Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

hi all,

as some of you already know i was lucky enough to pick up a number of fish tanks from an old fish farmer.

i decided i might as well use them to collect rain water while getting ready to use them. i did so and used the water to top-up my marron tubs/ ponds.

about a week later i noticed a whole range of different life forms in the water. at first i thought they were larvae of some sort. i did a bit of research and i identified them as artemia, daphnia, tubificid worm and possibly brine shrimp.

obviously there were eggs in the bottom of the tanks and they hatched when the rainwater filled them.

just today i noticed a couple of creature under one of my float rafts in one of the tubs.

i was wondering if anyone has any idea what they are? i put a goldfish in the tub so it possible that the jelly looking things are eggs. any thoughts?

thanks

Thats soooooo COOL!

not sure abut the jelly stuff, but leave all the others in there, hell make them happy, so when you put all your fingerlings in they will have a feast.

Bio-farmer, you were the one with the 50 (;)) tubs that made everyone jealous? why not keep one just filled with water, and some aquatic plants and stuff so all these critters have somewhere to live, then once every week or so you can open a valve and drain half of it into your main system tanks. like friday night pizza for the fish

I've seen these before BF... I had loads of them inside my pump, I figured it was the only place they could live without being eaten, they're a bit like a cross between a barnicle and a squid... sort of...

yes i am the mad man at the top of the street with the front yard covered in tanks. i often giggle about what the niebours must think.

as for your idea i have something similar in mind regarding breeding them for fish food. the only problem is mosquito larvae as they like the same environment. im thinking a fine mesh top should do the trick.

was interesting i never even considered bringing back all the hidden gems that came with the tanks. my only concern is that a disease has also come with the tanks. all i can say is i have never seen a fish look so vibrant and full of life (literally). i suspect that these live food sources will boost the fishes immune system so it can cope with and perhaps combat some disease. my feeling is that if you keep the little guys happy your fish will thank you.

i guess there needs to be a fine balance between all life in the system. my understanding is that daphnia feed on algae, algae feed on nitrates, nitrates come from fish manure, fish manure comes from fish eating food such as daphnia. big fish eat the little fish.

perhaps there is a fine line between to much waste and to many consumers of waste (if that makes sense). to much waste and the consumers are drowned out or killed by toxins, however to little waste and waste consumer populations "crash".

the challange for me will be to incorperate these life forms into the ap setup. i like the idea of having seperate tanks for different "cycles" feeding each other periodicaly via a switch float or timed release valve (if there is such a thing). this way although the different tanks will be controlled, the balance will remain. would be great to close the loop with all live food.

sorry if this doesnt make any sense to anyone. i understand what i am talking about but that doesn't mean you do. these are just some ideas i have been playing with. these are all theories based on my limited expirience and understanding of life. time will tell.

btw does any one know the term for life forms that consume other life forms waste products? if i knew the term for this then perhaps the above would make a little more sense.

any idea where they might have come from eb?

do you think you introduced them or they somehow entered on there own terms?

imo i have never seen such alien life forms in my life.

heres another theory for you. perhaps they are aliens who have implanted the ap bug into people consciousnesses. people then go and build ap setups for these little creatures to manifest. i mean who would suspect an alien would live in water? its the perfect ploy. lol. only kidding. kinda. lol.

what ever the heck they are they look cool to me. im glad to have them in there. no doubt they have their place. the more i explore life the more complex it seems to become. i love life.

Bio, you're on the monay with what you have written, will be following your thread closely!



It is no co-incidence that every time i feed my angels a bag of live food they breed

Steve

Could be Hydra?

I've seen something similar, dfferent form though, there are many species i believe.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydra_%28genus%29

i hope thats the link to the wiki article,

i thought the hydras were much smaller. i think i have some in my "creek water tank"

I have no idea where they came from, could have been anywhere... I MAY have taken something from the swan river at some stage and put it into my system.. They could have come from this, or any number of other places. The wikepedia doesn;t have any pics really that seem to match.

I see where the Daphnia fit into things and I love it.....

Hey BF, do you have any of those tanks spare? I'll swap you a carton for one if you do...?

the tank i have the creek water and weeds in is teaming with all manner of life forms. i chucked one small jade and one tiny baby silver in there as a parasite test.

The jade is pretty much doing nothing, the water is at about 14C, but the baby silver has gone non stop eating all the little beasties. i'm sure he looks bigger today than yesterday! Its so much more fun seeing them scavange for food

well i don't drink (much) so i'll have to think about it. fixing them up has been a long and dirty pain in the neck. i didn't realize how much work needed to be done on these. i'm gonna have a party when they are all done. all for AP.

steve that sounds like a cool project. have you identified any of the life forms in there?

nah, i'm "no good" at stuff like that (read: lacks motivation).

Will be easier with every day, as the baby silver perch is on amission to find every living creatuer in the tank LOL its fun to watch him hunting

i was wondering if anyone can help me identify this creepy looking creature. i have concerns it it some type of parasite which may harm my fish/ marron. the closest looking thing that i have found is a vinegar eel. i also have a feeling it may be some type of larvae as they look more like a mosquito larvae then a worm. their bodies are kind of segmented.

one thing thats for sure is my fish don't take long to feast on any i put into the tanks.

so either i have my self a nasty pest or i have another possible addition to the loop.

one thing i have noticed is that their numbers grow when the nitrates are high. perhaps these can be used to cleanup waste.

any thoughts?

redworm? tubifex? I can't make out enough detail, and I'm no good at worm-ology. Maybe someone could help if you gave a little more behavioral detail, too. Do they swim free (like mosqito larvae), crawl on surfaces or burrow? Where do you find them? Do they have little legs? mouthparts?