Author Topic: Pond fleas? (Read 3034 times)

Jonna · « **on:** December 14, 2009, 09:06:41 PM »

I have this little bowl pond upstairs, it has a couple small plants and a few Mollies in it. Now, it also has these underwater 'fleas', at least they are about the size of a flea and they swim around really fast. Any ideas what they are? I don't think I can get a picture of them because they are so small and move so fast. It appears that there are more and more of them but I'm not positive about that. I guess I could catch the Mollies and dump out the pond to get rid of them. I just repotted the plants and added a new layer of gravel over them and new water, I have to guess that these little critters were in the rock while I was doing that.

HOWELL · « **Reply #1 on:** December 14, 2009, 09:14:11 PM »

I've seen them and never knew what they were at least my koi eats them...

tugo · « **Reply #2 on:** December 15, 2009, 05:48:07 AM »

I tried to picture mine but as you said seems not possible. In my tanks where no fish exists, there are these small black "thinks" making "s" curves when swimming, like a miniature snail. Can they be mosquito larvas? Would be nice to get rid of them but how?

OldMarine · « **Reply #3 on:** December 15, 2009, 07:48:38 AM »

Hey, do they look like the bugs at this link?

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&source=hp&q=water+fleas&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=SK8nS9aVJIeQsgP1np23DA&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=5&ved=0CB0QsAQwBA

Mikey · « **Reply #4 on:** December 15, 2009, 07:56:42 AM »

Whenever I remove excess water hyacinths from the pond I notice those little rascals also.

Jonna · « **Reply #5 on:** December 15, 2009, 08:20:33 AM »

I don't think I've ever seen them but, after reading the links and poking around, it is probably because my fish ate them all. I only have one small Mollie and 3 fry in this bowl pond so I guess they didn't eat as many. The water is clear and it says they eat algae, that's good. I may try and catch some of them and feed them to my cichlids.

I'm not positive that they are Daphnia but I'm not getting any closer to find out more. I will go and watch them swim again, I don't think they had a jerky, hopping motion, more of a really fast zipping around motion. They are dark, they are more round than S shaped so not mosquito larvae.

miguynmkoi · « **Reply #6 on:** December 15, 2009, 08:56:41 AM »

I have tiny flea like bugs in my ponds and buckets too. Seems they are kept under control by the fish. When the weather is cooler...I know you don't have that problem , Jonna

....there seems to be less of these bugs. I've never had so many that it is a problem so they can stay in my pond.

tammie · « **Reply #7 on:** December 15, 2009, 12:29:54 PM »

Daphina - fresh water "shrimp". They're a good thing, they indicate that the water is well balanced.
Tammie

Nassuvian · « **Reply #8 on:** December 15, 2009, 04:42:19 PM »

Maybe they are daphnia as others have suggested.

They could also be seed shrimps:

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

If they are seed shrimps then you might see empty shells at the bottom of your pond, the tops of your pots, or in your filter.

They could also be hyallela although they aren't as active as seeds shrimps or daphnia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyalella

turtlemike · « **Reply #9 on:** December 16, 2009, 08:15:19 AM »

I know from close observation of the ostracods that I have in my seedling tubs that they do no damage to even the smallest lily seedlings. They feed along the bottom scraping scum off of surfaces like snails do.

They WILL however eat the just sprouting embryo of a waterlily seed and kill it. So as long as they are not in my seed bottles I think they are great.

There are lots of different ostracods and I only know about the ones I have seen here.

I have seen another one in mud puddles around here that stay buried in the mud and filter feed like a clam. They are much bigger.

I have 250 million year old ostracod fossils in the limestone on my farm that look identical to the ones that live here now. Obviously a very good design since evolution hasn't changed it much in all those years.

LeeAnne151 · « **Reply #10 on:** December 16, 2009, 04:52:09 PM »

I have daphnia and assorted water beetles in my fishless ponds and I don't worry about them at all. I use Mosquito Dunks in every one and they don't hurt them, only mosquitoes.

Jonna · « **Reply #11 on:** December 16, 2009, 07:00:12 PM »

OK, I won't worry about them. I think they are the Daphne. They swim like a fly flies - hard to describe. They swim in little circles and kind of zoom around the bottom, rarely come to the surface. Not sure why the Mollies haven't eaten them, there are only a couple small Mollies in there so maybe they are too small to eat them.

OldMarine · « **Reply #12 on:** December 16, 2009, 08:03:47 PM »

Hi Leeanne151,

My son and wife live in Molalla, OR near his in-laws. My son's in-laws have large a pond that had become a real problem with mosquitos. The state of Oregon will give you mosquitos fish for your pond if mosquitos are a problem. I would imagine that all you have to do is contact the state fish and wildlife dept. for details.

I'm not sure if mosquito fish are legal here in the state of Washington, but I have some here in my pond that do a good job at keeping the mosquitos larva in check.

Jerry · « **Reply #13 on:** December 18, 2009, 07:57:53 AM »

I have read and been told many times that ANY fish will eat the mosquito larvae.
Mosquito fish are impossible to Get rid of and will eat fish larvae as well.

OldMarine · « **Reply #14 on:** December 18, 2009, 08:06:47 AM »

Thanks Jerry, it's good to know that. I may have to dispose of the mosquito fish by giving them back to the lady in Molalla, Oregon.

Mikey · « **Reply #15 on:** December 18, 2009, 09:45:40 AM »

I love mosquito fish. They do eat eggs of other fish, but in my case that is a good thing because it keeps my fish load in balance and therefore I don't have to euthanize any excess fish. They apparently keep themselves in check & balance as well since my pond is not overrun with them. I also firmly believe they are the best at eating mosquito larvae. Mosquito larvae are rather small and can hide in locations among the rocky edges of my pond that goldfish simply can't get to. I see my mosquito fish poking around in as little as 1/4" of water.

OldMarine · « **Reply #16 on:** December 18, 2009, 10:26:59 AM »

Hi Mikey,

Your absolutely right. They only grow to about two inches long, and they stay quite close to the surface most of the time. Like you said, they like to browse in the shallows of rocks and plants where the larger fish can't get to. I have seven shubunkins in my 365 gallon pond, and it really wouldn't hurt my feelings if the mosquito fish ate the other fish hatchlings.

I was originally given six mosquito fish, and all are gone for whatever reasons except one. Since last spring there are approximately a dozen and a half mosquito fish offspring that are now about one inch long. I think I'll just wait to see how they do this next summer. If they get intrusive in anyway, I'll just thin them out. After all, I didn't seem to have any imbalance in my pond last year between the Shubunkins, frogs, snails, mosquito fish, and plants.

Jerry · « **Reply #17 on:** December 18, 2009, 10:46:01 AM »

When I pulled that chlorine stunt the mosquito fish went too. :'(
I am now devoid of fish. I will restock soon, but a good time to vacuum and clean the filter pads.

Mikey · « **Reply #18 on:** December 18, 2009, 01:13:43 PM »

Quote

When I pulled that chlorine stunt the mosquito fish went too

They aren't quite as tough as I thought....

robie · « **Reply #19 on:** December 21, 2009, 04:37:49 PM »

they are ostracoda as turtlemike said ,

in the pond you can`t see them,,, but in small pots you can ¡¡¡

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostracoda

it is funny the fish do not eat them ¡¡¡

saludos jonna

OldMarine · « **Reply #20 on:** December 21, 2009, 04:42:43 PM »

Okay Robie,

Why was that in Spanish or Latin or whatever it was? Doesn't do any good if we can't read it here in the US of A.

HOWELL · « **Reply #21 on:** December 21, 2009, 08:37:31 PM »

Quote from: OldMarine on December 21, 2009, 04:42:43 PM

Okay Robie,

Why was that in Spanish or Latin or whatever it was? Doesn't do any good if we can't read it here in the US of A.

Yeah that was spanish...and "maybe" it was because it was strictly directed to Jonna...but I'm pretty sure she's got it..

, but if you want me to, I can traslate some of it to ya'll....

Jonna · « **Reply #22 on:** December 21, 2009, 11:45:20 PM »

¡Eso es! Robie

Old Marine, not all of the members of this forum are in or from the US of A. Some are native English speakers as I am but others are not, they use google to translate. You should try it.

OldMarine · « **Reply #23 on:** December 22, 2009, 09:21:42 AM »

Thank you, you made a good point. Like many others, I come to this outstanding forum because it is in English.

Sorry, not trying to start a debate here.

Happy ponding,

robie · « **Reply #24 on:** December 22, 2009, 10:59:40 AM »

sorry , is beter my spanish , que mi ingles ¡¡¡

ostrocod = ostrocoda

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