Insect Pests and Rescape

16 February 2009

I noticed a problem a couple of days ago—aphids! These insect pests are compromising the health of several plants, so I need to eliminate them. It is not possible to spray for aphids in the tank—insecticide would fall directly into the aquarium water— so I have decided to remove all of the plants for a bug-killing treatment. I put all of the plants into a 10 gallon tank and then filled with water. I also added just a few drops of dish detergent. The soap will decrease water surface tension, thus soaking and drowning the aphids.

If I leave the plants thus submerged overnight the aphids should die off. I might have shot a picture of the aphids, but I was more concerned with getting rid of them before they could spread to other plants in the house.

The next picture shows the empty tank: only the fish and underwater plants remain. It was a hassle to have to deal with the aphids, but I had been meaning to redo the aquascape anyway, so this little problem provided a handy excuse to set to work.