Today I removed dragonfly larva number TWENTY from my 30L tank.
The tank has been running since February, and the last new plants were added in March. So… how many of these little armored nightmare shrimps should I realistically still expect? Can they keep appearing for this long from plants, or am I unknowingly hosting a full dragonfly dynasty?
Current inhabitants:
3 nerite snails
approximately 400 million bladder snails
the apparently endless dragonfly legion
And while I have the aquarium hivemind here:
How do I get rid of the blackwater/tinted look without removing the wood?
The wood was boiled, soaked for several days, and I’ve already done four partial water changes. The tank runs with a sponge filter and an air stone/bubbler, but the water still looks like someone brewed weak tea directly inside the aquarium.
I like a natural look, but this has crossed the line into “Victorian swamp documentary.”
Any advice? Activated carbon, more water changes, just waiting it out… or sacrificing one of the 400 million bladder snails to the aquarium gods?
Posted by Glad-Love-3057
7 Comments
Yes charcoal plus more water changes will clear up the dark tannin look. For the dragonfly legion I suspect you might be accidentally breeding them since there is jo predators in your tank. I would suggest a tight fitting lid to keep them out.
Im jusy curious how do you get dragon fly larva in there in the first place? Do they come with the plants??
You can remove the tannins that tint the water by removing the water. A few 90% water changes should help, but your wood will release tannins for month if not years.
Another way is using chemicals like Seachem Purigen. You put it into your filter and “polish” the water over time.
I use Seachem Puirgen, keeps the benefits of the tannins but polishes the water, it’s a game changer.
Best way to remove the tanin look is purigen + water changes. It is REALLY good for that.
I’ll bet a bluegill would *love* some baby dragonflies as “tank mates” 😂
You said Litres though so that’s probably not feasible, geographically or geometrically
Hey! This is actually a damselfly nymph, not a dragonfly nymph. They are still tiny predators but slightly less bad than dragonflies.