Mysterious Shrimp

[MissPenelopeLumawoo2]

We have a tank temperate platies & minnows. Fish seem healthy, all good. Today I noticed a tiny white shrimp in the tank, about the size of my fingernail. I have no idea how it got in the tank. Any ideas? The last thing we put in was some live plants in about July. Could there have been baby shrimp in with that? I can't think of anything else TBH. I am a bit worried as I don't know what sort of shrimp it is and how big it might get. Would it harm the fish when it is older?

It could be some sort of nymph, they come in with plants all the time- there was a thread about one just the other day if you have a look. It's unlikely to be harmful but it could be depending on the exact species. A dragonfly nymph could potentially eat a small minnow but it would take ages for it to get big enough to do so. Any chance you can get a photo?

Hi Eau, thanks for the reply. I have now googled nymphs and looking at some of the pictures I think it might be a Northern Damselfly nymph. It has the three pronged tail as in a picture I found. Will this harm the fish? Currently they are about 50x bigger than this little baby nymph. I will try and get a photo, it is hiding by the weed at the moment so I might have to wait until it moves.

AFAIK damselfly nymphs are harmless- they won't get big enough to eat the minnows. My goldfish used to eat damselfly nymphs; if your nymph is still tiny then it will more than likely end up as a snack for your fish.