[Reding E]

So you all were very helpful with a snail problem...but one of my tanks currently has a centipede problem. They multiply like crazy! I read they aren't harmful to the frogs necessarily, but am worried about the eggs and plants. I read that some people suggest CO2 bombs- how do you do this? I would obviously have to take the frogs out first.... are they're any other methods that would work as well? How long does the Co2 process take?

 

[Ed]

Are you sure they are centipedes and not milipedes?

Ed

 

[Reding E]

Well- I googled an image of a millipede and centipede- and you're right. They are indeed millipedes. I still want to get rid of them as they are rapidly multiplying....

 

[santoury]

Are these the small black millipedes ? I'm sure they are helping keep the place clean, and the babies actually eat poop - at least of the parents.

 

[Ed]

Well- I googled an image of a millipede and centipede- and you're right. They are indeed millipedes. I still want to get rid of them as they are rapidly multiplying....

If you are willing to wait a year or so the population should crash and decline. If you don't want to wait that long you can pull the frogs and CO2 the tank for a couple of days.

Ed

 

[varanoid]

Make sure that whenever you build vivs in the future, to sterilize\treat everything you put in it. It will help prevent things like this from happening in the first place.

I have never tried the CO2 bomb myself, but will need to do it as I noticed some small snails that hitched a ride on some orchids that I purchased. The orchids need to be bombed before they make it in the viv as I do not want the snails in there at all. Let us know how it goes for you.

 

[varanoid]

Here is a link about CO2 on the dendroboards.

http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/care-sheets/57367-building-using-co2-generator.html

 

[BlueRidge]

I have a TON of these in one of my tanks, almost to the point that the floor of the tank seems alive in the morning. I did the CO2 bomb thing but I used dry ice and it did nothing. I sealed the tank up well and put the dry ice in a cup of warm water and in minutes the tank was full of CO2 fog. I left it taped up in there all day but this morning the bugs were all back. Does dry ice not work as well?

Main question is there anything that will eat them?

 

[Ed]

It works fine if you give it enough time to work.... Usually you should leave the tank totally sealed for at least 2 and probably 3 days. Many soil dwelling invertebrates have at least some tolerance for CO2 levels so overnight just isn't long enough.

Ed

 

[Brotherly Monkey]

It works fine if you give it enough time to work.... Usually you should leave the tank totally sealed for at least 2 and probably 3 days. Many soil dwelling invertebrates have at least some tolerance for CO2 levels so overnight just isn't long enough.

Ed

wouldn't that risk damaging the plants?

 

[Wallace Grover]

wouldn't that risk damaging the plants?

Errr, it would probably be better for them. They do like CO2

 

[Brotherly Monkey]

Errr, it would probably be better for them. They do like CO2

I understand that. But I think at concentrated levels above 1500 ppm that the reverse is true. though this could be just the point supplementation loses it's benefits

 

[Ed]

If you were to keep them in the tank for much longer periods of time, it would cause problems with the plants.. however in the short term, the plants will simply close thier stomata to reduce uptake of CO2.

Ed

 

[mcaiger53]

I CO2 bombed a tank w dry ice for 2-3 days. All the bugs were dead, and over the next week, 2 broms bloomed and the rest of the plants took off like crazy.

 

[davecalk]

I understand that. But I think at concentrated levels above 1500 ppm that the reverse is true. though this could be just the point supplementation loses it's benefits

As the plants are exposed to light and CO2, the photosynthesis process will produce sugars for energy and O2 which is the bi-product. As they convert the CO2 and the CO2 levels will deminish.

 

[Brotherly Monkey]

As the plants are exposed to light and CO2, the photosynthesis process will produce sugars for energy and O2 which is the bi-product. As they convert the CO2 and the CO2 levels will deminish.

while this is true at a certain level, if the concentration goes to high it ends up causing damage to plant tissues

http://resources.metapress.com/pdf-preview.axd?code=32370807846477k5&size=largest

Carbon Dioxide In Greenhouses

 

[Ed]

In the short term you may see a reduction in photosynthesis but overall the exposure is of too short a duration to cause damage. If you sustained it for more than 3 days then you would be getting into the range where you would see damage (but keep in mind that your paper links higher dry weights despite damage from the CO2 over weeks indicating that while the plants sustained damage they were still converting CO2 to starch and that the damage may only be in the newer growth).

In the end, the question should be asked, which are more important the frogs or the plants?

Ed

 

[JoshH]

Kill or remove them all, even if it means one at a time with forceps. They chew wood like crazy, break the soil down into mush, and eat sensitive plants, esp the developing leaves. I don't agree that they will just crash and disappear with time. I had had several larger 60-90 gallon systems that sustained huge populations for many many years until I started removing (killing) them.

It was mainly the brown sludge that they create on decorative bark and wood, as well as the deterioration of the soil that did it for me.

 

[Brotherly Monkey]

In the short term you may see a reduction in photosynthesis but overall the exposure is of too short a duration to cause damage. If you sustained it for more than 3 days then you would be getting into the range where you would see damage (but keep in mind that your paper links higher dry weights despite damage from the CO2 over weeks indicating that while the plants sustained damage they were still converting CO2 to starch and that the damage may only be in the newer growth).

In the end, the question should be asked, which are more important the frogs or the plants?

Ed

Yeah, I'm not trying to say damage would be done in such a short period, just that I remember excessive levels could be an issue

 

[davecalk]

Yeah, I'm not trying to say damage would be done in such a short period, just that I remember excessive levels could be an issue

Brotherly,

This isn't an issue for us. These studies are dealing with the constant and continuous day in day out supplementation of CO2 out over a long period of time.

The way we do it, bombing a tank once per day with CO2 for a few days in a row would not in any way be a problem for our tanks. If we were supplementing continuously at high levels like they might do in a green house where they are trying to stimulate plant growth, then the high levels could be an issue. When I use my CO2 generator, I am dosing the tank once per day where I purge all oxygen, then let it sit over night, bomb it again once the next day, then let the plants respire and absorb the CO2, and if I'm feeling really anal, I might gas it one last time for good measure.

Green houses may be supplementing CO2 on a continuous bases indefinitely. Done this way the high level could be a problem. But then done this way, we couldn't ever put our frogs back into the tank either.

So, there really is no comparison here, nor is there an issue for us bombing the tank once or twice a day for a few days running. I hope you understand that we are talking apples and oranges here.