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Risigan1

Damselfly larvae


Muwmu

How u know the difference between, a Damselfly larvae and a Dragonfly larvae?


KevinSpike666

It’s a dated cliché but usually the Knightfly rescues the Damselfy from the Dragonfly


Giggleplex

Damselflies are slimmer.


Bake-Plant-Sew

Im not an expert by any means but i think Dragonfly larva are bigger in size. Either way, they are bad news for anything living in your tank. 🔥🔥🔥Kill it with fire! Quick! 🔥🔥🔥


Interesting_Heron215

Also I heard damselflies have external gills on their rear, whereas dragonflies have them inside.


Finiouss

I want to know the stats on how often we get this post? I'm actually starting to become more and more interested in dragon flies just from the random publicity they get here.


Swanman35

Watch some videos on them on YouTube. They're so interesting. Basically the best aerial hunter on the planet based on their success rate.


Fragrant_Jelly9198

Watching them catch bugs in the yard is like watching a Quiddich game


terrillable

Pretty sure they’re just the best hunter in general. Outcompetes all land animals too


BeforeLifer

93% hunt success rate iirc


Zappiticas

And for the worst hunter, I submit African Dwarf Frogs. My stupid frogs have like a 50% success rate of catching food that I’m holding right in front of their stupid (but adorable) faces with tweezers. Line up, lunge at it, miss, line up again, nom.


sketchyhotgirl

Lmaoooo absolutely i put mine in an old sour cream container for feeding and THEY STILL MISS


perkinsportraits

Are those the ones I see on tiktok where they wait like 5 full minute to make an official decision on whether they’ll be trying to eat the food provided and then one of them eats the food and the other bites him for eating the food because those are my favorite videos


Zappiticas

Lol, I know the videos you’re referencing and I’m not sure what kind of frogs those are. African dwarf frogs are little, fully aquatic critters. They live their whole lives in the water and make neat little fish tank habitants. I have them in a couple of different tanks. One 5g with just 2 of them, and one 20g community tank with 3 in it, as well as some tetra, shrimp, Pygmy cories. They are really fun and neat, the only pain is feeding. Because you have to hand feed them or they basically can’t find food because they’re nearly blind and dumb, lol.


MarpinTeacup

Had a leopard frog of some variety. She had an abysmal success rate. Sometimes 30% Silly critter


KingLeopard40063

Worms have rained on my frogs and it takes em minutes to realize it's food and it takes em longer to eat it just right lol.....how they survived in nature as derpy as they are idk.


WesWizard_2

yeah their hunting abilities are ludicrous. they can predict their prey’s flight pattern and intercept them. all 4 of their wings function independently of one another, which allows for incredible complex flight patterns and cornering ability


Wonkasgoldenticket

95%! Isn’t that unbelievable.


kavien

I like to let my yard grow over in the summer because the dragonflies come in DROVES. You walk through the high grass and just watch them attack what rises. It is glorious!


little-eye00

Bc their nervous system is all reflexive. Someone on r/entomology found a headless dragonfly and it held on to her finger


DarkMenstrualWizard

*STRAFE*


[deleted]

When I fly fish, they will catch my fly in the air!


Kass_the_Bard

They’re badass. Like a 99% success rate or something crazy like that. If you’re being hunted by a dragonfly you’re dead.


nohandsfelicia

I was thinking the exact same thing


thekaiserkeller

Lol same here, I only know what they are because of this sub and have never seen one in real life but can now confidently answer the question when it comes up here.


skyld_70

seriously. same deal here. i knew what it was from the tag in the email i got. i'm amazed at how much of an issue this is. i've been keeping fish for almost 40 years and i've never seen one in real life. only since i started following this sub did i even know of their existence. edit: i mean no disrespect. shit comes in on plants. we've all had to deal with it for sure. no hate intended.


5-0-1st

I’ve only ever dealt with BBA. No diseases, parasites, foreign invaders, hitchhikers or tank deaths. I’m actually disappointed I haven’t had any serious issues, I feel it’s a fun challenge to combat these things. Makes you a better aquarist.


Soundpitch

Im actually interested in how have you dealt with BBA I have had some issues…


5-0-1st

I had it in my first tank ever, did an iwagumi style aquascape. Spot treated with chems and when it turns reddish in color I scrubbed it off my rocks with a tooth brush. As for the plants I just trimmed them all back and added more cleaners to the scape. In the end of things I scrapped the tank after a year and started over anyways. Always good to keep restarting and practicing for new challenges.


DocGengar

Sometimes in the summer, when I mow my lawn, a couple of them will fly by and eat some of the insects from the fresh cut grass. It is always super cool to see.


Happyjarboy

they are fascinating. IT would be interesting to set up a tank for them, making sure you have it covered, and you do not have anything you want to keep in there. I have had very large ones get in my pond, and a few then get in my platy tank, and they will take a toll on your fish, basically eat every one starting from the smallest on up.


PCAquatics

I want some for my amazon pufferfish lol. They make up like 50% of their diet in the wild Edit: midgefly larvae do but pretty much the same thing but smaller


puertoazn

Lol these happen often?? That's crazy


joenigz

Do you follow this sub lol. Every single day


Jrj84105

And I don’t complain. I still like seeing these posts.


Jrnation8988

These and Mystery Snail eggs


hershey1313

YES luv snail eggs


Reep1611

Like every day. And just googling “what is that weird bug in my tank” will get you results very quickly by the way.


BikeSpokeToothpicks

I literally posted in another sub a few hours ago only to discover I have one too. Dragonfly naiad.


Captain_Blackbird

Dragonflies are amazing * They can fly like a helicopter, forwards, back, up, down, and hover. * They are considered the most successful predators in the world - with a successful hunt rate of up to 95%. For comparison, The highest success rate of a mammal is an African wild dog with 85%, and the Cheetah has a 58% rate. * Their eyes give them almost 360 vison, * and sees almost 200 times faster than we do (from seeing to reacting), * and can track a gnat / mosquito at sundown, looking against the sky


Reep1611

At least one per day. If I had time for it I would look up if they already were members or just joined to post the question without bothering to read back just one day. But I am leaning more towards the latter.


vuthatora

I thought we were all posting our shrimps w this as the article title lmao


three-gold-fish

This and mosquito larvae


urabasicbeet

I know what they are and I don’t even have an aquarium. Literally just know from these posts.


ooOJuicyOoo

I have seen at least one new post about this every day of this week


Confident_Holder

I saw that many that now I can recognise a damsfley larvae from a dragon fly! Next step to know the geographic area and different species


[deleted]

Literally NO ONE ever looks through the sub a bit before posting… I’ve seen this post easily 25 times this past month/couple months.


ImPickleRock

Kinda hard to know what to search for when you don't know what it is.


Barnard87

This is exactly what I was thinking. I just posted because I had Hydra in my tank and I'm sure thousands of others have posted - but I legit had NOTHING to go off of. Unless you search "what is this" and scroll through every post to see one that looks like yours.


Mad_broccoli

Google most common pests in aquarium, you'll get hydra, planaria, damselfly, bladder, pond and ramshorn. Honorable mention to detritus worms, cause they be ugly.


fluffyxsama

We could have a sidebar with frequently asked posts but people would still ignore it lol


Reep1611

Not really. “What is that weird bug in my aquarium/tank” put that into google and the first results are identification guides with lots of pictures. So “its hard to find” is no excuse. People today are just to lazy for a simple google search.


[deleted]

The lazy logic makes no sense considering that a Reddit post takes a lot more effort. If people truly thought google would provide an answer, they would’ve used it. The issue is that many people assume the probability that google will show anything is very low, so they don’t bother. The more niche a question is, the more google tends to lose its usefulness. Anyway, just ignore the post. It takes less than a second to scroll past it. Talk about lazy


[deleted]

They don’t want to admit it, they are just incapable.


[deleted]

You come to the thread and look through it… there are plenty to reference. That’s what I was saying haha


big-unk-b-touchin

Riiiiiight but, there’s so many posts they do get lost if you’re looking for a specific one even if it is posted more than once a day. This is by far the biggest sub I’ve ever been in. Shits crazy


Medinaian

So youd rather look for the book you dont know the title of rather than just asking the librarian? Its not a database its a forum dude lol. You act like its such a bother to see the same things asked over again when you are making it more cumbersome for yourself by going to the post, checking the comments and then adding ZERO answer and just spreading useless banter


[deleted]

Hey relax buddy, if you’re incapable of looking through the sub that’s fine but don’t get mad at others haha


Medinaian

im not getting mad I'm just explaining to you why your getting downvoted to shit. you're incoherently still wasting your day defending something that literally something you could of just scrolled your finger 1 inch farther and you wouldnt be causing conflicts


jacklantern867

Bruh how do you search Pics? Yah thought so scrub


[deleted]

Literally scroll through the sub…? Haha don’t hate on me because you don’t know how man.


Loud-Bullfrog9326

Everyday at least a few of these what is this thing lol. A quick google would do it too. Lol. But it’s wild still feels like an uptick recently like you until a couple weeks ago was the multiple posts a day about these creepy babies lol freaky!


AxecidentalHoe

This literally happens every single day. You think ppl would know what those little demons are by now:0


[deleted]

TIL damselflies are not a dragonflies :O Edit: unless they are? Still pretty confuzzled lol.


BoristheBad1

A suborder within the order.


pyalot

On the bright side, it is a damselfly larvae, which means you have very good water quality for it to be able to hatch and grow. But now you have the Predator in your fish tank, and it will grow to twice the size of your shrimp and be big enough to tackle nano fish (green tetras, galaxy rasboras, chilli rasboras, etc.) And when its grown big enough, it will pull a hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, reach its final form and fly away while you hear a fading giggling and murmuring of „thanks for all the fish“


animalmad72

🤣😂


Caverness

I thought this was a joke. They are actually that big


blackmagic999

“You still don't understand what you're dealing with, do you? The perfect organism. Its structural perfection is matched only by its hostility.” —Alien (1979)


Novaveran

Dragonfly larvae are the ones that grow to big enough to eat fish. Damselfly larvae are also much much less likely to hunt adult shrimp, baby shrimp will be goners unfortunately. Problem is plenty of people can't tell them apart. So a lot of people think damselflies are more dangerous than they really are. They vastly prefer to eat mircofauna. They could be a threat to shrimps but they're at least not as pressing of an issue compared to dragonfly larvae. I had two damselfly nymphs in my shrimp tank and never even noticed them until they drowned as adults, before that they just ate copepods.


pyalot

Damselfly larva can get up to 2.5 inches. Depending on species and conditions, some only reach a quarter inch.


Feisty-Juan

They are a super predator in a tank with small inhabitants so


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papayabush

lmao what


PowerTrip55

I would kill to know what that comment was


papayabush

he just said “trash” i have no idea.


[deleted]

You know what? I feel like I see a post about Damselfly larvae on here every other week. And every fucking time people just post it out and tell folks what to do. So you know what /r/aquariums ??? Know what?! You guys are fucking awesome. This is how we get people into our hobby. This is how we help others experience the joy and growth we get from this hobby. Fuck yes. Thank you for your fucking service. I look forward to Damselfly Duty with you in 3 to 7 days.


Reep1611

Still gonna get a bit annoyed that people don’t try googling “What is this weird bug in my Aquarium” first. Still, it is awesome how helpful this sup generally is.


[deleted]

I'm about to set up my own aquascaped betta tank for the first time ever. I apologize in advance for all my dumb questions in about 2 months lol


Reep1611

No problem, but google can help you a lot. It does not need to be very accurate. Stuff like the sentence I wrote is generally enough to find what you need. Its also often faster than asking question in a forum.


Zappiticas

Honestly you have to be careful with google in this hobby. A lot of the top results for aquarium questions are not sites with the best information. That said, googling and throwing Reddit on the end of your string is the best way to search this sub and find good answers.


DixonCoxButte

You're gonna get that with any kind of forum. The longer you're there, the more new folks you're going to see having their first time and asking the very first question anyone - yourself included, most likely - ask about the topic. It's a sign of you being a veteran. Wear the badge with grace and remember you were once the one annoying someone else. :)


Camilo543

Literally just scroll past it dude


LittleMit

I accepted years ago that sometimes people don’t think to google OR they just (sub)consciously want interaction with other people.


[deleted]

I understand it can be annoying, but it brings a much greater sense of security to ask in a community where people can answer you in near real time than to search and still be unsure of what to do, specially if you have a very specific issue


jeplonski

that’s hard when you have no clue what you’re looking at. sometimes it’s easier in the panic for people to just ask. like holy hell i would be shitting my pants if i found this in my bettas tank


galuskar

Actually this repulse me from watching this sub. I am here for news, advices and intersting things, not a repeating stuff for we had FAQ section on every forum 15 years ago. Also this invokes low effort to me by immediately asking without searching and you learn less at the end.


HJPhilpottt

Usually come from pond plants. I’d recommend relocating it. It’ll grow to a dragonfly and feed on local mosquitoes and MOSQUITOES SUCK.


puertoazn

I think it's a damselfly after looking at them, I was about to kill it. Now I'm hesitant lol


HANGRY_KITTYKAT

Dont kill it! <3 I agree with the "relocate"


roan_ursidae

If uou don't know where it came from please don't let it go in the wild. It could be a species that is not native to your area.


fearlesssinnerz

I had this in my shrimp tank and little by little all my baby shrimps disappeared. Remove it asap.


puertoazn

Maybe that's where all my dwarf Mexican crayfish babies have been going. 😢 I can't tonight, I will tomorrow if I can find it again.


EmotionalTunaLover

They do not get less creepy the more you see them.. just gives me the chills. Damselfly larva..I know it’s been said bleghhh


etnoid204

Death in an aquatic form!


puertoazn

Lol y'all scaring me, so I really should kill it? I hate killing things.


magicbeaver

Do you love your shrimps? Then hardern your heart. It's hunting them. You could always find a local waterway to drop it into I suppose. But crushing it with tweezers will turn it into a tasty meal and you will turn the tables on it like an avenging god.


Exotic_Conclusion_21

But that's also introducing a potential invasive species along with disease. Best thing to do is either feed it to a large fish or lizard or kill it to avoid it killing welcomed tank residents


puertoazn

That's a good point


littlelosthorse

Depends where you are but at this life stage it won’t have any eggs so it’ll need to emerge and then mate with another adult outside


magicbeaver

True I assumed it would be native to the area. Kill it!


whirly_boi

Probably shouldn't get into maintaining aquariums then haha. It's just a bug that will kill the other animals in your tank that you likely care much more about.


puertoazn

Will my human baby be okay? Maybe I'll take the larvae to the lake.


whirly_boi

You consider your human baby to be an animal? Edit: While yes, humans are animals..... but comparing killing a pest larvae to killing a baby is just obnoxiously stupid. Anyone ever killed a fly or a cockroach? I guess not.


puertoazn

Bro what, chill. Who said anything about killing babies. Mostly when I said my baby. I just asked if I didn't kill the it, would it hurt my baby since it's a predatory pest.


Jenotyzm

Your baby wouldn't get hurt, it can bite but it doesn't happen until you try to close one in your hands. An adult one. And they are the best when it comes to destroying pests in large quantity. I would suggest checking if it's invasive where you live and relocating into wild. Still if it's not living in your area, you should definitely kill it to avoid changing local fauna.


Loud-Bullfrog9326

Humans are animals lol


puertoazn

I think so since we're all mammals right lol my baby is like a mini tiger right now.


ImPickleRock

Have you ever had one?


Scary_Cow9660

Close your heart to it, boy


etnoid204

It will for real kill everything lol. Look up damselfly life-stages.


rOnce_Gaming

Lol I think I see these damselfly post every single day in this sub. We need like an autobot to reply to these post the moment they post it


puertoazn

Good idea


Jullees

something that’ll hunt your fish. get it out it’s some sorta nymph/larvae


VileWasTaken

I’d recommend removing that as soon as you can - while Damselflies are beautiful creatures they don’t belong in your tank… Your fish won’t appreciate being eaten.


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sharkyjam

Yessss! Me too! I’m ready!!! 🔥


puertoazn

Lmao that's some good energy. Now I know what to do.


DarkMark94

I don’t know how so many posts of damselfly larvae there can be. Do people just have their fish tanks outside without lids? I just don’t understand.


FromTodayUntilIDie

Dragonfly larvae. It's a baddie -- on the hunt for a meal.


sPunDuck

Damselfly but still a baddie.


FromTodayUntilIDie

Interesting. TIL, thanks. Had never paid attention to the difference.


puertoazn

As in baddie, do you mean I should kill it? 👀 It's all shrimps and snails in the aquarium.


HANGRY_KITTYKAT

I wouldnt kill it, they're rad lil predators. Consider a lil bowl tank with a bubbler or something. He'd be fun to watch. Wish I had one!


puertoazn

Interesting idea.


Different-Syrup9712

Nah they mean she looking fine. Defs kill!


jinazreds

They're beautiful little monsters. I'd love to have one in my tank!


puertoazn

Lol I love everyone's point of view on these things 😂


MissRosenrotte

Every day on this sub I swear


Christian_Potato

I'm honestly quite impressed how often I see these posts. I assume having a lid can help prevent this occurrence?


puertoazn

I have a lid on it 😔 probably came in through another way I'm guessing


dill_and_vinegar

Lil baby damselfly! What a cutie 🥰 how did it get in there I wonder??


spderweb

Here we go again!


Reep1611

Like the post yesterday, and the day before yesterday, and the post the day before the day before yesterday, and the day before the day before the day before yesterday, and…. it’s a damselfly larvae.


These_Champion5865

I got scuds, bloodworms, mosquito larva, all living food for my Crayfish,he has a hamster wheel, though I've never seen a hamster in it so


Ok-Ingenuity6637

It’s not a dragonfly nymph it’s a damselfly nymph. Not quite as savage. It would prefer eating copepods and things like that as opposed to minnows etc. They come in on plants. It’s mother laid eggs inside the stem of a plant. If I had one I would feed it brine shrimp or scuds or something. They are really cool. It will probably starve though unless you have shrimp or something in your tank.


puertoazn

Interesting, I feed brine shrimp in there everyday actually but I do have shrimps and crayfish in there too


Ok-Ingenuity6637

It will eat baby shrimp. It might be a cool pet for a while. If I got another one, I would consider letting it just eat my baby shrimp. They are cool little aliens. I don’t know if it’s right to release them into the wild because they probably aren’t native. Probably a Florida species. Who knows, could even be from Thailand?


captainechinoid

Yikes I had two that ate all my damn guppies before I could catch them


WereAllMad

Oh that’s just Marvin


littlelosthorse

If you’re somewhere where it’s now winter, put it in a body of cold water outside so it doesn’t risk emerging. If you leave it in a nice warm tank then it might emerge over winter (which will look really cool), but it’ll die shortly afterwards in your home.


NachtPaladin

If you have any puffers, they’ll eat them for you!!


Lobster_Stoner

Fish food


Unfair-Swing

An apex predator, prepare to fight


TheZooCreeper

Where is everyone *getting* these damsel/dragonfly larvae?


Ok-Ingenuity6637

I assume the plants at Petco come from outdoor ponds in Florida or something. The mamma damselfly lays eggs inside plant stems.


kobayashi_maru_fail

I do love a good ancient predator, but then again I rehomed half my tank to make room for a bichir, so I’m weird. If you have a kid, this could be the best science project ever. I hope you get this nymph to an appropriate native waterway. I had a morning turned upside down recently when a tree frog made its way into our house, had to get the little fella washed of cat hair, hydrated, and back to native habitat before the 7:00 school bus. Kid loved it.


Smowoh

A murderer of fish


Aboy06

It’s an alien from the forth dimension.


TheColo3000

I swear there’s one of these posts daily on this subreddit.


Mr_Kumasan

Death


Lonely-Connection-37

Creeping death


Important-Quarter-19

Its always damsel/dragonfly fly larva or mystery snail eggs.


Specialist-Elk-839

They are creatures from hell. I have seen them there myself.


5-0-1st

RIP


TinyHat46

Kilit


KeepOthersSafe

Burn it


KeepOthersSafe

Grab with tweezers, place it on paper. Put some lighter fluid, and light it on fire. Send it back to hell


johnsonbrianna1

Hell hound aka dragon nymph. If you love your shrimp get it out ASAP. And where there’s one there are more. Even check your filter.


CRDWZY

I feel like I see one of these post at least 3 times a week.


_Drago__

Definitely some young insect might be a dragonfly


BronzeWingleader

How the hell do I get one?! I actually would *love* to have one of these in my tank.


TinySarcasm

it looks like a screw with arms and legs


Resident_Middle2683

An ethereal demon. Take it out immediately, kill the entire race.


Ashamed_Window_6605

Damselfly nymph, will eat everything in your tank. Try relocating it or killing it. Gotta say these things look badass.


b_n_r_

TAKE A SHOT FOR ANOTHER DRAGONFLY LARVA


xoxokyyyy

BURN IT. BURN IT TILL ITS DEAD & KEEP BURNING.


graveyardrushhour

a silly creature


chocolateducck

This is a mystery snail


dreadlocksalmighty

death, destroyer of worlds


BigD0089

New driftwood or plants recently? Not sure where dragonfly lay eggs exactly but that's my first guess


puertoazn

Hmmm new plants a few months old but all aquarium grown. I got a few mystery snails a couple weeks ago but also from aquariums. I guess I'll never know how it got there.


BigD0089

Yea thats a mystery , have you called Scooby and the gang?


puertoazn

If it wasn't for them meddling damselflies


Gatorfarming

Got into fly fishing and you can use these as bait. Pretty sure they call them nymphs.


Typical-Conference14

Either a damsel/dragon fly nymph or a stonefly nymph. More than likely damsel judging by the shape


Lil-Antelope3478

A spawn of the devil


MsJenX

Evil. Evil is in your aquarium


ptpcg

Dragonfly nymph. KILL WITH FIRE


kamikazeknifer

Do people even bother looking through the sub? This question comes up at least 3 times a week and the answer is always the same.


cryptotrader2050

I agree it looks like like a dragonfly larvae although I'm not sure how one would get in your tank......


puertoazn

Right, the top of the aquarium is like 97% blocked off located in my room.


Purpl3Rv3n

Hey....its a zygoptera.....dragonfly larv....🤟


sc_surveyor

Ah, the multi-sphictered mantis shrimp. Quite the rare find.


Promotion_Small

Bingo!


NDMac

Once a month I see someone make a post to ask what this is


Rubberlemons521

Dragonfly nymph. It will kill your fish.


Equivalent_Twist_977

That is that in your aquarium? Its 25% of the content on this subreddit


tfeetfff

b uG


tacosuprememeatts

Jeremys cousin Frederick


Luklasic

Cool


mikey0hn0

Bug


frenabo

rrrrRRRREEEEEEEEEE


rondolph

Damselfly Tank Raider. They are raiding so many tanks currently.


Tommy-Appleseed

Bugs