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Hey guys, I know this isn't directly about catfish, but advice would be really appreciated, as my catfish are in the tank with this issue. These past couple of days, I've discovered dead white bugs in my tank on the bottom. They're pretty big, about half the size of a nano Cory, so half an inch maybe? They're pretty broken down/decomposed when I find them, and I've yet to see a live one in the tank. I did some searching around and the closest match I could find was gammarus, but it's really hard to identify cos they're kinda broken down. They have a layered shell, and tons of little legs, and they seem curled up. I've attached some pics, sorry if they aren't the best quality. All of my fish seem fine and healthy, but I'm still concerned. My questions are, what are they, are they harmful, and how can I get rid of them? Even if they are 'beneficial', I really don't want them in my tank. I'm not a big fan of bugs. Oh, and I recently added some plants to my tank, but the stupid pet store sold them to me half dead so I threw them out. But honestly, that was less than a week ago. Could these bugs have grown and multiplied that fast? I've also added frogbit to my tank and a mangrove root. I'm thinking maybe they live inside the root? Or they're in the substrate? They're so big, I don't know how I'm missing them...

Hi zurikitty13,

Honestly, I can't tell a thing from the detail in the photos. No insult to you intended, but the combination of photos from a distance, mixed with all the aquarium debris around them, and mix that with the fact that the bugs are decomposed makes it nearly impossible for me to know what I'm looking at. Can you get any better photos? Or maybe pick some out of the tank and photograph out of the tank (Especially a living one).

Thanks, Eric

Yeah, I knew they were terrible quality. But these shots actually aren't from a distance; a couple inches away from the front of the tank. My phone just sucks I guess. Also, still have not seen a live one. I searched around in the substrate a bit, but nothing. And lastly, I threw them out. It's stupid, I know, but they creep me out to no end. If I find another one, I'll take it out and take better pics, or try to anyways. Sorry again for the terrible quality and lack of info/description.

Hi all,

bekateen wrote:Honestly, I can't tell a thing from the detail in the photos.

I can't tell either, but from your description ("lots of legs and curled up") they might be terrestrial isopod crustaceans <"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodlouse"> that were living in the Mangrove root, but have subsequently drowned.

I know they aren't to every-ones taste, but I have Asellus aquaticus and Crangonyx pseudogracilis <http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/live ... lis.41351/> in my tanks, where they act as both tank janitors and live food.

cheers Darrel

I agree with dw1305. Although on this side of the pond we generally call them pillbugs. They were probably in the wood and drowned when you put it underwater.

Yeah, I think that's what it was. I haven't seen anymore, so I'm not too worried anymore. It's just weird that they showed up a good two weeks after I put it in. Goes to show that mangrove roots are terrible at becoming waterlogged.