# Help! I found centipedes in my tank



## hexentanz (Sep 18, 2008)

The other day I found a dead centipede about 1.5cm in length floating in the moat of my azureus tank, two days later i found a second centipede, this time it was alive since it was in the water i was thankful that it would soon be drowned. Fast forward a bit later in the day I found a second live centipede also in the water and since then I have found two more. 

This morning I noticed a little tiny tiny centipede about a few mm in length poking in and out of the fernroot trunk I have in there.

I recently battled a bad millipede problem in another tank of mine, it involved waking up several times a night over two weeks and stalking them with a flashlight, then smashing them to bits with a tweezer.

I have no access to any dry ice, so I am not sure what to do but catch the centipedes as I see them. 

What I do wonder is, do I need to get the frogs out or is there no concern since the centipedes are so small? 

Also how on earth did this even happen? The majority of my plants came to me dirt free and if they had any dirt i completely removed the dirt, i baked all of my fernroot before using it in my tanks, as well as my peat plates and any leaves I used were boiled.


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## RecycledAgain (Oct 26, 2008)

You can also make Co2 with vinegar, let me hunt down the How -to. They wont hurt the frogs, but they will become a nuance.

Edit: Making Carbon Dioxide

You may have had occasion to mix vinegar (5% acetic acid) and baking soda (NaHCO3) together and see all the bubbles produced. The bubbles are carbon dioxide gas, and 1 gram of baking soda reacts with 15 ml of vinegar (or other 5% acid) to produce 291 cc of CO2. In kitchen measurement terms, 1 cup of vinegar reacts with 1.2 tablespoons (3.6 tsp.) of baking soda to produce 1.2 gallons of CO2, or one gallon of vinegar would react with 1.25 cups of baking soda to produce 20 gallons of CO2. Both white vinegar and baking soda are inexpensive, and using more baking soda than the minimum amount given above does no harm.

You might want to expose the animal to the smell of vinegar to see if the odor is distressing or not. Rodents seem to like the smell. If the pet has a strong negative reaction, you might consider using muriatic acid (HCl) or swimming pool acid. These acids are concentrated and potentially hazardous, so be sure to determine their concentration and dilute them to make a 5% solution first (add acid to water, never add water to concentrated acid). If you are at all uncomfortable handling or diluting acid, just use the white vinegar. The CO2 that is produced may or may not have a significant vinegar smell. The vinegar odor question is probably a non-issue, but just in case there is an odor that the animal might react to, you should put some vinegar in the euthanasia chamber so the animal gets used to the smell before the CO2 is introduced.


Dan


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## hexentanz (Sep 18, 2008)

Thanks mate! CO bombing I will go!


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## Dragas (Sep 4, 2008)

I would still remove the frogs while putting in the co2 mixture. 

Rather be safe than sorry.


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## hexentanz (Sep 18, 2008)

Dragas said:


> I would still remove the frogs while putting in the co2 mixture.
> 
> Rather be safe than sorry.


Yes, that is the plan.


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## Woodsman (Jan 3, 2008)

I haven't had centipedes, but have had small millipedes in my terrariums for years with no ill effects. It seems that the millipedes participate in keeping the tanks clean and the frogs likely prey on the smallest millipedes.

Sometimes it best not to freak out. Good luck, Richard.


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