Journal Mission Bathtub 2017

[zozo]

And i little quick vid, the first this year..

 

[zozo]

And here you see how fearless sticklebacks are.. Using the scratcher to hoover off some algae for maintenance.. and they clearly see it as an intruder of their space, they get excited and it needs to be chased away. And thats a realy good sign, the first days they were rather shy and sticking to the substrate and hiding away. But now it is their accepted home and needs to be protected.. Oh it needs HD and full screen to show realy good.. 🙂


The male also is getting randy and chassing his girls around and inspecting the little caves i made to see if t suitable for spawning. I guess it wont take long and i'll record mating sticklebacks.. 🙂

 

[Guest]

Little blighters punch well above their weight🙂

 

[zozo]

You have to see how they ravage a big earthworm 3 times their size and they have a mouth opening wider than their body, trying to get that big worm down, drag it around and fight over it.. I'll see if i find one of a nice size and record it. 🙂 These fish are absolutely a treat to watch. They are like little hungry pikes but much more active. Last time i had them was in the tub, only seen from above.. But now in a tank realy is double the fun.

 

[Guest]

They are great little fish and nearly always overlooked, probably because they're a relatively common European species.
Have you seen George's A Great British Biotope?
https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/a-great-british-biotope.8052/

 

[zozo]

Yes somewere back in my mind i've red it maybe a year ago.. Thanks for reminding me, i actualy forgot about it.. I'll read it again.. 🙂

As far as i know, which actualy goes for all indigenous fresh water fish, they do not live very long in indoor tanks. Sticklebacks maybe a year if you are lucky. Temps are way to high and excelerates their metabolism to a much faster rate and die much sooner. They realy need colder waters.. In natural ponds and streams they should live up to 3 to 5 years.. 🙂

 

[zozo]

Actualy the point is, aquarium chillers are to darn expensive, if they weren't i would have had an indoor indigenous sp. tank for years.. It this what's keeping me away from it.. But it was on my wishlist for many years to have one.. 🙂

 

[Guest]

Bitterling is another native European species I think would be worth keeping in an aquarium (if only for a short time) especially with freshwater muscles. It'd be fascinating to witness their extraordinary spawning behaviour.

 

[zozo]

Yes they are realy beautifull.. 🙂 @Martin in China lately found a Chinese bitterling in the wild, which is more common in the aquarium trade it seems than the European ones. Tho in pond shops they are to be found sometimes as pondfish. My all time favorite is the Rudd. A large school of small Rudds and release them beck to nature when getting to large.. 🙂


Many years ago at the time living bait fish were still alowed to be sold they sold baby prusian carps, because these survived the longest with a hook in their back. 😡 Idiots.. Felt sorry for them and bought a bunch and tried them in a tank. But these fish are way to wild to keep in a tank. it was an open top, standing next to the couch, they jumped into my lap, crazy fish.. Than covered it and they almost broke the cover glass panel jumping against it. Released them all in the next door pond. Fortunately it is no longer allowed to sell live bait fish.. 🙂

Anyway also Rudds are likely vivit jumpers, since they are also often caucht while fly fishing. But they are getting scarser now..

 

[Guest]

Totally...as kids we'd often catch tiny rudd and my friend decided they'd look good in an aquarium, which they did. He released them back into the wild once they'd outgrown the tank. They seemed to take to life in a tank very well.

 

[zozo]

Would be awsome, for in a huge plywood tank in the garden.. 🙂 During the summer and release back before the winter. But they are very hard to get these days. Buying them and releasing is a bit to nobble i guess. Not rich enough for that. But indeed as a kid i caught them with a net.. But now i wouldn't now where to go..

 

[Guest]

Yeah me too, so much has changed, I guess our experience of nature in our backyards is pretty similar to a lot of our generation, including Amano's.

 

[zozo]

Yes pitty actualy, we have only stories to tell, most ponds i caucht them are still around.. But turned in to a park with a anglers society taking care of it. These fools hate plants, drag 'm all out, water gets muddy and dark, nothing grows anymore.. And than order those cheap slimey hybrid game fish for competition. These hybrids do not breed.. So every year the monthly fee is saved to buy new slimers. And these all compete with the natural original inhabitans. ANd how do you tell this to kids, how beautifull it was one day and completely trashed today.. For what?
malicious pleasure!!

 

[Robbie X]

Epic, I always watch sticklebacks in a shallow stream near my home. In breeding time they are fearless 🙂

 

[Guest]

It is sad...we have the Environment Agency which along with Natural England usually puts a stop to the introduction of alien species because of the impact on semi-natural ecosystems...I'm sure even inviable hybrids aren't allowed.

 

[zozo]

It is sad...we have the Environment Agency which along with Natural England usually puts a stop to the introduction of alien species because of the impact on semi-natural ecosystems...I'm sure even inviable hybrids aren't allowed.

We have something like that also, but this is more for the bigger lakes and river delta's etc. ut when it comes to smaller local ponds, it seems to be a discrase to leave it natural. Than it must be a park with pavements and so.. In a way the poeple themself need something like this, if you let nature go it's way than people think it's dangerous and a trash dumping ground for others. Till all is straightend out and paved and looking sivilized etc. only than it is respected.. Completely bonkers actualy.

The fun is the area i livein is called park city.. And indeed every little piece of nature aint realy nature it is manicured to the limit.

My country is just to small i guess.. Not so long ago o spoke a couple Americans, for the first time in Europe. They didn't believe that The Netherlands was a country.. It looked like a big city to them, where ever you go, you drive a mile and you see a building at the skyline. And actualy they are right.. In our country there is no more place for real nature. All is manipulated..

Well enough ranted about that.. I still enjoy the little things we have. But i saw it getting less through my live growing up and that just still kinda hurts.. In a way. I guess that's slowly becomming an oldtimer.. 🙄

 

[mort]

Really nice to see the sticklebacks on show. I did consider them for a little wildlife pond I built but ruled them out for some reason. I've never actually seen them available for sale around here, yet you see other native like rudd, mirror carp, barbel (really can't understand why) gudgeon and my favourite tench. We have four tench in our pond and they are great compliment to the goldies.
Our cousin has a large pond he made in one of his fields and the environment agency came and stocked it for him. In summer the surface of the water almost boils with the movement of the rudd, you don't even need bait or a rod to catch them, not then anyone tries anymore.

I'm lucky to live near the Norfolk broads and even in the centre of the city we have a couple of really natural ex gravel pit broads, one just a stones through from the city football stadium. These bring in lots of birdlife in the winter and everything else in turn. They are well maintained but utilised for profit as well. I'm not a fan of concrete.

 

[zozo]

favourite tench

These are realy very beautiful fish.. As a kid i was intrigued by the nickname Doctor fish, i actualy do not know if there is any truth to this legendary tale. That it is often seen in accompany with sick fish and that his slime coat has healing proterties to other fish. 🙂

I guess it's an old folk tale.. But a nice one..

 

[zozo]

Had some fun in the gutter this weekend.. Never thought it woul dever come to that, fun in the gutter, bit it was.. 🙂

Just sitting and watching it and thinking what do with it to get it a bit more naturaly looking decorated.

So i didn't want to use to many pots and added some finer gravel, created a botleneck and some planted banks and a rappid. This finer gravel als scales it a bit beter as a mini landscape. And this way it also functions a bit like a planted biofilter. And ended up with no pots at all..

Behind the duckbill outlet i had a algae growing dead spot, so filled it completely up with gravel, some rocks hidding that uggly duckling and will grow some plants.


At the other end the botleneck and the rappid. The bottleneck is completely banked up gravel and sand held in place with the stones and some wood.


The rappid from the other direction.

Some grasses like carex and somthing looking good grass pulled from an old pot.. The big ramshorn is just a shell, snail is long gone aboout 2 years ago.


And the deeper first end will be the blackfly larvae breeding ground.. Man what someone all does for a few silly blackfly larvae.. 🙄 But all and all, kinda looking funny.. A real little tiny stream with a multifunctional purpose. That plastic gutter was bulging a bit, probably the weight. Didn't feel like taking all off again and reinforce it.. So did it with a nail and a chain. It's a symphony of use what ever you can find anyway, so why not add a nail and a chain too.. 🙂

Still have some tropicals on the window sill waiting for warmer days, so ot's still not fully planted.. But it's a start..

 

[zozo]

Finaly the ugly algae in the tank is on it's retreat, and slowly getting less. And the sticklebacks after a dewormed them are getting a bit more meat on their ribs from the daily daphnia room service. They were awfully skinny when i got them.. But fortunately changing fast..


ALso have some viviparus snails in the tank making babies.. 🙂 Absolutely remarkable snails, storing the eggs internaly and rear the kids till a certain size before they hatch.. And than over night you see tiny snails not bigger than a small grain of gravel roaming around. They are hard to spot, even harder to photograph if on the substrate. To small to focus on them. Here is one on the glass i took inside, awfully cute little Vivi born yesterday.. They are actualy real glass hugers..


If not on it always close to it. Funny animals, looks like they have a finger sticking out of their face. Cant get a decent pic from the outdoor tank, in there they dig in, probably the temperatur..


But other things catch my intrest, seeing things never seen before.. Like a little tiny spider scooting over the water.

And not realy trying to get out, on the contrary it's doing it's best to get to ? the other side? Who knows what it is doing?..


A little plantpot i left to it's own devises for years, growing all kinds of interesting stuff. Found out (thanks @tim ) that i totaly forgot i seeded Lupines in here about 2 years ago, it never showed till now.. Realy didn't expect that to happen.


Next to the 2 ferns and some grasses growing in there i have no idea what it all is.. One is resambling a Rotala, i guess it aint, but i had it flowering last year. So?? Still a surprice.. But love the mosses in there, especialy the liverwort looks awsome. A Mother Natures surprise package.. 🙂


One of the first flowers in the garden.. A Clematis montana decorating my budy JC..

Not that i'm religious or something neither mocking it.. I found JC in a trashcontainer and he lost his cross along the way.. Now religious or not, who leaves good old JC in a trash container, cmon!? So i kinda felt for him, thought he could need a break, took him home gave him some flowers instead.. 🙂