[Killietalk] Bugs-et; was RE: Top cover (was azolla was duckweed)

["Ken" <ken_combs at sbcglobal.net>]

>>Ken Combs' observation that different plants will host or carry somewhat
different populations of microscopic creatures makes sense, but was one of
the DOH! moments for me.
...I would like to see this pursued. Ken thank you for that observation. Is
it ok to ask where you got that info on the micro-communities on
watersprite? 

Yeah that info, like any info originated with someone observing it...no PhD
in front of my name; but I did go to 9 diff. schools for 15yrs w/a 2.1 GPA
<LOL> No supportive text to ref. all I know is what I see (speculative or
otherwise)
...Anyway, In the past I've often kept active jars of "Thingies" on my
windowsill, I'm 100% sure my waterspite/frogbit jars always had a different
bug community than my java moss/mulm jars...same goes for fish-less planted
tanks. I speculate the watersprite discourages algae and therefore supports
a different type of food-chain; I often see a larger yellowish "tear-drop"
worm on the sides of one jar and a slim clear-ish "worm" in the
other...seems planted/high light tanks are more rotifer friendly than
"daphnia friendly" (lower of algae maybe?)

-I've only observed "serpentine" worms in established tanks with a healthy
growth of watersprite, esp. in tanks w/killies big enough to care less about
them

-most of the time I find "rotifers" <or whatever they are> when removing the
peat tub from big killie tanks, never see them otherwise

-I only see seed shrimp in fry or daphnia tanks or big killie tanks with a
healthy layer of "active" mulm or java moss, so the observation that "seed
shrimp" are not eaten by small killies is not supported by what I see

-thought I've read you can feed fry on filter mulm, I'm sure we all somehow
find 1" "Sump babies", but my guess-observation is that mulm eventually gets
too "inert" to a point that whatever breaks it down further, is too small
for fry to feed on...my guess is fry mainly eat the "bigger crawlies" that
1st attack the decaying plant/organic matter in active filters

-try making green water with dead/dried java moss vs. dead "vascular"
aquatic plants vs. air exposed green water....seems only the 1st 2 yield
visible "crawlies"... somehow there is stuff in that houseplant in the mason
jar you've procrastinated on potting the last 5yrs

-try growing fry in a tank of hornwort only vs. javamoss only... so whatever
"bugs" either plants supports; I'd bet nobody here would even attempt to
dump their 1-3 day only fry in a "hornwort only" tank for long(BTW, a good
clump of hair algae seems to work about as good as java moss as a fry
starter)

-and those "scuds" copepods or whatever they are, "used" to be a certainty
when buying "bunch" plants at the LFS...personally, I haven't seen one in
yrs (a market source change perhaps?)...I can't recall ever seeing a hydra

-and where the heck do those worms you see on the sides of daphnia tanks
come from?...I don't care if you net out and isolate every single daphnia
individually, those darn things appear so long as 1/1000 ml of "daphnia
water" accompanies your next culture...I'm 100% certain whatever those are,
fry eat em
 
Boring ramblings perhaps, but perhaps interesting in that I'd bet quite a
few others would agree with some of the above despite the 8th grade
syntax...

KC 


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