Ugh. The wall has aphids. I have been keeping an eye on it because one of the plants sitting on the floor in front of the wall is an aphid attractor. The Beach Oleander I brought back from Hawaii has a continual issue. It must have just the right smell/flavor. I treated it last week for aphids so it’s not surprising they’ve migrated to the wall.
In case you were wondering . . . Cape Primrose and Gloxinia appear to be particularly attractive to aphids.
So, the question is how to treat the wall and not kill the fish. Wadly and I had discussed this a number of times and had developed a strategy we thought would work.
- Unplug the aquarium pump and pull it out of the aquarium.
- Drop the smallest statuary pump into the tank and plug it in to keep the water moving for the duration the wall is separated from the aquarium.
- Siphon out 4 gallons of water into a bucket.
- Top the aquarium up with new water.
- Drop the aquarium pump into the bucket.
- Connect the gutter to the bucket.
- Cover the aquarium with plastic.
- Spray the wall with aphid killing chemicals.
- In 24 hours dump the bucket water and siphon 4 gallons of aquarium water into the bucket.
- Top up the aquarium.
- In 24 hours remove the small statuary pump from the tank.
- Remove the plastic from the aquarium.
- Rinse the aquarium pump and return it to the tank.
- Reconnect the gutter to the aquarium.
- Hope no fish die.
Before we could get started on that process this morning I had a “connect-the-dots” moment. Why not spray the wall with the same mix we use to treat parasites in the aquarium? Duh. The parasite treatment for the aquarium has trichlorfon in it which is an excellent record against aphids. It’s an organophospate noted for its lack of persistence, biodegradability and low cost.
I mixed half a teaspoon of the parasite control with about 3/4 cup of warm water and sprayed the wall. I know it won’t kill the fish. Let’s see if the aphids die. <evil laugh>
Don’t use the chemicals.
You can use a organic spray that you can find online using Ivory soap, tabasco sauce and a bit of vegetable oil in some water.
I appreciate your feedback.
I’m still fighting. I pick them off morning and night. It turns out the aphid fly laid eggs in a partially opened flower. I finally found that bud and picked it off this morning. The infestation is driving me nuts. I’m keeping it from spreading from the streptocarpus and Cape primrose, but I’m not getting totally rid of them. Some days I only find one, other days I’ll pick off four or five.
Whatever I use it MUST be safe for the aquarium feeding the wall. That’s my biggest concern. Soap isn’t safe. Oil isn’t safe. I may have to collect the aphids and make a tea and spray with that. I will admit I haven’t focused on a good permanent solution and I should be. At some point I’ll have enough spare time to focus on something permanent.