So i recently reactivated a 55 Gallon that was lying empty as an eyesore in my living room. To cut to the chase, it has a sand substrate (combination of black and river) with a bunch of plants and nothing much else. No fish for now. I intend to put a betta or something when the plants take growth, but no immediate plans.
The last bunch of plants I ordered online arrived in pretty decent condition, so I happily planted them in the sand. There is Cabomba Caroliana, Vallisneria Nana and Bacopa something and a few swords.
Everything was fine and dandy till a few days back, with the Cabomba showing good vertical growth as well as some horizontal offshoots and the others also showing signs of progress.
BUT, guess what. A couple of days ago I was just observing the tank and checking for growth when i saw a couple of torn pieces of leaf (probably from the sword) mysteriously moving around the glass. When I checked closely, it turned out to be an aquatic caterpillar of some sort.
I did some online digging and confirmed it IS an aquatic caterpillar, which interestingly transforms into a Moth in the tank itself, crawls out and flies off eventually. But the catch is, a handful of them can do some serious woodwork on your plants, with holes in the stem, missing bits of leaves and bite marks everywhere. The last thing I want is to see my plant turned into a salad bar for caterpillars.
Getting to the point, what would be the best way to get rid of the little critters? Anyone else have them before?
At the moment I am planning to manually pluck out as many as I can and put them in small jar of water or something (to watch them transform). But I suppose that will not be enough to get all of them, they are pretty well camouflaged when hiding in the plants.
First time ever for me with aquatic caterpillars. Been in the hobby for a while...
Thanks in advance.
The last bunch of plants I ordered online arrived in pretty decent condition, so I happily planted them in the sand. There is Cabomba Caroliana, Vallisneria Nana and Bacopa something and a few swords.
Everything was fine and dandy till a few days back, with the Cabomba showing good vertical growth as well as some horizontal offshoots and the others also showing signs of progress.
BUT, guess what. A couple of days ago I was just observing the tank and checking for growth when i saw a couple of torn pieces of leaf (probably from the sword) mysteriously moving around the glass. When I checked closely, it turned out to be an aquatic caterpillar of some sort.
I did some online digging and confirmed it IS an aquatic caterpillar, which interestingly transforms into a Moth in the tank itself, crawls out and flies off eventually. But the catch is, a handful of them can do some serious woodwork on your plants, with holes in the stem, missing bits of leaves and bite marks everywhere. The last thing I want is to see my plant turned into a salad bar for caterpillars.
Getting to the point, what would be the best way to get rid of the little critters? Anyone else have them before?
At the moment I am planning to manually pluck out as many as I can and put them in small jar of water or something (to watch them transform). But I suppose that will not be enough to get all of them, they are pretty well camouflaged when hiding in the plants.
First time ever for me with aquatic caterpillars. Been in the hobby for a while...
Thanks in advance.
I like the idea of trying to raise them in a more controlled area! I would be concerned about them growing up and put more babies in your aquarium though. lol No advice on how to get rid of them since I have never dealt with them before but removing as you see them is a great start, sometimes with a bit of patience this is all you really need to do.
