disposed of them.

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

Lol pretty freakin cool though!

 

[Togsticles]

I would have liked to leave it be and watch it add more and more pieces to its protective casing but the plant it was choosing to use is still quite young and trying to establish so I did have to remove it.