Native/bugs tank log

[blueether]

No but some of the Ranunculi (sp?) could do ok...

/me finds "Native New Zealand Flowering Plants by J. T. Salmon"

Cant find Ranunculus amphitrichus in there

Yellow Buttons - Cotula coronopifolia

"...is a creeping plant found along the edges of costal muddy swamps, damp sand dunes, and along lowland streams..."

I got my plant when I caught my shrimps

[Sophia]

cool, thanks

I have a copy of the one Stella recommended on request from the library, should have my nose in it by the end of the week.

[Sophia]

got my plant book, and my husband has rearranged the washhouse where the tank was going so it's going to get more light. Not enough to warm it significantly, but enough to get more algae growing I suspect. I am well pleased.

Should be getting the tank on Sunday when the table is finished :happy1:

[blueether]

Sophia, Have just noticed that I have 20-30 Yellow Buttons (Cotula coronopifolia) seedlings that have just germinated. You want a few?

[Sophia]

ooh that would be nice.

Let me get it all set up and the peat settled and then I will send you a PM. Thanks for the offer, that's very kind of you.

[Sophia]

can there be too many leaves in it?

I collected enough to fill the bottom of an ice cream container by a number of layers of leaves, there must be a good 2 or 3 handfuls, maybe a cm thick. They've been soaking in said container and starting to rot down.

Also are there any leaves that shouldn't be there? I took out gum leaves in case of oils and the like, but there are guava, feijoa, olive and some other native tree. No pine in there. Some cups from the feijoa flower, without the stamens.

(got the tank today, table has been varnished and now drying - the bugs have been informed and the ostracods can't wait)

Have also collected at least half a tank worth of rainwater for their bugly pleasure.

[blueether]

feijoa and olive are both tough, but might be ok :dunno:

just make sure the native is not lemonwood as it I think the leaves have some toxins/insecticide*

It sounds like it is all coming along nicely :happy2:

*this migh just be hearsay as I couldn't find a reference with a quick google.

[Sophia]

I don't this garden has anything like lemonwood in it

I filled the tank before lunch and the water is very brown and misty. I can see barely any fine bits floating on the top so once the cloud has settled it might be good enough to start. I'm going to put a layer of black gravel on top to keep it down a bit too.

[Sophia]

Went hunting in Meola Creek today and caught a host of bugs and 3 kinds of plant. All currently living in an ice cream container till tomorrow when I hope the water in the tank has settled - not very organised of me I'm afraid.

General bugs - shrimps, 2 angry water boatmen, some ___pods (ostra or cope), worms, snails, things that look like fleas swimming sideways

One of the snails

Elodea (luscious and thickest I've seen), what I think is Potamogeton crispus as has wavy leaves, and a mystery ferny moss. Moss was growing on rocks in the flow of water, and submersed.

[Sophia]

make the cloud settle so I can put my bugs and rain water in it!

[Sophia]

Dammit I put a shrimp in the killie tank for them to have for dinner, and they didn't see it, or ignored it and now it's roaming about looking evil. Also tried 2 water fleas which zoomed straight to the bottom and didn't get eaten either.

:facepalm:

[blueether]

I'm sure that 2 of the above are on the noxious plants list...

And good lick to the shrimp :bounce:

[Sophia]

Those plants have been in that creek for many years, I'm sure Auckland council knows about them and is doing nothing about it. The bugs sure love them anyway.

Do you think I should get a filter for the bugs tank or just put the shrimps in and see how they get on? I caught the shrimps thinking to feed them to the fish but I don't want to put more in the killie tank and find they become livestock or just die later. I should either give them away or keep them alive and I'm not sure how to do the latter - will they be OK without a filter or do they need one?

[blueether]

I have had two shrimp in my bug tank for the last ~2 weeks - no filter.

I have just transferred the last 6 out f the main tank as the inanga are just killing them all (6 dead shrimps this morning ). I wouldn't mind so much if they ate them but they just seem to kill them and maybe eat the head. Hopefully the extra shrimp will keep a bit of the green hair algae down in the bug tank.

I went out to get some more daphnia from the pond on my parents last night and only got a few but I did get a few thousand mossie larvae

Oh and Santa came yesterday afternoon, bit that is a thread (or two) on it's own :bounce:

[Caryl]

There are a lot of noxious plants growing in waterways around NZ. It is impossible to eradicate it all but it is still illegal to collect it.

There are 4 types of Elodea in NZ but one of them is legal - Elodea canadensis.

Same with the other, which may be a type of Myriophyllum. Some are illegal but others are not.

Not sure if the average hobbyist (or MAF employee for that matter) would be able to tell one from the other.

If you collect plants from waterways, and there is a chance it may be a noxious species, be very careful when disposing of it.

[Sophia]

If you collect plants from waterways, and there is a chance it may be a noxious species, be very careful when disposing of it.

You're right about it being difficult to tell one from the other. What is the acceptable method of disposal, should that day arise? I guess dried out and chopped up on the compost heap and nowhere near a storm water drain?

This morning the peat had settled quite a bit so I siphoned out the tap water from yesterday and carefully put in my collected rainwater. Have tied the moss to a stone and used that to anchor the plants into the peat, and also put a layer of fine black grit on top to help keep the peat tidy. Leaves are in, all are on the bottom except one that wants to float straight up and down. Water is a cloudy tea colour and I will take some photos when it settles some more.

I have all the bugs in the tank now except the shrimps. They were out enjoying the rain a moment ago. They range in size, mostly about a centimetre long, there might be 15 of them - do you think that is too many to keep in 22L?

The daphnia changed colour while in the bucket (silver coloured) this week, they went from brown to a pale colour, I suppose so they would be less conspicuous. They are currently running all over the bottom of the tank like it's hot underfoot. Next job is go and catch some more bugs from the trough.

[Caryl]

Burning is recommended I believe. I guess dried out and chopped up on the compost heap would also do.

[Sophia]

Burning is recommended I believe. I guess dried out and chopped up on the compost heap would also do.

thanks

Shrimpo is alive in the killie tank, likes the back wall where the algae is

[Sophia]

all remaining shrimps now in the bug tank and apparently OK - they hang out in the corners swimming up and down in groups and run all over the bottom not caring which bugs they tread on haha

it's a very busy little tank, but it seems like a 1200L tank compared to the size of the inhabitants

[Stella]

Hmmm, now here is a rather interesting issue that we don't normally think about with collecting aquatic plants.

It turns out that this one is a nationally threatened native moss, Fissidens berteroi:

An aquatic ecologist friend of mine spotted this and emailed me to respond (as he can't seem to access his account).

He said he is "not overly sure what the legalities are. But I'm sure collection is at the very least frowned on."

Now, ironically it may also be frowned upon (well, is actually illegal) to put your bit back, as it is illegal to put any aquatic organism into a waterway (even the one it came from) without a permit, due to risk of introducing unexpected things into the waterway.

Hopefully my friend will come up with some more info

[Sophia]

Here are some photos

Unfortunately difficult to see the other bugs as they are so small but good news - I caught only 2 waterboatmen, there are now 3 extra mini boatmen rowing about!

Tank from the front

tank from the left side (hard to get a good pic without a light inside it - note to self, take killie light for next batch of photos!)

Shrimpville - spot the eyes

on tank patrol

[Sophia]

I have found a 7W clip on light on TM that looks useful. There isn't as much light getting to it as I thought there would be.

Next thing - should I get a bubble stone or a little sponge filter? I know we discussed earlier on that a filter wasn't needed but after the shrimps died maybe it needed something after all? I have just found another shrimp dying - it would dart up a little and then fall back to the bottom. He is now out of his misery

I think the problem is that I have deviated from my original plan of it just being a bugs tank and since catching the shrimps I felt obliged to keep them alive. I must admit it's turned out less satisfying than I'd hoped it would be. :-?

[blueether]

Keep up with the shrimps, 2 of the six that went into by bug tank have survived, moved out of the way of the inanga who decided they liked to kill them bur not eat them :an!gry

[Sophia]

The shrimps got moved to the killie tank instead as that is I believe closer to the conditions they need than what the other tank was giving.

Have since restocked on bugs instead so will see how that goes.

In other news, I have 2 other ideas of what to do in this tank if this all goes to pot 8)

and whats a SWMBO?

[Zev]

Nothing you have to worry about, Sophia!

She Who Must Be Obeyed