Green Maggot Like Things

[Robhipkin]

Hi there,i was wondering if anyone can help me.....while cleaning out my tank today i discoverd what appear to be small green maggots,some up to 1cm in length.never seen them in there before,there were 6 i removed.i took them down to my lfs (maidenhead aquatics) and they hadnt seen anything like it,although they did say it could be a type of beetle lavae( most of these guys seem to have many years experience).they recomended using an anti crustacean treatment but i know it will cause my tank to cycle again so havnt added it yet as i have removed all visable maggots.any ideas anyone?

 

[fluttermoth]

Have you had a look in the 'Hitchhikers In Freshwater Tanks & Ponds' thread, stickied at the top of this forum? You might find your 'maggots' in there

 

[Robhipkin]

I sure did,and unfortunatly they were not in there.to be honest ive searched the web with little results,and to have the guys at the fish shop baffeld it has me a little worried.cant see any more in there at the moment,but i have set up my hospital tank to see if i can get one to grow and see what it is

 

[Juggler75]

Post a pic? Maybe get better answer

 

[Robhipkin]

If it appears in my tank i will post a pic,as i cant find the one one i kept in my hospital tank....

 

[soybean]

Like this? http/i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj256/lclayton/SP_A0241.jpg I had this in my tank a few years back, bit like a caterpillar...I fed it to a goldfish.

 

[Robhipkin]

Its like that but alot smaller.....think maggot that u would use fishing but a bit smaller and green.....i wish i had a pic to show!

 

[soybean]

Yes this was about maggot size, tiny. Harmless apparently but I didn't leave it in long enough to find out. Found another a week or so later. Came in off plants.

 

[three-fingers]

Are they eating plants? I've had similar things that turned out to be moth larvae of varying species. If they aren't harmful to the fish and aren't breeding, I wouldn't risk using chemicals yet. The fish will probably just eat them anyway, assuming they dont die of starvation from lack of food (I think possibly these larvae only eat one species of plant).

Did you get any new plants of fish recently?

 

[Robhipkin]

I did get a new plant about 5 weeks ago,and there are holes in one plant like something has been eating it.i never thought about moth larvae,it may well be.i think il leave the chemicals for now then and see how it goes with it as i dont want to risk loosing fish during a cycle.been scanning my tank for more but i cant see any,and there wernt any in the external filter.thanks for the help guys,if any hatch i will let u know what they were

 

[Robhipkin]

Thought id update on my little green friends.......not one survived! What started as a problem ended in a obsession,so curious to know what they were!