GrahamC Posted December 31, 2011 Report Share Posted December 31, 2011 Before I feed it to my goldfish, what's the name of this bug that's in a freshwater pond? It's about 4 mm long with a body in the shape of a skinny tear drop, seems to have three segments to the body with the cephalic segment resembling the head of a fly. It has two articulated limbs pointing 70 deg forwards of about 3 mm length, with 2 separate articulations away from the body which it uses to propel itself thru the water. The dorsal colour is a brownish black, and the ventral colour is cream. It swims 1 cm off the bottom of my jar. Bit too small for my cellphone camera to focus on ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted December 31, 2011 Report Share Posted December 31, 2011 Sounds like a waterboatman. Harmless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted January 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2012 Great .. maybe the gourami I picked up yesterday will like them more than I do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted January 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2012 Not to the gourami's taste .. he captured it a few times and then spat it out. A swarm of fancy guppies then gave chase. Amazingly the waterboatman evaded them all for at least a minute before succumbing to becoming afternoon tea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted January 1, 2012 Report Share Posted January 1, 2012 like gladiators in your own tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted January 1, 2012 Report Share Posted January 1, 2012 I have them in the pond and the fish ignore them totally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted January 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2012 Perhaps your pond fish are herbivores? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted January 1, 2012 Report Share Posted January 1, 2012 I think fish know when they have a foody visitor. Those that live with them all the time are just the other villagers. Though Caryl I bet some probably do get eaten. I think pond fish with a constant source of food would graze like cows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted January 11, 2012 Report Share Posted January 11, 2012 Impressed with your detailed description! Waterboatmen and backswimmers are true bugs, meaning they have piercing mouthparts. Boatmen suck plants, backswimmers suck other inverts. I have seen fish spitting them out and the reaction always looks like the bug caused pain - I wonder if they try to pierce the fish as a defense mechanism. They also chirp (stridulate, rubbing their legs against their bodies). Sounds just like a cicada and is quite loud. Neat critters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted January 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2012 I'm thinking I should get myself a microscope now to complement my failing eye sight! One of those digital USB microscopes to examine pond critters, and a binocular one for staining bacteria ... oh, this is definitely going to blow my aquarium budget! Has anyone used a USB microscope? Any recommendations? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted January 12, 2012 Report Share Posted January 12, 2012 i find my old microscope works well couldn't justify the cost of the usb ones for what i need to look at the knobs can be fiddly with my arthritis sometimes though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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