# What are these flying bugs?



## Thrice1337 (Jan 14, 2021)

Sorry for the potato quality photo. Tried my best. There are two of these things flying around in my new Vivarium. Any help is appreciated.


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## fishingguy12345 (Apr 7, 2019)

Looks like a fungus gnat to me.


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## Thrice1337 (Jan 14, 2021)

fishingguy12345 said:


> Looks like a fungus gnat to me.


Son of a... I tried hard to make sure nothing was introduced to this tank. ;( how do they usually get introduced to a tank? The fix is fly paper?


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## Thrice1337 (Jan 14, 2021)

I just vacuumed the two out I could see. I’ll just do this daily until these SOBs are gone for ever.


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## Socratic Monologue (Apr 7, 2018)

Fungus gnats aren't a big deal. They crop up from time to time. They get in through the screen, door gaps, etc.

Bioactive gonna bioactive, as the saying goes.


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## Thrice1337 (Jan 14, 2021)

Socratic Monologue said:


> Fungus gnats aren't a big deal. They crop up from time to time. They get in through the screen, door gaps, etc.
> 
> Bioactive gonna bioactive, as the saying goes.


Haha. Got it. The critter ID said they were harmful so I got worried.


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## Kribensis (Jan 14, 2021)

Yeah, they’re basically harmless, just really annoying. My baby frogs love to eat them. They’ll disappear on their own soon enough.


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## Thrice1337 (Jan 14, 2021)

Thank you all for the help. Loving this community more every day.


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## SpaceMan (Aug 25, 2013)

They're common in house plants too, so if you have them in your house plants, then you'll surely have them in your vivariums at some point. 

My frogs will eat them or at the very least chase them around trying to catch them. It's pretty entertaining.


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## Harpspiel (Jan 18, 2015)

There is some debate about whether their larvae eat delicate tiny roots, like those on miniature orchids. However they are ubiquitous and I personally have never noticed them chowing down on orchid roots, and also haven’t noticed any issues with my smallest orchids. It’s possible that they do have a negative effect but it’s minimal as long as their population stays under control. I don’t do anything to kill or remove them.


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## Kribensis (Jan 14, 2021)

Harpspiel said:


> There is some debate about whether their larvae eat delicate tiny roots, like those on miniature orchids. However they are ubiquitous and I personally have never noticed them chowing down on orchid roots, and also haven’t noticed any issues with my smallest orchids. It’s possible that they do have a negative effect but it’s minimal as long as their population stays under control. I don’t do anything to kill or remove them.


Yeah, my orchids aren’t really affected either. Honestly none of my plants (viv plants or houseplants) really show any signs of decline when I have an outbreak. They might eat some smaller roots, but obviously not enough to negatively impact the plants.


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## SpaceMan (Aug 25, 2013)

I'll add that, if you don't have animals in your viv, then sticking a sticky fly trap in there for a few days is a great way to greatly reduce the number of gnats. It's not a permanent fix, but you'll be amazed by how many get caught.


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## Louis (Apr 23, 2014)

I think when people refer to fungus gnats destroying roots it's usually in fruit and vegetable cultivation where soil becomes too waterlogged in which case the roots are in trouble anyway and it's the fine root hairs that are particularly susceptible to damage from the gnat larvae. I feed my geckos a rove beetle that is an aggressive predator of fungus gnat larvae though so I've never had any trouble with them.


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## Kribensis (Jan 14, 2021)

Louis said:


> I think when people refer to fungus gnats destroying roots it's usually in fruit and vegetable cultivation where soil becomes too waterlogged in which case the roots are in trouble anyway and it's the fine root hairs that are particularly susceptible to damage from the gnat larvae. I feed my geckos a rove beetle that is an aggressive predator of fungus gnat larvae though so I've never had any trouble with them.


What rove beetle species? I’m considering some gnat control for my sarracenia grow out tank.


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## Thrice1337 (Jan 14, 2021)

SpaceMan said:


> I'll add that, if you don't have animals in your viv, then sticking a sticky fly trap in there for a few days is a great way to greatly reduce the number of gnats. It's not a permanent fix, but you'll be amazed by how many get caught.


I bought some today on Amazon and they deliver tomorrow. I'll be putting the fly trap in there until I add frogs.


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## Louis (Apr 23, 2014)

Kribensis said:


> What rove beetle species? I’m considering some gnat control for my sarracenia grow out tank.


 Dalotia / Atheta coriaria, often sold as a biological control for fungus gnats under the name 'Staphyline'. They are very effective against fungus gnats in enclosed spaces or if there are sufficient numbers in larger spaces.
They also reproduce very quickly and my geckos absolutely love eating them and their larvae, something about the way they move triggers a really strong feeding response so they are a useful supplemental feeder as part of a varied diet. 
More research may be necessary before offering them to dart frogs though as SOME rove beetles produce one of the most potent animal toxins in the world called Pederin. 
Dalotia coriaria don't but caution may be warrented incase they do produce substances that dart frogs could concentrate in their poison glands as they do in the wild.


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## Kribensis (Jan 14, 2021)

Louis said:


> Dalotia / Atheta coriaria, often sold as a biological control for fungus gnats under the name 'Staphyline'. They are very effective against fungus gnats in enclosed spaces or if there are sufficient numbers in larger spaces.
> They also reproduce very quickly and my geckos absolutely love eating them and their larvae, something about the way they move triggers a really strong feeding response so they are a useful supplemental feeder as part of a varied diet.
> More research may be necessary before offering them to dart frogs though as SOME rove beetles produce one of the most potent animal toxins in the world called Pederin.
> Dalotia coriaria don't but caution may be warrented incase they do produce substances that dart frogs could concentrate in their poison glands as they do in the wild.


Thank you! I’ll do more research before ever offering them to frogs. Do you think I could potentially feed them to fish? I have some gouramis, cichlids, and barbs of various species that love to eat insects on occasion.


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