Photo: What the hell is this?

[tintin]

So I went to Bali for a week and left my Axies in the care of some of my chinese colleagues.
All seemed well, the tank needed a bit of a clean and they obviously didn't wash the food before putting it in (live food), but these worries aside Ace and Niko didn't seem particularly fussed by the circumstances once daddy was back.
BUT . . . now this is what I need help with.
What the hell is this?
I was moving the rocks in the tank to get to the dirt underneath and i saw something move on it. So at first I though, hmm what is this . . one of the worms is white perhaps? Often some of the worms look white in the tubiflex/bloodworm mixes so I almost just put it back, then it moved strangely . . . it was crawling!

So ok, I decided to take a picture, its the best I could do as I was holding the (quite large) rock in one hand and snapping with the other in bad light. But if somebody could tell me what it is I would appreciate it a lot.



My first thoughts were "OMG they have laid eggs and hatched whislt I was away! " which was quickly dismissed after 5 second of thought as being a - pretty much impossible in only 6 days, b - there is oly a few of them and c - it doesn't really look like an axie besides it having a large head and a tail, which kind of goes for most things in larvae form.
So obviously it has come in with the live food. (unless it really is a strange premature axie)
Then my second thought, is that it was a mosquito larvae, but then it was crawling around the rock waggling its tail like a scorpion now and then. Not doing the whole surface tension thing like a mosquito. So now I am really stumped, I've tried googling but without knowing what I am looking for that's pretty much impossible.

If anybody has an idea of what it is id really appreciate it. It is probably something really simple but im no aquatics expert so . . . over to you guys!
For the moment I am leaving it in the tank as its just clinging to the rock and hiding and such but let me know your thoughts.

 

[Star]

Looks like damsel fly larvae to me but I'm no expert either Live foods generally have unwanted stowaways, I've had glassworms quite a few times

 

[tintin]

well if that is the case then either 1 - it will make its way and I can have a funky damsel fly floating about my room, or . . . 2 - which is the more likely option . . Ace will take care of it long before that

thanks Star!

 

[Kaysie]

Just as long as your axolotls are adult size, it should make a good snack. Damsel- and dragonfly larvae can be dangerous to small axolotls. They're fierce predators.

 

[PAWS]

Hi,

It's definitely a damsel fly larvae - Good spot Star!

The larvae are fierce underwater predators. They catch and consume anything which is smaller than they are, either by careful stalking or ambush. Prey may include bloodworms, water fleas, tadpoles and the larvae of mosquitoes or other aquatic insects. The larger dragonfly larvae may even catch and eat small fish!

When they are ready, they usually climb up out of the water (using reeds etc in the wild), shed their underwater guise and emerge as Dragonflies, pump their wings full of blood, dry them in the sun / air and fly away!

 

[tintin]

Nice descriptions PAWS

Well Ace will eat it for sure, a finger would be no problem for him if it wasn't attached to me.
And Niko doesnt like anything other than bloodworms so she wont even try, even though she could if she actually wanted to.

Oh well, I have to leave them for 2 weeks now, I hope they will be looked after good =[

 

[tintin]

p.s - it really is 100% damsel fly now . . . I just saw it walking along the glass so finally got a decent look at it. It has the split tail etc so is for sure one of them.
Is it strange that it is clear white though? I thought they were supposed to be brown or green or something . . or do they just merge into their surroundings . . ie a glass tank?

 

[Kaysie]

I think clear-ish brown is a good description. They will try to blend with their background as much as possible too.