Wierd Creature In My Tank

[taki]

I've had my tank up and running for a couple of months now and recently ive had a few fish die.

Well today i found a wierd thing in my tank while performing a water change. There seem to be loads and loads of tiny tiny things moving around in the water aswell.

Anyway i was wondering if anyone could tell me what this is. Its about 1cm long in total

 

[mark.w.jones]

Its a nymph of some description. Maybe a damsel fly nymph. These are predatory on smaller fish so you need to remove him and dispose of him really. He probably came in with some plants.

In terms of fish deaths there could be a number of reasons but we need a bit more info.

1. Size of tank and current stocking.
2. How long tank has been set up for and in water order / timeframe you stocked it.
3. Levels of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate + temp.
4. Your maintenance routine.

to TFF by the way

 

[taki]

Its a nymph of some description. Maybe a damsel fly nymph. These are predatory on smaller fish so you need to remove him and dispose of him really. He probably came in with some plants.

In terms of fish deaths there could be a number of reasons but we need a bit more info.

1. Size of tank and current stocking.
2. How long tank has been set up for and in water order / timeframe you stocked it.
3. Levels of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate + temp.
4. Your maintenance routine.

to TFF by the way

Thanks for that mate. I've got rid of it now.

Well my tank is a 60Litre tank and at the moment ive got 2 guppys, 2 swordtails, 3 peppered corys and a plec of about 3 inches long. Plus about 30 guppy babies. Every time ive tested the water all the levels seem to be normal.

I've been doin a 30% water change weekly and cleaning the gravel every couple of weeks. The babies were only moved into the tank about 2 days ago and all the deaths were about 2 weeks ago

Since then it all seems to have calmed down and stabled off. It was 3 guppies that died

I'll post the results of a water when i do one later

 

[mark.w.jones]

I'm sorry to say that your current stock is destined for more disasters. Your guppies need a bigger group 5+ members minimum to even out agression for females. Your swords are a happier in a trio of 1 male to 2 females so the male doesn't just follow your one female around constantly. Your cories also really need a bigger group 5+ members to live happily but will reach at least 2" each and your pleco you really need to identify asap as certain species get enormous and will massacre your tank. I would say that your tank is not really big enough even for the smallest plec species.

With only 16 US gallons to play with you have to be more careful about picking species with a fairly small adult size, ideally less than 2" otherwise you often just haven't got the space to keep fish in the larger groups that they need to live happily as is your case.

I'd advise you lose the plec for definite and also get at least 1 more cory. Then its a bit trickier as you only have room for either the guppies or the swords. If you keep the guppies you've got room for 5, with the swords you've probably just got room for the 1M 2F female trio. The choice is up to you although I find guppies are not particularly hardy anymore and more prone to unexplained deaths + breed all the time leading to an over stocked tank.

Good luck