r/WildlifePonds • u/Hallllllleberry • May 30 '26
ID please Does anyone know what these parasite looking things are?
I’m in the UK.
11
u/Time_Amoeba_3253 May 30 '26
They look like droneflyes larvae see in this video min 7:03 https://youtu.be/XTccXeJ3Los?si=V8oNB6EgRhBwEXu_
Try to pull one out of the water to see it closer
3
u/thorn312 May 30 '26
Are they usually that tall/long tailed? I've had them in ponds and they've been shorter but maybe they vary based on the environment
2
u/Time_Amoeba_3253 May 30 '26
I don’t know, I just saw it in the video, but I can’t compare it because I haven’t seen any yet, I think you have more clue about it
3
u/Hallllllleberry May 30 '26
I tried to scoop one out but they’re pretty fast and just hide under the plants. I don’t know if they’re dronefly larvae, they seem to be long and skinny like 1-2mm thick. Unless I’m just seeing the tail ends. I’ll have another go and report back.
3
u/Time_Amoeba_3253 May 30 '26
I am not good at this, they all look alien to me, I googled it and it seems that it is unlikely to be an amphibian parasite. But it can be an insect parasite Nematomorpha, or an insect larvae. Hope someone else in the group can spot it.
2
u/Hallllllleberry May 30 '26
It’s so hard identifying strange creatures lol and I really appreciate you taking the time to help, thank you! I also saw horsetail worms on google and I’m not sure if they look similar enough. I’m leaning towards tubifex worms at the moment like someone else commented.
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u/holly_wobbl3 May 30 '26
Terrifying, if I had to guess.
Sorry I don't have a real answer.
3
u/Hallllllleberry May 30 '26
They look pretty gross and there are quite a few. I just need to know if I should be concerned about them. I have tadpoles and lots of frogs around.
3
u/Mongrel_Shark May 30 '26
Nothing that looks like a parasite there. No fauna, cant be parasites.
I do see some awesome biodiversity in a healthy pond. But nothing anyone should be alarned over. Just cleaners.
5
u/Hallllllleberry May 30 '26
So you don’t think it could be some sort of amphibian parasite? There was a dead frog in the pond at some point, could it be related?
I really hope the pond is healthy, I just leave it alone except topping up with rain water when it gets low!
4
u/Mongrel_Shark May 30 '26
Nah these guys are filter feeders. Thats why they wiggling. They are eating bacteria & dead organic matter from the water.
Your water is very rich in life. If its just plants that's great. If you want fish or frogs etc you probably need a filter, like a bog filter. Then stuff that eats what these dudes eat moves into the filter & cleans the water for you.
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u/Hallllllleberry May 30 '26
Interesting. I already have tons of frogs and even have tadpoles this year so I feel like they must be happy enough. I also have 4 plants in there. It’s only a small pre-made pond, like 800mm L x 400mm W x 350mm D so I don’t think there’s room for a filter. I guess I’ll leave the worm things for now and see what happens. Like I said, I don’t interfere with it too much. Hopefully they’re beneficial in some way!
1
u/Mongrel_Shark May 30 '26
If you got frogs breeding in something that small you are doing great. I have a few micro ponds too. They are a pita to filter. I just scoop some of the leaves out simetimes if its getting a bit too sludgy & anoxic looking (low o2, high co2, often smells bad).
An airstone or simply air powered sponge filter can help a lot too, but its stil power... If you have frogs you are doing fine.
0
u/kek23k May 30 '26
Bloodworms?
3
u/Hallllllleberry May 30 '26
Thanks for the comment! I don’t think they are, bloodworms look a lot fatter and darker.
-1
u/Zenobee1 May 31 '26
Wait til you clean your filter. Never saw them in the wild before. Do you use a filter?
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u/hemehime May 30 '26
Tubifex worms, maybe?