# Millipede



## robrainney (Jan 4, 2007)

I'm wondering if this is something I should be concerned with. I have four auratus in a 20 gallon tank, and have never seen this bug before. I pulled off the lid today, and there he was. Hes about an inch long. They have been together for close to a year, and no problems so far. I'm just worried that I'll finally get the frogs to lay eggs, and the bug will just eat them, or it will continue to grow, and eventually cause problem with my frogs. :shock:


----------



## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

Millipedes wont eat your frog eggs - they are decomposers, basically like springtails. Sometimes they reach plague proportions in vivs. Then, its easier to wipe them out with dry ice.


----------



## robrainney (Jan 4, 2007)

Thats good to hear. Thats the only one I have seen, so hopefully they wont get out of control. I do a lot of four wheeling, and we use CO2 tanks as sort of portable compressors, so if they do get bad, I'll just flood the tank with CO2 for a few days, and hopefully skip the dry ice.


----------



## AquaManCanada (Jan 10, 2007)

Millipedes won't eat frogs but that picture is not of a millipede it is a centipede and centipedes are usually carnivorous. I am not sure exactly what type of centipede it is but at a size of only an inch and since it has probably been there for some time I am guessing it is one of the smaller north american species.


----------



## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

It certainly looks like a millipede to me - if you can poke it with a stick or something and it curls up, then you definately will know for sure that it is a millipede. It does not appear to have any jaws, which are typically very prominent in centipedes - can you get a closeup of the head?


----------



## Neodoxa (Oct 12, 2006)

From my experience, I would say it is definitely a sort of centipede, which, agreeing with a previous post, would be carnivorous. They would only go after smaller bugs though (such as what you feed your frogs). I would do my best to rid the vivarium of it/them if I were you.

-Neodoxa


----------



## AquaManCanada (Jan 10, 2007)

I dunno I can count the legs on it and millipedes have a thousand. That thing definitely does not have one thousand legs. About a hundred.


----------



## Drew (Nov 9, 2006)

AquaManCanada said:


> I dunno I can count the legs on it and millipedes have a thousand. That thing definitely does not have one thousand legs. About a hundred.


1000 or 100 has nothing to do with a bug being a millipede or centipede. If memory serves me correctly millipedes have 2 pairs of legs per segment and centipedes have one pair per segment.


----------



## titan501x (Dec 7, 2006)

its a centipede alright, millipedes have the legs underneath its shell the whole time. 

Just be glad this ain't in your viv!

(note: that is not me in the picture, i found it on google.)









This is a centipede- these can reach 14 inches and eat mice, birds, frogs, anything it can catch.


----------



## Ben_C (Jun 25, 2004)

Definitely a harmless millipede.
I'd guess order polydesmida but that's just a guess.
You can tell because of the '2 legs per segment' rule mentioned above as well as the lack of forcipules (poison claws).

I hope this helps,
B


----------



## the_noobinator (Jan 14, 2007)

my vote is for millipede.


----------



## robrainney (Jan 4, 2007)

So I have been asured its a harmless millipede, and definately a dangerous centipede. If I see it again, I guess I'll pull it out.


----------



## Rambo67 (Jun 12, 2006)

Its a millipede, but id still pull it out and look for others.


----------



## lacerta (Aug 27, 2004)

Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Diplipoda - two pair of appendages per segment, lacking chelicerata (jaws)

It is a millipede.


----------



## slaytonp (Nov 14, 2004)

It's a millipede that merely looks like a centipede superficially. I've had them in my tanks for years. They will come and go in numbers, so in my older tanks, I seldom see them any more. I also had this same species in my greenhouse gardens for many years without ever noting any damage. In my experience, these particularly little guys live on the detritus, organic matter and don't bother the frogs in any way. One of my leucs tried to eat one once, and spit it right back out, wiping his face at the same time, so they aren't an edible item for the frogs. They are probably more useful than otherwise, however, and don't grow any larger than the one in your picture.


----------



## black_envy (Aug 12, 2006)

It's a millipede, I went through 30 pages of google, but I can't find a scientific name on this guy. But it looks a lot like this: 










And this:











I'm not sure, this is all I could get for naming: Diplopoda is that class or order?


----------



## Ben_C (Jun 25, 2004)

> I'm not sure, this is all I could get for naming: Diplopoda is that class or order?


Diplopoda is a class.

~B


----------



## bbrock (May 20, 2004)

That particular millipede is pretty common and I have seen them eat frog eggs but only rarely. They can also do a number on certain plants - ant plants and orchids have been the ones I've seen them reduce to frass. But on the whole, I think they are beneficial in a viv and given enough time will settle down to non-plague proportions. Most of my vivs have a few of these critters in them and other than a few clutches of pumilio eggs and a couple of plants, no real harm. And when they were causing problems in the pumilio viv, there were thousands of them - literally. And even still they destroyed fewer eggs than the rival femal pumilio that had to be removed.

My policy for new critters in a viv is innocent until proven guilty but I have a much higher tolerance for "unexpected consequences" than most froggers. I have snails and slugs in my vivs which don't cause any harm either.


----------



## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

Definetly a millipede as already mentioned. 

For those with them in vivs....do you think it would be good or bad to introduce some into a viv? They look pretty interesting.


----------



## slaytonp (Nov 14, 2004)

In my experience, they just occur, or sometimes they don't in other tanks. I don't see any particular advantage or disadvantage about them. They're fine if they are there, and there is other stuff going on if they aren't. I wouldn't deliberately introduce them for any potential positive purpose. If they are there, they are good, if they aren't, that's O.K., too.


----------



## candm519 (Oct 15, 2006)

*What's That Bug?*

Check out <http://whatsthatbug.com/cent.html> Lots of pics and ids.


----------



## black_envy (Aug 12, 2006)

Yeah I checked out that site, all they did was confirm it is indeed a millipede.


----------



## tha3rdman (Nov 2, 2006)

So we have a ton, and they are populating exponentially, what eats them? As a side note, has any one seen pill bugs eat live plants? The pill bugs in my tank love my home depo brom, and one or the other is eating my java and pillow mosses. The good news the slugs are gone. And the millipedes love to kill and eat my money trees.

Recap: What eats the millipedes? Firebelly?


----------



## Curt61 (Jan 16, 2007)

Hey, I have a 190 gallon viv which I have slugs and pill bugs, one of them killed one of my plants, there were a few slugs on it so I blame them, but when I pulled it out there were baby pillbugs all over in the roots. It could have been them both. I am not sure what you should do about your millipeds, you could try fire bellied toads, I don't know what else would eat them. I am sure they will die down as soon as they eat whatever food they have in the tank. 
Good luck, Curt.


----------



## VanillaGorilla (Mar 11, 2007)

robrainney said:


> So I have been asured its a harmless millipede, and definately a dangerous centipede.


Ha Ha



robrainney said:


> If I see it again, I guess I'll pull it out.


I'd do the same


----------

