Tropical Fish Forums

[UncleWillie]

I know that this isn't an aquatic invert, but was hoping we could make an exception for these critters.

A while back I got some Salvinia for one of my tanks. A few days later, many of these critters showed up, and within days, they had multiplied into the hundreds. As the Salvinia grew in numbers, so did this bug (into the 1000s). Now that the Salvinia has filled the tank, and the bugs have gotten incredibly dense, they seem to be starving out and dying. I was wondering if anyone had any of these orange colored critters hitchhike on floating plants before. Any ideas?

This picture was taken just days after receiving the plant. Not a great picture... but any help is appreciated. Thanks!

[unissuh]

I don't see any chew marks, so I assume they are not physically chewing away at the Salvinia. Maybe aphids or other little parasitic sucker?

Call me a murderer but I'd be flooding the top of the tank with CO2 or something...
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[UncleWillie]

Thanks uni. Someone on another forum also mentioned aphids. They kinda look like tiny mites. Their numbers exploded over the course of a month, but now they are nearly gone (I think they basically starved out). Now all that remains are a few live ones and numerous dried and shriveled up bodies. Many of them fell victim to the young longear sunfish that lurked under the Salvinia. The bugs aren't good swimmers, which makes me think they are not frequent inhabitants of floating vegetation.