# Unwelcome residents... ID???



## claymore

I just found these clear worms with black heads crawling all over my 29G. 
They are like an 1/8 th of an inch long... So pretty small...
Any idea what they are? Harmful? 

Here are some pics...


















This tank is going to have darts in it eventually... Would the darts eat them?


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## claymore

Never mind, I did some research and found out that they are Fungus Gnat Larvae.... Time to do the Co2 dance.


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## Tony

Your frogs will be perfectly happy to take care of the fungus gnats for you, I wouldn't bother with CO2.


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## claymore

Tony said:


> Your frogs will be perfectly happy to take care of the fungus gnats for you, I wouldn't bother with CO2.



It might be a couple of months before I get the frogs... Will the larvae destroy my plants before I get my frogs in there?


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## Tony

I have never had any trouble with fungus gnats harming plants.


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## billschwinn

What does a Fungus gnat look like?


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## Tony

billschwinn said:


> What does a Fungus gnat look like?


Pretty much like a fruit fly, but smaller. I get them from time to time, especially in my tree frog vivs where there is nothing to eat them, but they die off on their own fairly quickly.

Here is a photo from UW Madison.


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## Lance

gnats look like a black fly about a 1/16th big. they love damp soil so you'll pretty much find them buzzing around in side the vivs


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## Brotherly Monkey

Tony said:


> Pretty much like a fruit fly, but smaller. I get them from time to time, especially in my tree frog vivs where there is nothing to eat them, but they die off on their own fairly quickly.
> 
> Here is a photo from UW Madison.


Tony, is there a reason you don't just use mosquito dunks to deal with the infestation?


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## claymore

Ok so they won't tear into my plants to bad then? Right?


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## Tony

Brotherly Monkey said:


> Tony, is there a reason you don't just use mosquito dunks to deal with the infestation?


I have never had an infestation bad enough that I felt the need to risk chemical controls. They die out quickly and cause no harm during a bloom so I just ignore them.


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## frogfreak

Lance said:


> gnats look like a black fly about a 1/16th big. they love damp soil


They do love damp soil. They're in my pinhead cricket cultures right now. We have lots of plants in the room as well. They don't bother them. They just lay in the soil.

When we get them we just hang some fly tape near a light and in a week they're gone. 

They're not very bright.


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## billschwinn

I am in Florida and have not seen those before, weird.


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## Brotherly Monkey

Tony said:


> I have never had an infestation bad enough that I felt the need to risk chemical controls. They die out quickly and cause no harm during a bloom so I just ignore them.


I think most mosquito dunks use a natural soil bacteria as a larvacide


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