Question: Please help identify these things (Photos included)

tran

tran

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Hi all, I've been having some sort of powdery things floating around the tank lately and they land on everything, wood, plants, hiding spots, absolutely everything. They are not on the surface but inside the tank.

The weird part is it makes these long and narrow curved shapes and the organization of it leaves me puzzled. I don't think detritus usually looks like this. I did some unsuccessful searches so I thought I'd ask here.

This is the first time I've encountered this problem. We recently started feeding the axolotls pellets, if that helps. We feed the axies about 4-5 Rangen pellets every 3 days. Also, we scoop up the axie poop whenever we see it. I first thought it was from disintegrating pellets but we drop them at the axolotls' heads and they eat it all up, no sign of any waste.

Background on the tank, been set up for >6 months. External canister filter. Last water tests (2 days ago) ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 20-40, pH 7.6.

Any suggestions would be very helpful. Thanks! ~Tran


detritus.jpg


detritus-2.jpg


detritus-3.jpg
 
A few quick questions to help identify these:

Any fish or snails in the tank?

How long have the plants been in there?

What brand of pellets are you feeding?

I have my suspicions as to what these are, but will need answers to the above to confirm.
 
I have them in my tank too, I think it's just excess waste so I started changing the water more often.
 
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Hi Johnny, to answer your questions.

Any fish or snails in the tank?
Click to expand...
No fish or snails.

How long have the plants been in there?
Click to expand...
Plants have been in for over a month.

What brand of pellets are you feeding?
Click to expand...
Rangen axolotl pellets (bought from Ed's Fly Meat) 5mm ones I believe, they are labeled "large"

---


Jadore axolotl said:
i have them in my tank too, i think it's just excess waste so i started changing the water more often.
Click to expand...

Hi Jadore I think this is a possibility but I posted here because I don't really see how there is excess waste if I just feed only 4-5 pellets every 3 days(no leftovers in the tank) and suck out all poop as I see it with pipette. Also, I do a water change every week. There should be waste...but excess waste..? There is a LOT in the tank... more than is conceivable or can be accounted for by me.
 
Hey tran,
Yeah I also do not see where extra waste could be coming from in my tank, as even when I started to do two water changes a week, I still get it . It's the only thing I can think that could cause it! I seem to get it on my broadleaved plants and on the hides, I just siphon it out after I take off what I can . But within two or three days it starts to build up again. I would also really like to know what it is, I just never thought to ask lol.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hopefully someone with experience can enlighten us both :D

Jadore axolotl said:
hey tran,
yeah i also do not see where extra waste could be coming from in my tank as even when i started to do two water changes a week i still get it but it's the only thing i can think that could cause it! i seem to get it on my broadleaved plants and on the hides, i just siphon it out after i take off what i can but within two or three days it starts to build up again. I would also really like to know what it is, i just never thought to ask lol.
Click to expand...
 
Umm, not sure of the reason why or what or how - but I had this with pellets too.

I've never actually fed Petrie the pellets, I feed him earthworms, however,I did get some to start him off, but he refused to eat them.

Prior to this, when the tank was empty (full of water and ornaments and things, but no axies), I tried to do target practise with them (to experiment with how they float, drop etc, as I was aware that I would have to try and hit Petrie's head with them, if he was to eat them...stroppy little monster won't even consider them though!). I cleaned up all the debris, but a few days later, there was still fluffy gunky stuff, a bit like the stuff in your pics. It took a couple of weeks to fully remove it all from the tank :(.

So, sorry I can't give any real advice, hope some bright spark will be able to help you!

Zoe x
 
My guess is that those are the larvae of some kind of Chinoromid(non-biting midge).
 
Actually, on closer inspection, it didn't look that similar to your pics...:sick:

It looked more like standard gunk - don't know what they are in the pics though, sorry.

X
 
Thank you both Azhael and Zoe for your inputs!

azhael said:
My guess is that those are the larvae of some kind of Chinoromid(non-biting midge).
Click to expand...

Oh my! Larvae.... I sucked one out and looked at it carefully. It just looks powdery, falls apart when I touch it, and doesn't appear to be alive. Then again I don't have a microscope to properly discern whether or not it's alive. But it does retain its "worm like" shape when I suck it out. Is this the behavior of the midge larvae?

Also they are about an inch or less. Maybe this disqualifies larvae as these things are a bit large. Sorry to not give you this information, I just thought of it. Can they possibly be cocoons of some sort? I'm really hoping they are not alive!

The thing is...I can clean the tank. But they come back as Jadore says. Very disturbing.
 
azhael said:
My guess is that those are the larvae of some kind of Chinoromid(non-biting midge).
Click to expand...
The ones in my tank break up when you touch them though and never move so I don't believe that, I think it is just the way waste is scatted in my tank due to the flow of the filter but since the question came up I'd like to be sure of what it is.
Also I don't use pellets so it's not that in my tank anyway.
 
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Jadore axolotl said:
the ones in my tank break up when you touch them though and never move so i don't believe that, i think it is just the way waste is scatted in my tank due to the flow of the filter but since the question came up i'd like to be sure of what it is.
also i don't use pellets so it's not that in my tank anyway.
Click to expand...

The flow from the filter can cause these worm-like shapes? I doubt that. This is the first time I've seen this and I've had my tank for several months. Wouldn't the flow from the filter cause the same sort of pattern if it were for that reason? They have some sort of casing around them, very weak though, but enough to hold the shape when you suck them out. What causes this?
 
azhael said:
My guess is that those are the larvae of some kind of Chinoromid(non-biting midge).
Click to expand...

This is exactly what they are. You won't always find the larva in the tubes as they appear to move around a good bit.

Ed
 
Thank you to Ed and Azhael for the diagnosis! This is more serious than I imagined. Do you know why it is that we have this infestation in the first place, and how to effectively keep them from coming back? Water changes apparently haven't done much, I'm afraid.
 
They're harmless just a little unsightly. They are common in many aquaria where pellets are the primary food source (I have them in work in some aquatic turtle enclosures and in the Pipa parva tanks) and there is a moderate to high bioload on the system which provides them with a lot of the food source.

If you watch closely when the axolotls consume the pellets there is often a fine particulate that comes out of thier mouth. This then gets stirred up and collects on the tubes formed by the worms causing them to show up. I suspect they are even more common in many enclosures but just aren't noticed.

Ed
 
Oh that is a relief :happy: Though I will still try my best to remove them. The sheer number of them is disturbing to see. After you said this, I took apart the filter to give it a quick rinse and noticed a lot of what appears to be the parents in the filter material (dead). Looks just like a picture of a Chironomid, but darker. I think this confirms it, haha.

I suppose 2 axolotls in a 55 gallon tank can be considered a moderate bioload. In that case there is not much I can do about it, as I don't want to reduce their food any more than that.

Thanks again, Ed and everyone else. That's a load off my mind.


Ed said:
They're harmless just a little unsightly. They are common in many aquaria where pellets are the primary food source (I have them in work in some aquatic turtle enclosures and in the Pipa parva tanks) and there is a moderate to high bioload on the system which provides them with a lot of the food source.

If you watch closely when the axolotls consume the pellets there is often a fine particulate that comes out of thier mouth. This then gets stirred up and collects on the tubes formed by the worms causing them to show up. I suspect they are even more common in many enclosures but just aren't noticed.

Ed
Click to expand...
 
I have to agree with Ed and Az on this one. I would bet money they are in fact the tubes of Chinoromids of one sort or another. Harmless, but aesthetically unpleasing to some. They can easily be controlled by a few Ghost Shrimp, which in turn will be enjoyed by your axolotls!
 
SludgeMunkey said:
I have to agree with Ed and Az on this one. I would bet money they are in fact the tubes of Chinoromids of one sort or another. Harmless, but aesthetically unpleasing to some. They can easily be controlled by a few Ghost Shrimp, which in turn will be enjoyed by your axolotls!
Click to expand...

Good tip, Johnny. Do you just drop a few ghost shrimp in a week and replace them when they get eaten by your axolotls? I see on another thread that you use the shrimp as treats. It's nice they also control these chinoromids. I'll have to give that one a try, thanks!
 
I used to have good numbers of Chironomids in one of my tanks, and i actually liked having them. They controlled algae growth(because they used it to build their tubes) and they were a great food source for the developing Cynops larvae that were in at the time. I could see the adults in the surface....tiny little green midges.
Since Chironomids don´t bite they are absolutely harmless to you...i wouldn´t waste my time trying to get rid of them...they´ll probably crash after some weeks anyway.
 
tran said:
Good tip, Johnny. Do you just drop a few ghost shrimp in a week and replace them when they get eaten by your axolotls? I see on another thread that you use the shrimp as treats. It's nice they also control these chinoromids. I'll have to give that one a try, thanks!
Click to expand...


Yes. I just throw two or three in the tank every so often. They do their job for a while...then mysteriously go "missing".;)


Like Az says, they really are not much of an issue, and do help control algae to an extent. good news is, they are like hydra- if you have them, it means your tank water chemistry is excellent!
 
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