Hi all

I've recently discovered some termites crawling around my tank cabinet which worries me because it's made of wood. I haven't seen any holes or wood damage thus far, but the termites are visible. The tank holds about 750L and the glass is about 10mm thick so the thing is pretty much immovable without stripping everything. The sump lives inside the cabinet.

How do I get rid of the termites without potentially killing my fish? I couldn't find any termite food at pak n save, but I'll have a look at a hardware store soon as well. Anybody have any solutions for this?

Much appreciated, thanks.

That could end up messy if they do some structural damage

I would assume to treat like any other termites, mitre 10 should have something useful.

Make sure you cover you sump if it is a spray they give you.

That could end up messy if they do some structural damage

I would assume to treat like any other termites, mitre 10 should have something useful.

Make sure you cover you sump if it is a spray they give you.

I'm seriously hoping it's not structural yet lol. Based on some mental guesstimation, I'm pretty sure that if the cabinet gave way, the room would be ankle deep in water lol. :facepalm:

Do you have wooden floors? How long have you had the cabinet? If the termites are not from the cabinet then they are from somewhere else in the house and you will need to kill them too.

Out of curiosity and safety I would go around all your wooden doorways ect and look for holes and little piles of "saw dust" better to be safe than sorry .

Do you have wooden floors? How long have you had the cabinet? If the termites are not from the cabinet then they are from somewhere else in the house and you will need to kill them too.

Out of curiosity and safety I would go around all your wooden doorways ect and look for holes and little piles of "saw dust" better to be safe than sorry .

Had the cabinet for about 6 months now, the flooring is carpet over concrete in the room which houses the fish tank. But I'll go have a look for holes as well. Is there such a thing as a "non-toxic" termite solution? I don't want to risk the fish if I can help it lol.

Never heard of one sorry. I used to work in the housing sector and most of the time we came across it the entire house had to be fumigated, otherwise we just got the stuff from mitre 10 and hoped for the best.

I would say you will be fine with the mitre 10 stuff, just might need to cover the tanks with towels or cardboard for a few days I am sure they will be fine.

If I understand right then the termites would have come with the wood on your stand and you probably have caught it early enough not to worry too much.

"The website killthetermites.com recommends using Termidor or a similar chemical. Termidor contains the chemical fipronil, which is safer for the environment than many other pesticides. It only requires a few ounces for the treatment, and it kills the termites rather than just repelling them."

Hope that helps a bit.

I didn't even know we had them in this country

Termites?

Borer maybe?

Hey guys, hopefully you didnt buy too much at the bird barn, before this disaster. It was nice to meet you. I would use gladwrap over your sump and the top of your tank. If you get stuck call out, i am sure someone here can help you.

+1 maybe catch a termite and take a pic?

Borer maybe?

Could be either really but most likely this.. If you can see little beetles running around then you are in trouble as borer live in the wood for a few years before they evolve. ( I think )

bota are quite small, would not be as much a problem as termites will devour it much faster

The non toxic way to kill them is to get a magnifying glass out and squish em' :sml1:

Wonder if you could feed them to your fish?

Well.. I googled and I'm pretty sure they are termites. They are tiny, like the size of a full stop and a half? Arrggghhh I'm in such a dilemma now! My fighting fish JUST hatched yesterday and guess where that tank is lol.. It's not a big tank or anything but I don't want to move it around too much when they're this young. I will most likely be moving house by the end of this year, so I'm not sure if I should take that opportunity to spray the stand or bite the bullet now.. :nilly:

Termites

Termites are not generally common in New Zealand although there have been localised infestations. Termites live in colonies inside wood and hollow the wood out leaving thin outside layers.

If you think you have a termite infestation call the Exotic Pest and Disease Hotline on 0800 80 99 66.

http://www.consumerbuild.org.nz/publish/maintenance/interior-pets.php

Really unlikely that they are they termites, are they actually eating the wood? It's far more likely they are just some stray bugs that hatched in your cabinet. But what ever they are they wont eat though your cabinet overnight, it takes 10's of years for borer to structurally weaken wood, not so long for termites, but still years rather than days.

Cool, thanks. I'm pretty sure that the structural portions of the stand are treated timber, but I'm not 100% sure. Haven't seen any holes yet, so maybe I lucked out this time? lol

The termites I have seen are more than twice the size of your average ant so I suspect they are more than likely to something like book lice.

http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/research/biosystematics/invertebrates/invertid/bug_details.asp?Bu_Id=82

Thanks guys! Making me feel so much better now haha.. :happy2: