Gnats

Questions about unexpected problems.
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llmercll
Zoea I
Zoea I
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Joined: 18 Aug 2009, 01:19
Gender: Male
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Location: NY

Gnats

Post by llmercll »

I've had my tank in the same place, using pure EE for over a year now, and my only pest "problem" has been booklice. The little white bugs that look like moving sand, and from my understanding don't harm the crabs, and may actually be beneficial.

Well, recently I've noticed we've had common gnats around our house, likely because garbage has been piling up in the garage (which is not typical for us). I was worried it might be originating from the crabitat though, and have been checking lately for fliers or larvae. Well today, while walking by my tank, I noticed 2 of them were IN the crabitat flying around the food dish.

I'm wondering if you guys think this could be an issue, like, a gnats are breeding inside my tank issue, or if it's more likely a few of the gnats flying around my house already just got a scent of the food and decided to help themselves. The food was pretty pungent, a freezedried seafood mix, that even I can smell when I stick my nose close to the tank.

http://crabstreetjournal.com/xoops/modu ... storyid=12

According to this gnats don't harm the crabs, so I'm not too worried, yet =p

They look pretty big in the picture but remember this is a close up, in reality, they're very small.

http://img585.imageshack.us/img585/7485/dscn3264q.jpg
http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/783/dscn3262e.jpg

thanks!
CrabbyJo
Coenobita
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Re: Gnats

Post by CrabbyJo »

It sounds to me like you have fruit flies. There are gnats that can be harmful to the crabs, but they behave a little differently than fruit flies. They look very much like them and are similar in size, but they have a "hump back" and tend to prefer walking, flying only in short bursts generally. These flies are carnivorous, and usually originate and breed in dead vegetable matter. I got some from some terrarium moss I had purchased.
Fruit flies generally will go away when you remove the food that is feeding them. Keep the food fresh, don't leave anything longer than 24 hours (other than dried foods). I have had the same issue myself, and they usually leave the tank within a couple of days as long as you keep the food changed frequently.
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llmercll
Zoea I
Zoea I
Posts: 157
Joined: 18 Aug 2009, 01:19
Gender: Male
Hermit crabs: 3
Total gallons: 10
Total tanks: 1
Location: NY

Re: Gnats

Post by llmercll »

Thanks crabby, that seems to be exactly what happened =p

thank god they weren't the humpback ones. Would I actually see them on the crabs (joints especially I've read) if they were the humpbacks or a carnivorous pest?

thanks!
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ladybug15057
Coenobita
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Location: Southwestern Pa., U.S.

Re: Gnats

Post by ladybug15057 »

Not necessarily, the pest would also be found within the shells or in the tank, not only (or specifically) on the joints.
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