And lastly, but probably the most unlikely way, is if an adult damselfly flies over your aquarium and lays its eggs directly into your water naturally, this is more likely to happen in outdoor ponds but it is sometimes actually encouraged to help manage mosquito populations. It is also possible to introduce damselfly nymphs if you give your fish live foods if you are feeding mosquito larvae, daphnia, or any other wild-caught food, it is possible for eggs or a nymph to get mixed in. However, the most common way a damselfly nymph may enter your aquarium is by hitching a ride on a bunch of plants while in their egg stage. The nymphs entered my filter because I left it outside for a while and adult damselflies had the opportunity to lay their eggs. As mentioned before, many people don’t even realize they have damselfly nymphs in their tank until their small fish or invertebrates start disappearing this is simply because they are incredibly good hiders and camouflage amazingly well! How did a damselfly nymph get in my fish tank? In fact, they are carnivorous and known to attack shrimp and even small fish. I only noticed the nymphs in my tank because it was time to clean the filter sponge! Damselfly nymphs in the aquariumĪlthough these nymphs look a bit like dwarf shrimp from a distance, they are not nearly as peaceful. Most aquarium keepers don’t even realize that they have a damselfly nymph problem until other fish and invertebrates start going missing. What’s even worse is that damselflies can stay in their nymph stage for a very long time, anywhere from months to years. While dragonfly nymphs are more likely to actively bury themselves into the substrate, damselfly nymphs may also cover themselves with substrate or find another safe and hidden spot, making both insects very difficult to see in an aquarium setting. Damselfly nymph behaviorĪ damselfly nymph usually relies on its camouflage to hide while waiting for food to pass by. In both the wild and aquarium setting, they are known to eat small fish, shrimp, tadpoles, and small crustaceans. An adult damselfly will most likely stick to eating other insects, like mosquitoes and flies, but damselfly nymphs will eat anything that is an appropriate size in relation to their body. Dietĭamselflies and damselfly nymphs are voracious predators that won’t hesitate to eat anything they come across throughout their entire life cycle. The cycle will then start all over again. On land, they will then undergo metamorphosis until transformed into a fully mature adult. The length of this process widely depends on temperature. These nymphs undergo a series of molts under the water until finally emerging once they start to develop wings. The new damselflies then hatch and begin their life cycle as nymphs in freshwater lakes, ponds, and rivers. These eggs are covered in a sticky gelatinous coating that makes it easy for them to stay stuck in one location. Life cycleĪdult damselflies lay their eggs in or on aquatic plants, substrate, or simply disperse them into the water column. ![]() Most notably, damselflies fold their wings up and away from the body while dragonflies relax their wings against the top of their body. Keep reading for everything you need to know about damselfly nymphs and getting them out of your tank! Damselflies and damselfly nymphsĭamselflies (suborder: Zygoptera) are similar to dragonflies (suborder: Anisoptera) but are usually smaller and have slimmer bodies. ![]() These nymphs are the last thing you want to see in your aquarium. So I opened the filter, and – ew! Crawling around on the sponge were at least 25 squirmy insects, which I recognized as damselfly nymphs. ![]() While I was doing a water change on my goldfish tub a few days ago, I realized I should probably clean the sponge in the filter, as I hadn’t properly done that since I took my goldies back inside.
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