# HELP!!! I saw BUGS that look like translucent beetles in the tank!!!!!



## missindifferent (Jun 25, 2010)

I just noticed 2 !!!!!! They are about 1cm, have 6 or so legs, are roundish like beetles... and translucent with a very slight tint of grey. They are hiding in the driftwood ...
Because I have shrimps and plecos I have a really big piece of driftwood with lots of hiding places.

I am soooooooooooo creeped out. I keep my tanks pretty clean! I have had this setup for 1 year, and have never seen these things before. I did a quick search and a guy from allexperts.com responding a concern about brown bugs said that the eggs could've come from plants, which makes sense in my case since I bought 2 plants at big al's last midnight madness.................... (1 bacopa monnieri and 1 rotala wallichi)

Does anybody know what this is and what I can do ?????? I don't want to put my hand in the tank until they are gone ......... *shiver* And I'm quite sure those beetles will eat my guppy fry. There's one missing already...

Also, something to mention is that I (GRUDGINGLY) looked through this list of bugs with pictures, and it was none of them... the size/colour doesn't match up with them.

http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum/showthread.php/34333-Bugs-you-might-encounter-in-your-aquarium

PLEASE HELP!!!


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

try to get a picture


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

If they really bother you remove them or kill them in place.


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## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

bugs occur in aquarium, pond, ocean, river, lake water. You probably wouldn't enjoy the things that appear 'out of nowhere' in a Saltwater tank.. LOL!


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

Do a search for scuds or Gammarus shrimp and see if that is what you have. If they are scuds, leave them as they are great algae eaters and will not harm your fish.


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## missindifferent (Jun 25, 2010)

Scuds is possible I guess... I only saw the things for 2 seconds, from the side view. Haven't seen them since.

I noticed them largely because they walked very steadily, whereas shrimps are skittish and they walk like drunks because of the current.

Bettabeats: thanks for the consolation


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## Alexpatrascu (Jun 13, 2010)

They'll prolly come out some time after the lighs go off.....try to look for them with a flashlight two hours after the lights go off....and take a pic if you can.


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## missindifferent (Jun 25, 2010)

Surprisingly, I managed to get some pictures...... :S

It's a bit blurry as I was scrambling to take a picture, but the 2nd is the best representation ... in person it looks more grey, not greenish. It has feelers on its head just like shrimps but they are much shorter.


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

It does indeed look like a scud. It will do your tank no harm. I kept a culture of them going for quite a few years, by feeding them thread algae. I would take plants that had algae on them and put them in the scud tank, and they would have them cleaned off by the next day. However, once the algae was gone they would start on the plant. I would love to have some right now.


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## missindifferent (Jun 25, 2010)

BillD said:


> It does indeed look like a scud. It will do your tank no harm. I kept a culture of them going for quite a few years, by feeding them thread algae. I would take plants that had algae on them and put them in the scud tank, and they would have them cleaned off by the next day. However, once the algae was gone they would start on the plant. I would love to have some right now.


I looked up some forums about scuds, and people say they attack baby shrimp and freshly molted shrimp... I have to get rid of the moss, evacuate shrimps and bring in some tetras/loaches/angelfish to eat the scuds... any other suggestions? My bf has all 3 kinds of fish, so we will probably introduce whatever we manage to catch.

Oh, and here is the forum where they've mentioned the scuds eating shrimp:
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/shrimp-other-invertebrates/78015-how-do-you-get-rid-scuds-2.html


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

The best choice would be loaches. However, you can probably remove them if there are only a few. Suck them out with a hose.


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## missindifferent (Jun 25, 2010)

I'll get a better idea how many there are once I remove the piece of wood.

Thanks!!


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