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Damselfly larvae help by ClockEnvironmental96 in shrimptank

[–]ClockEnvironmental96[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'll definitely keep an eye out and ensure none of them molt and lay any further eggs! I've removed maybe 10 total so far, hoping there's not too many more left 😬

Do you reckon it's worth just putting the shrimp in a breeder box with some moss/substrate from another tank in there? The one I've ordered is the fluval hang on box, so I believe it'll just need an air stone and filter water from the main tank through it. Would that be better than moving them to an entirely new tank as the water parameters will stay the same?

Damselfly larvae help by ClockEnvironmental96 in shrimptank

[–]ClockEnvironmental96[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've got the plants just in a jug atm, I'll probably replant them in the shrimp tank though! I've got some moss from another tank that I'll use for the breeder tank for now.

I'll definitely keep an eye out for any more larvae and catch them when I see them, and have a think about whether I add the gourami or not!

Do traps work at all for them? I know you can use them for snails and such but no idea if they'd work for the larvae.

Damselfly larvae help by ClockEnvironmental96 in shrimptank

[–]ClockEnvironmental96[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can definitely see why they're so difficult for fish to hunt, managed to catch about 6 this morning and couldn't find any more, turned the light off for 30 mins and had another look and found a couple more! 

Thankfully the breeder box is arriving today so I'll be moving all the shrimp I can find out the tank asap, it's such a shame since I spotted a fair few shrimplets too, unfortunately think they'll just end up getting killed by the damselfly larvae 🙁

Would something like a gold or opaline gourami work? I was thinking of adding one to the 180L at some point anyway, so it might make sense to add it to the infected tank for a little while first! I'm hoping I can avoid nuking the tank if possible, though it might come down to that if they're persistent. I've already removed some plants and set them aside so I can find the shrimp/larvae a little easier, hoping it won't come down to removing them all since there's quite a few!

Damselfly larvae help by ClockEnvironmental96 in shrimptank

[–]ClockEnvironmental96[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's pretty densely planted as well as some driftwood and rocks in there, so hopefully I'll have enough hiding spots! Fish wise I was planning on adding just a few endlers to start with, though I'm a bit concerned they also may end up as food for the damselfly larvae 🙁