I am putting together a ecosphere from a pond next to my dorm. I believe there are scuds, water skimmers, back swimmers, and snails.
The main plants seem to be Hornwort and perhaps a few species of plants and macro algae.
I'm using both a one gallon and a 2 gallon jar for these.
by Ok_Extension3182
5 Comments
They can last forever aslong as they have access to oxygen and plants lol
One method I’ve found that seems to keep them stable is to provide an air supply of some form(air stone, rigid airline, sponge filter, anything like that), include floating plants, and throw in some anacharis or a similar fairly fast low maintenance stem plant.
Scuds and snails are nearly impossible to kill, but neither will really be able to eat hornwort so they’ll probably massacre the algae and then slowly die out. I’d try to get some other type of plants from there also and maybe dose the jar with bacterAE once a week.
They really need a food source like dried leaves since they feed on decaying plant matter and algae. A airstone will help.
Mine was quite small, 1-2 litres. 3 scuds hatched from the river sediment I started with. They bred at some point too, and I think I had scuds for about 6-8 months. Then they died, all the sediment they kicked up settled, and I still have the same jar, with clearer water than ever.