Pest Identification- 6- legged white- but also changes color to blue then green? Looks like a big spider mite

[Growzay]

I found an infestation on my broccolli and cauliflower.

at first I thought they were white fly - then upon closer inspection- with magnifying glass I saw that was not.

I've never seen this type of aphid/mite-

What kind of bug is this? What should I use to get rid of them? Neem oil? horitculture oil- animal fats?

 

[TCLynx]

Hard to tell from the picture but is it a scale insect?

 

If so, swabbing with some alcohol might take care of it.  (test on a small part of a plant a day before you use as a widespread remedy to make sure the plants will survive the treatment.)

 

[Growzay]

It does not appear to be a scale insect at all- It changed colors right before my eyes- From brite white to 7.6 blue to green...

TCLynx said:

Hard to tell from the picture but is it a scale insect?

 

If so, swabbing with some alcohol might take care of it.  (test on a small part of a plant a day before you use as a widespread remedy to make sure the plants will survive the treatment.)

 

[TCLynx]

That's a new one on me.  Alien bugs!

[Growzay]

I eradicated all of them that I could find - manually (fingertipsquish). Plus I found a couple of caterpillars which I did away with. I also have a bunch of little red insects that dart around pretty fast...I don't know what kind they neither....
TCLynx said:

That's a new one on me.  Alien bugs!

[TCLynx]

I've been managing pretty good with the squish or ignore method or if the caterpillars are big enough to grab without squishing I'll feed them to the fish.  I haven't actually sprayed anything to combat pests in over two years now.

[Growzay]

Ditto that- I don't use any pesticides not even dessicants (organic) of course- I'm very adept in the seek & destroy method. I did remove a couple of leaves that were heavily infested-with who knows what. I had to. I have the leaves in a plastic bag for further inspection/identification. Than I sprayed the plants very hard with a spray bottle of 24 hour water. Is it advisable to spray the plants w/ fish water? 

Change subject: My fish are still not eating, therefore there is no poop.

 Is there any nutritional value to the fish water? 

How about the fish flakes that are going to the grow beds.The flakes are mainly composed of fish. I've fed them & they refuse to eat - so I try to skim the excess out. Some goes to the beds. Will the worms eat it?       

TCLynx said:

I've been managing pretty good with the squish or ignore method or if the caterpillars are big enough to grab without squishing I'll feed them to the fish.  I haven't actually sprayed anything to combat pests in over two years now.

[matthew ferrell]

Have the fish gone off feed, or are they a new addition not feeding?

 

If they have been feeding for ages and gone off feed, nutrients should be alright for while, as nitrates accumulate.  If you are adding food that is not being eaten, you are also still nutrients.  The bigger problems is that there something wrong with the fish.  One of the fish signs of sick fish is when they go off feed.

[TCLynx]

What do your water tests say?

 

An ammonia or nitrite spike and put the fish off their feed.  As can sudden changes is temperatures, salt levels, or pH.

A lack of dissolved oxygen will also put most fish off their feed.

 

The fish food does contain some nutrients but if it is aquarium feed it might be kinda minimal since those feeds are designed to minimize the need for water changes in aquariums.  Higher protein feed intended to grow out fish may provide more balanced nutrients to grow plants.

 

If you are still just cycling up, have patience and do your water tests, don't worry too much about the nutrient levels in the water until after your bio-filter is up to speed.

[Growzay]

My system had been cycled up for a few weeks- Fish dilemma- It goes back a few weeks- My fish had ich- I salt treated- 10 days later I did alittle less than 2/3 water change over two days. I did a PH adj.w/ the 2nd water exchange- from 8.0 to 7.0 The fish stopped eating around this time. They have not eaten much at all since then.

I re- added the some salt- 1-lb- My reservior is 100 gallon I only have about 80-85 gallons in the tank

Ammonia level is 0

Nitrite is at .1

PH is back to 7.6 or higher

I have no idea what the salt levels are now. I have no way of knowing... I don't have a meter PPM or EC

No nitrate tester so I have no idea of the nitrate level.

Water temp goes down nightly to 69 or so - heats up to around 74-76 during the day. My secondary heater broke underwater and was electifying the water & most likely shocking then fish. I removed it. Need to get another heater & master testing kit. 

What affects the dissolved oxygen levels- How can I remedy this problem

TCLynx said:

What do your water tests say?

 

An ammonia or nitrite spike and put the fish off their feed.  As can sudden changes is temperatures, salt levels, or pH.

A lack of dissolved oxygen will also put most fish off their feed.

 

The fish food does contain some nutrients but if it is aquarium feed it might be kinda minimal since those feeds are designed to minimize the need for water changes in aquariums.  Higher protein feed intended to grow out fish may provide more balanced nutrients to grow plants.

 

If you are still just cycling up, have patience and do your water tests, don't worry too much about the nutrient levels in the water until after your bio-filter is up to speed.

[TCLynx]

Anything organic affects dissolved oxygen.  The amount of fish and the amount of fish feed or waste decomposing in the system will use up dissolved oxygen as will the bio-filter.  The amount of splashing, water movement and bubbling of the water in increase the dissolved oxygen.  If you see fish gasping at the surface that is a definite emergency sign that you need more aeration add an air pump or some other pump to splash and move water ASAP.  Plants and algae can affect dissolved oxygen and pH on a diurnal schedule.  As in while the sun is shining plants use up dissolved carbon dioxide and give off oxygen but over night they will use up dissolved oxygen and give off carbon dioxide.  So if there is an algae bloom or a lot of plants in a raft without supplemental aeration you can have a "danger time" in the wee hours of the night or just before dawn.  Check to see that your fish are not gasping at the surface at dawn.  You can also get an idea about this effect if you see a pH swing between dawn and late afternoon.  If your pH is low around dawn but high in the late afternoon there is a good chance that algae can be causing this effect since the dissolved carbon dioxide in the water will act as an acid and give the low pH reading during/after the dark period.

 

If in doubt you can add some extra aeration and see what happens.

 

Best bet is patience since it can take some time for things to settle down after things like salting and water changes.

 

Sometimes you can with hold food for a day or two then try feeding and see if they come up for food after they are hungry.  They may have just gotten lazy and have been waiting for it to sink.

[Growzay]

Thanks- for all the info.

There has not been any PH swings at all - it stays at 7.6 or higher. The fish are not gasping for air at the surface- at all. In fact they have been staying on the bottom, hiding and huddling together next to the pump. There is very minimal fish waste in the tank- if any.  They had a voracious appetite and came to the surface everytime I fed them up until I did the water changes.

 I do have an algae bloom that has been getting bigger/thickerwhich I have not addressed yet. I have been letting the sun hit the water in hopes of it raising the temperature, therefore causing the algae. I was planning on getting algae bruch/scrubber- but I am hesitant because it will stir it up- I am going to try to remove the algae today.

I just want my fish to eat and poop & be happy fish 

TCLynx said:

Anything organic affects dissolved oxygen.  The amount of fish and the amount of fish feed or waste decomposing in the system will use up dissolved oxygen as will the bio-filter.  The amount of splashing, water movement and bubbling of the water in increase the dissolved oxygen.  If you see fish gasping at the surface that is a definite emergency sign that you need more aeration add an air pump or some other pump to splash and move water ASAP.  Plants and algae can affect dissolved oxygen and pH on a diurnal schedule.  As in while the sun is shining plants use up dissolved carbon dioxide and give off oxygen but over night they will use up dissolved oxygen and give off carbon dioxide.  So if there is an algae bloom or a lot of plants in a raft without supplemental aeration you can have a "danger time" in the wee hours of the night or just before dawn.  Check to see that your fish are not gasping at the surface at dawn.  You can also get an idea about this effect if you see a pH swing between dawn and late afternoon.  If your pH is low around dawn but high in the late afternoon there is a good chance that algae can be causing this effect since the dissolved carbon dioxide in the water will act as an acid and give the low pH reading during/after the dark period.

 

If in doubt you can add some extra aeration and see what happens.

 

Best bet is patience since it can take some time for things to settle down after things like salting and water changes.

 

Sometimes you can with hold food for a day or two then try feeding and see if they come up for food after they are hungry.  They may have just gotten lazy and have been waiting for it to sink.

[TCLynx]

Give em a day or two without food and then feed and see what happens.  Sounds like between the heater, salt, water change etc that they may have had a bit of stress.  If there is algae in the tank with them, they may be snacking on that when you are not around to see it.