Damselfly larvae

**metro_racer** · 03-19-2010, 03:44 PM

while i was cleaning mey tank today i found a Damselfly larvae, i was just wandering if they were harmful to my fish?

**Brhino** · 03-19-2010, 05:41 PM

Damselflies undergo incomplete metamorphosis, with an aquatic nymph stage. The female lays eggs in water, sometimes in underwater vegetation, or high in trees in bromeliads and other water-filled cavities. Nymphs are carnivorous, feeding on daphnia, mosquito larvae, and various other small aquatic organisms. The gills of damselfly nymphs are large and external, resembling three fins at the end of the abdomen. After moulting several times, the winged adult emerges and eats flies, mosquitoes, and other small insects. Some of the larger tropical species are known to feed on spiders, hovering near the web and plucking the spider from its nest.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damselfly

Sounds to me like if you have fry they could become prey, but if you've only got adult fish you should be okay.

**metro_racer** · 03-20-2010, 12:27 PM

Originally Posted by Brhino

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damselfly

Sounds to me like if you have fry they could become prey, but if you've only got adult fish you should be okay.

cool i dont have any fry but it may get rid of some of the snails.
i just dont know how it got in there?

**annageckos** · 03-20-2010, 02:20 PM

They are predators and will eat anything that they can catch. I would take it out. You could try to raise it in a small tank, like a 5.5 gallon.

**HeatherH** · 03-20-2010, 03:30 PM

I had one of these get into my tank from some hornwort someone sent me to start a planted tank. It ate all of my guppy fry and even chewed on some unfortunate ones who got too close to it before I caught on. I flushed it down the toilet.