Let it go or do a cage change?

[Pixidust]

So.. apparently where we live we get swarms of different insects thru the end of the season. i.e really bad stink bugs, moths, wasps, and tons of weird bugs i have never seen before. There are millions of them and then there gone.

We had these moth's outside, they are grey, and they are very tiny, they are a little bigger than fruit flyes, but they are grey and have moth like wings. They have got into my frog tank, no biggie i thought at first because the were not alot of them so i just figured the frogs were having a snack.

After a close look they are now breding in my tank, they start there life cycle as a worm like thing in the water, then turn into a little white tiny swimming spec, then the fly.
There are not a lot of fly's, i only see one every couple of says, but just in there cage, not flying around my house.

I have no clue how to proceed with this...any help before i tear it apart would be great.

[bshmerlie]

Its hard to say. If the tank was an elaborate setup I wouldn't worry about it. If it wouldn't take long to teardown and clean go for it.

[Raiden]

If you can post a picture, I could probably identify them for you.

They sound like Drain Flies, but a picture would help. And yeah, don't worry about it. They're harmless (if they're drain flies) insects that have larvae that eat microorganisms and detritus. Just change the water more frequently, or add a filter if the tank has a water section and there isn't one already.

[Pixidust]

The tank does have a filter chamber,i designed it so its easy to change to water, so i can do that to help. Thanks for the name, i googled them and yes it is the culprit!!! At night after i turn the lights off i will see one or two of them flying around , but shortly after my duo wake, and i see no flies in the morning. I am headed to the sporting good store to buy some" no see um" fabric for the top, im all for free snacks, but not im my part of the house.

[Raiden]

That's not going to work.

Flies have a complete metamorphosis life cycle, so if the existing flies have laid eggs in the water again, you'll have more of them.

In order to keep them away, you'll need to do a complete water change in the enclosure. Another idea would be to stock the water portion with some small fish (white cloud minnows or zebra danios are both good, hardy choices) if there is room, because they will just eat any fly larvae. But the fish idea would only work if you have 3-5 gallons of water or so, and >5 gallons would be better. Otherwise, you just need to keep the water cleaner so that the larvae don't have anything to eat. Most filters have cartridges that stop absorbing nitrogenous wastes (NH3, NO2-, NO3+, etc.) after about a month, depending on the bioload in the tank. If you replace your filter when you are supposed to and do more frequent (partial) water changes, the flies should vanish.

It should also be noted, however, that the flies could also persist in potted plants in the house (in the water tray underneath the plant, etc.) or other standing water left out in the house. If you want them gone for good, you might need to make sure that there aren't any other sources of water like that available to them.