blind mosquito and their larvae

[randy proctor]

can this be dangerous to our aquaponic system?  How would one treat the water without hurting the Tilapia fish, and without a chemical????Thanks, Randy

[TCLynx]

I believe blind mosquito are actually midges.  The larva are like tiny little red worms in the water and they tend to build little detritus tunnels stuck to the bottom/sides of the tanks and troughs.  They are actually really good food for many types of fish.  Small tilapia will probably eat them.  Or I suspect mosquito fish would eat the larva too though mosquito fish mouth parts are better designed for eating the swimming mosquito larva.

If they really are midge and midge larva then I don't think you need worry about it, they are not a problem since they don't bite.  wiki

If your problem is actually real mosquito and larva, then I would suggest getting some mosquito fish to place in the troughs where the tilapia can't take care of the problem for you or you could resort to mosquito dunks (make sure they are the non chemical type that the active ingredient is Bacillus Thuringensis Israiliensis) 

[Harold Sukhbir]

Hi Randy,

On the one hand its a free source of protein, on the other hand, if it is indeed BM larvae, it could be an indication of anaerobic conditions present in the AP. Do you have sufficient water turnover rates? Are there any areas of low oxygen in your system?