Tiny Dead Bugs Everywhere?

[Toxic45]

I've recently noticed a lot of dead bugs floating around the surface of my tank. Dead ones collect on the bottom of the glass top where the HOB filter spits out. I was wondering if you guys know what these are and how I can prevent them. They look like water striders to me, but what do I know? I haven't found any live ones yet, so I'm wondering if they're just flying into my tank and dying, floating around. That makes me skeptical because I have the whole thing covered extremely well, but I guess they could find a crack to fly into.

Thanks everyone.

http://71.imagebam.com/download/5smwfxbZOrbXkNSLxI2f1A/19946/199450942/IMG_1943.JPG

[MarkGP]

You should really remove the glass tops. You need to have good gas exchange at the surface of the water and that cannot happen with glass tops. If you are concerned about your fish jumping then you can make a top out of clear screen and a window frame kit.

[EricSIny]

The bugs have to be getting in your house first to get into the tank.
Eliminate the bugs from getting in your home and problem solved, no?

[waltj11]

haha +1 to ericSIny. I've found a lady bug before.

[gonpostal]

...I have the whole thing covered extremely well...This is not a good idea IMO.

You should really remove the glass tops. You need to have good gas exchange at the surface of the water and that cannot happen with glass tops. If you are concerned about your fish jumping then you can make a top out of clear screen and a window frame kit.This is a good idea IMO. It would also allow water to evaporate and cool off your tank.

[mwilliams62]

Check all your wood, stand, canopy if you have that base boards they almost look like termites.

[Toxic45]

Thank you guys for your responses. There is a large reservoir hang on back filter that is exposed to the air and the water is extremely turbulent, breaking the surface tension and allowing for good gas exchange. I can look into it though. I have never seen any bugs in this room which is the only thing that concerns me because I don't know where they're coming from. The house is very new and there's never been a pest problem, but I'm not going to rule out anything just yet. As far as cooling goes I'm pretty confident the tank will be okay in that concern. The room is at a constant 73-74 Fahrenheit. It got up to 95 for a while last week and the house only ended up getting to 75.

Hypothetically if the bugs are coming from an outside source (which seems most likely) has anyone had this happen to them or had luck preventing it? If I take the glass top off I imagine it's going to just get worse

[EricSIny]

Check all your wood, stand, canopy if you have that base boards they almost look like termites.

Good thinking, this is a strong possibility. Google termites and compare to what's in your tank so you can rule them out.

[Michigan Mike]

I've had more issues with gas exchange on heavily planted open top freshwater tanks- had to add an air bubbler at night because the plants stop producing oxygen. I use glass tops on my small reefs but they have 2" open in the back. There is always a remedy to any gas exchange issues when not going open top ( if you try ).If you have a sump you are getting plenty of gas exchange, have a skimmer in it? Even better. Powerheads pointed at the surface. An air bubbler as taboo as it is works.
As for the bugs I've had my share as well, I just net em out of there, it happens.
It's the saltwater bugs that get ya, like red bugs and flatworms.

[SushiGirl]

There's no way for us to ID bugs without seeing them, can you get a pic of the bugs? My concern is that they're pods rather than insects, and if they're dying in great numbers then something is wrong. If your tank is as tightly sealed as you say, that could play a part.

Water turbulence isn't going to matter much with glass tops on the tank holding all the released gasses in and keeping oxygen out. A large HOB isn't really going to help like a sump with a larger amount of exposed surface would. Another thing with the glass tops, especially with a lot of water turbulence, is you're going to get a lot of salt creep on the glass and that is going to cut the effective light in your tank. An air bubbler would help with oxygenation, but again salt creep would be an issue.

First order of business would be pics of the bugs.

[EricSIny]

The OP did post a pic but it appears to not load for some..

[Michigan Mike]

The pic takes forever to load, but I can't tell what they are.

[SushiGirl]

Weird, it didn't even act like there was a pic the first time I opened it but it showed up this time.

Those are really small to be water striders & the pic is too blurry to make out much detail. Did you start with any dry rock and/or sand that may have been kept outside or on the floor of a store?

Just looking at the pic I can see how much water & salt creep are collecting on that glass top.

[Toxic45]

All of the live rock that was used came from a tank at my LFS where it was constantly submerged (to my knowledge). I've been looking closely at the bugs and it appears that there is larvae (that moves sometimes) in addition to the bugs. I'm concerned that this means that they are procreating in my tank.

[Toxic45]

Better image. I wiped them off last night and this is what results after just 9 or so hours.

http://76.imagebam.com/download/9_D4td1-qJDimKOVUYvn-w/19955/199544643/IMG_1791.JPG

[DownwardDawg]

They look like termites, but it's hard to tell.

[SushiGirl]

I suppose they could be water strider, mosquito, or dragonfly larvae. There may be others that can reproduce in saltwater, but termites can't.

Maybe look here (http://www.chucksaddiction.com/hitchpods.html) & see if you find them.

[DownwardDawg]

I suppose they could be water strider, mosquito, or dragonfly larvae. There may be others that can reproduce in saltwater, but termites can't.

Maybe look here (http://www.chucksaddiction.com/hitchpods.html) & see if you find them.

I think they're crawling in by his filter, getting trapped, and drowning. I don't think they're reproducing in the water. Of course, this is pure speculation from what I see in some blurry pictures.

[Toxic45]

Thanks for all your help guys. I couldn't find them on the list, but I've gotten to the point in my research where I'm fairly confident that they're not coming from inside the tank. I'm going to try to see if they're coming from outside and finding their way into the tank. The only thing that concerns me is that since I've never seen them in the room they must be making a bee-line for the tank and not stopping anywhere on the way there.

[SushiGirl]

Yeah, I'm stumped.

[Cloudburst2000]

Thanks for all your help guys. I couldn't find them on the list, but I've gotten to the point in my research where I'm fairly confident that they're not coming from inside the tank. I'm going to try to see if they're coming from outside and finding their way into the tank. The only thing that concerns me is that since I've never seen them in the room they must be making a bee-line for the tank and not stopping anywhere on the way there.

Which might make sense if they are termites. They do kinda look like termite larvae, IMHO. If your stand is made of wood, it is entirely possible that your actual stand is the culprit. The bugs might be originating right within the room and heading straight to the first source of water which wouldn't be far if they are from the stand the tank is sitting on.

[mwilliams62]

In his first post at the top he said they are dead.

[SushiGirl]

In his first post at the top he said they are dead.

In his 9:09 am post he was concerned they were breeding in his tank.

Toxic, when you're checking your stand, look for sawdust anywhere. Also, if this is a carpeted room, check under the edge of the carpet against a wall or in a corner & see if you see any sawdust or anything.

[Toxic45]

I've checked the stand pretty thoroughly, but haven't found anything. It's made of some kind of glued wood, I don't think it's particle board, but I'm sure termites could still have a ball in it. I've been looking everywhere around, on the floors, walls, stand, bookcases, but nothing. They do have wings though so I imagine they're flying in so that really increases the amount of sources they have. I've sprayed all the seals in the room with bug killer so hopefully if they come in during the night they'll die on contact and I'll be able to fix the faulty house seal. The closest thing I can compare them to from visual inspection is flying ants because of their long legs, skinny bodies, and wings. I don't think they're hurting anything so I'll just fish them out every day like I have been. Sometimes my cleaner shrimp comes out and looks up at me and just watches me clean the bugs off the surface. I feel like his personal maid.

Thank you guys for all your help. Maybe they're seasonal and the source will die off when winter comes!

[mwilliams62]

Termites does have wings and look like the flying ants I had them in my bathroom and they would be in small groups like how they are in your tanks pictures..

http://www.termitesgonewild.com/termite-pictures/

[nepenthes99]

The insects could be flies attracted to the bright light of the tank, have you considered this?

[Cloudburst2000]

My main worry is that if they are termites that either the house itself has termites (a big problem) or the stand has termites (another big problem as they would do structural damage to the stand).

And termites do have wings. They look a lot like flying ants with long wings. An old apartment I lived in during college had termites. What a nuisance.