I've never seen them either. My guess is that they aren't easy to culture in commercial amounts.I've always kept my eye out for anyone selling freshwater copepods
I culture <"Crangonyx pseudogracilis & Asellus aquaticus">, they are easy to keep and smaller than <"Hyalella azteca">.Other than maybe scuds
Great stuff.I'll look into itHi @CJayT
You could take a look at the following to see if there's anything of interest:
https://www.zmsystems.co.uk/rotifers--copepods-13-c.asp
https://blades-bio.co.uk
http://taaquaculture.uk
JPC
I found when I was sending people moss they were subsequently getting Asellus in their tanks , and I've found most of these small crustaceans travel pretty well in damp moss.I'll have to remember to drop you a message. Sounds interesting.
We used to deal with Blades at work, and a couple of times they sent us something close to what we had ordered, but not exactly right. I contacted them mainly to tell them that their cultures were contaminated, and they replied by telling me that they didn't culture most of their organisms and that the ones they had sent us were "wild collected" and somewhere on their website there is a disclaimer saying you might not get what you ordered, so it was basically "tough luck". So I no longer deal with them.
Your Ostracods are doing very well, judging from the photo.At the moment I’ve got various Ostracods
I've never tried Sphaerium (or Pisidium), next time I encounter them I might try a few. A few people have been successful with <"Theodoxus fluviatilis">, but I'm pretty sure they need harder water. I have Acroloxus, although they tend to fluctuate in abundance.Ostracods, Copepods, Sphaerium, Asellus, Gammarus, Acroloxus, tubifex and other worms, various snails etc
Yes they’re amazing creatures, the funny thing is unlike most of the other critters these just appeared one day.Your Ostracods are doing very well, judging from the photo.
Orb shells seem to do rather well in very unfiltered or lightly filtered tanks, I’ve had them reproducing through numerous generations in some tanks. You don’t see much of them until one decides to climb the silicon.I've never tried Sphaerium (or Pisidium), next time I encounter them I might try a few. A few people have been successful with <"Theodoxus fluviatilis">, but I'm pretty sure they need harder water. I have Acroloxus, although they tend to fluctuate in abundance.
I’m not sure, I’ve not tried to get a proper identification on them. But interestingly they’re one of the things that haven’t done so well. So maybe they’re correct.Your Gammarus may be the <"very similar Crangonyx">, they are a lot more tolerant of low oxygen and higher temperatures.
How did you go about adding the populations? Were they just bought online?Hi everyone, I’ve always been a big fan of adding all sorts of tiny critters to many of my tanks. I think it adds another dimension of interest, and can help create a more natural in environment. But what I love the most, is you actually get to see far more interesting behaviour from the fish. Especially first thing in the morning, I can actually see my fish picking tiny organisms from the water column. And watching a glow light tetra stalking something tiny on a plant leaf, is something I’ll never get bored with.
At the moment I’ve got various Ostracods, Copepods, Sphaerium, Asellus, Gammarus, Acroloxus, tubifex and other worms, various snails etc. It’s surprising what will survive in a densely planted tank without being hunted to extinction.
Hi Chris,How did you go about adding the populations? Were they just bought online?
Gerard (@frothhelmet) had some, I'll cc. him in.Trying to get them again, but sadly without success
They have persistent resting cysts, which blow about in the dust etc. and then re-animate in contact with liquid water. My guess would be that all water bodies (that are more persistent than a standard puddle) will soon get Ostracods in them. In the right circumstances populations will build up really quickly.the funny thing is unlike most of the other critters these just appeared one day.
I'll keep any eye out for you. Both of them should be reasonably easy to find. If you have access to a stream where you have pebbles/cobbles with moss growing on them, the stones are very likely to have Ancyclus on them as well.Another interesting creature I’ve been trying is Bithynia..............I’m also on the hunt for Ancylus fluviatilis,
Next daft question then...Hi Chris,
I used to sell pond plants as part of my living, subsequently I’ve got dozens of ponds. So I just collect stuff if and when I see it. You wouldn’t believe the density and diversity of life, you can literally find in a couple of gallons of water. I think as aquarists this is often overlooked.
If you have access to a pond, collect some water from it, then drag a daphnia net through the mud, Add the contents to the water and leave it to settle for a few hours. Then just observe to see what you’ve got. But probably the best place to look is around the plant roots of pond plants. If for example if you lift a potted water lily out of an established pond, you’ll be amazed at what comes with it.What's your recommendations on methods of collection?