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Re: Serious Insect problem
> Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2001 21:02:02 -0400
> From: June Oshiro <idlewild at rci_rutgers.edu>
> I was doing a water change and noticed what looked like a swarm of bubbles
> that you see right when you pour a soda. I looked closely, and they are a
> thousand million little INSECTS living on the surface of my tank! They
> range from pale brown to pale red, are about 0.5 mm long, and jump easily
> across the water surface. Ugh. It's disgusting. What are they? How do I
> get rid of them!?!
Hi June,
I used to have this problem too. It's interesting to
hear Paul put a name on this bug, I've been wondering
about it too!
It took me about a month to get rid of it. The most
important strategy is persistence. First I made sure
there were no surfaces for the critters to cling to, by
removing all my frogbit and other floating plants.
Whenever possible, I tried to manually remove them
by skimming them off the top of the water with a
cup or net, and made sure that my tank water level
was topped up as much as possible.
I finally won the bug battle. But it took some work.
I didn't mind tho' ... working on my tanks bonds me
with my fish. Well, actually, it's a one way bond.
I doubt they shared the sentiment. As far as those
dear little brats are concerned, my only function in
life is to feed them. :-)
cheers,
Shireen
--
Shireen Gonzaga
Baltimore, MD
whimbrel at home_com