New Tank, Some Questions

[Stalker]

It IS a moquito, probably Culex from the anatomy, maybe An,opheles if it hang horizontally.

[Mustafa]

It IS a moquito, probably Culex from the anatomy, maybe An,opheles if it hang horizontally.

Yeah, you're right. I noticed browsing the web that even the mosquito larvae that appear black when observed in a tank outside from above (and even from the side) appear grey or almost white in pictures for some reason. Maybe it's the flash. Confused me.

[hiseabird]

Thanks all! As those weird larvae became bigger, it was super apparent that they were mosquitoes (and super gross). I was able to get a fine-mesh net and scoop them out carefully over a couple of days - making sure not to scoop my precious opae larvae! All has been good and mosquito-free since then. I bet I had just one gross pregnant female mosquito get into my house and decide to lay in my tank. Gross. (Can you tell I don't like mosquitoes?)

Now I have a new question ... My tank is getting just tons and tons and TONS of baby snails. Is it possible to get overrun or is that ok? Tank is 2.7 gallons and I started with 30 shrimp and later put in 7 of the original 10 snails I ordered from Mustafa. That tank now has at least 30-40+ snails (most are just a few mm long), and the shrimp are going nuts too with at least 10-15 now having released larvae since early June. So there are at least 60-80+ shrimp larvae and tiny shrimp around. The biggest shrimp of the new generation are about 1/2 the length of an adult and are starting to swim around and forage so I'm seeing them a little more. There are ~30+ larvae floating around and at least 2 more berried shrimp getting ready to release larvae. (This makes me SO happy.) I have fed them maybe twice (with one tiny chip of spirulina each time) since January. Since there's quite a bit of algae on the walls, the coral rock, and the macroalgae, I haven't fed them in several months. The other three original snails went into a 1 gal tank I am getting ready to move some of the shrimp into once the new generations get big enough - that small tank now has like 20+ tiny snails too. How many is too many snails? Is there a point when I should be worried and remove some?

Thank you!

[AndyH]

In my experience the snails didn't cause any harm to the tank. They probably eventually hit a population limit based on the amount of food in the tank. I don't think you should be worried in that regard.

[The Beach]

I was having mosquitoes in my tank too! I used a gravy baster to get about 10 of the mosquitoes out over the past week. I agree yuck! I was careful not to get my baby shrimp floating around.

[The Beach]

My entamologist husband said that there are types of mosquitoes lay the eggs above the water line instead of in rafts. When you top the tank it hits the eggs. On the East Coast there are several types of mosquitoes that can survive in brackish conditions as well as fresh. I have a small airstone in my Fluval tank in the compartment to help areate the water for my larger tiger nerite snails. My water moves slightly. Still got the mosquitoes! I often have to fish dead bugs from my tank. (Fluval lid has a gap for the light.)

[Mustafa]

As was mentioned already, the snails don't need to be removed. They'll regulate themselves. And thanks for the additional information, "The Beach"!