Advice needed asap

[bellatriix]

I have a fly issue in my tank atm, it’s housing those tiny little black flies beginning with “S” I can’t remember the name. Are they bothersome to snails?

I’ve noticed tiny thin white bugs too on the surface of their water bowl, these bugs cluster together in groups and skip around on the surface. Any idea what they are?

I’ve added predator mites to the tank a few days ago in hopes that they would kill off the flies and mystery bugs but I’m still seeing them and there’s a lot of them. I change the water out twice a day and each time there’s little groups congregated on the surface.

One of my snails is also going into retraction more than normal though he’s still eating and active. Could this be caused by the flies and mystery bugs?

I’ve been told so many different things on how to get rid of them I don’t know what to do...? Some people are telling me to completely empty the tank, clean it and put all new stuff in it. Others are saying they’re harmless and just leave them. Some one said about the predator mites which I’ve done but it doesn’t seem to be working. 😭

I spot clean the tank every few days removing poop. I give fresh food every night with the food from the night behind taken out every morning. I turn the soil and egg check once a week. I’ve had them going on six months and I’ve only ever once removed half the substrate to put new in once in all that time because people said you shouldn’t ever change it fully.

There’s also dairy cow woodlice in there too but they’ve been there since I got the snails so they’re not a problem.

I’m lost on what to do. Help. 😢

[bellatriix]

Anyone..??

[littlegoldsnail]

The bugs are the water are fly larvae. I would open up the tank and remove all the larvae.

Remove the snail(s), clean out the enclosure, take everything apart, clean everything, get all the larvae out, put in fresh substrate, clean water and clean all your decor and check it for bugs, then put the snails back in, then you should be good!

(:

If you see fly larvae in their water again then dispose of it and get them fresh clean water with no bugs in it.

[bellatriix]

But loads of people say it’s bad to remove all the substrate. That doing so can kill the snails because it’s taking away all the good bacteria they need to thrive.

[littlegoldsnail]

Generally yes, but in some cases (like when there are parasites or something infesting the tank) it’s needed, usually when you changes out all or most of the substrate then you should just leave a handful (thoroughly sifted through to check for bugs and stuff) of the old substrate on top of the fresh stuff. It’s fine as long as you don’t do it very often.

[Liguus]

The bugs in the water are springtails. Completely harmless. The black flies are annoying, and if it starts with s probably Sciaridae. Hard to get rid of since they love moist substrate. Changing the substrate completely helps and a 100% soil swap can be done on a very rare occasion. You can also buy yellow glue traps to help kill the fungus gnats.

[bellatriix]

Oct 5, 2019 4:05:35 GMT Liguus said:

The bugs in the water are springtails. Completely harmless. The black flies are annoying, and if it starts with s probably Sciaridae. Hard to get rid of since they love moist substrate. Changing the substrate completely helps and a 100% soil swap can be done on a very rare occasion. You can also buy yellow glue traps to help kill the fungus gnats.

If the flies are not bothering the snails then I’m fine with leaving them alone.

How would spring tails have got into my tank though?

[littlegoldsnail]

Those small black fruit flys lay their larvae in water and they will clump together on the surface of the water. springtails live on land (primarily), they do not go into water willingly but they can survive in/on it for a long time.

If you have an excessive amount of flys then it is much more probable that the bugs on the water are fly larvae since the flys are obviously reproducing.

[Liguus]

I have seen springtails congregate on the surface of water before in water dishes. They mentioned that their pests "skip around on the surface" which made me think that it was springtails. Neither of us can say anything for sure without a picture, but the springtails are definitely a possibility.

[littlegoldsnail]

Yes, but fly larvae seems more likely considering the amount of flys in the enclosure. But like you said, nothing can be said without a photo.

[bellatriix]

There isn’t a ton of flies in the tank, the most I’ve seen is three at one time. The white water bugs are not even a quarter as many now, I guess the predators are doing their job finally.

Should I still consider a full clean out?

[bellatriix]

I don’t think they’re spring tails guys, I saw some of them crawling not springing.

I’ll do a full change of the substrate and put all new moss and cork bark in there on Tuesday. I can’t do it before hand because my mother will go mental if I’m cleaning the tank out in the shower, so I’ll have to wait until she’s in work so I can clean up before she knows.

[littlegoldsnail]

Springtails crawl most of the time, they jump when frightened.