Get some sticks in those tubs! Seriously, I got tired of pulling dead squirrels and birds out of my tubs a few years ago. A stick / branch provides an escape route ;)
Again, I’m blown away by your intense devotion to the hobby of fish keeping. Most of it baffles me but your videos are bringing me along. Thanks. Time for me to give back$
I live in Australia, and it's summer , mosquitoes are by the million. I just leave a bucket out for a few days, and before you know it, I've got lots of mosquito larvae, and my fish love them.
Can’t stop watching your videos; it’s so brilliant to find someone spreading scientifically backed information on RUclips! Thanks for all your effort and putting this content out for free. I have a million questions but just now im wondering - how do you avoid introducing parasites to your tanks? Does your process of light, aeration and bringing temp up help?
"Someday Goals" for sure. I'd have to figure out a way to guarantee the wife no mosquitos since they're such a pest around here and all I have are smaller nano fish so I can't feed the larvae to any of them. Very cool system!
I will def try this! I collect rainwater to mix with well water for my tanks and rainwater for houseplants. Looks like I can also give a go at growing fish food. Experiment time! Thanks Alex!😁☮❤🐠🦐🪴
What about planaria? I have a small manmade pond that has no fish. By feeding mosquito larvae and other meaty morsel critters, I ended up introducing planaria to one of my tanks. How did they get in my pond? How do I know if a bucket outside won't also end up with them? 🤔
Sorry, i missed the part about how you use the mesh bag? Are you putting that over the cup or jar and sucking them up from the pond with your turkey baster and squirting out into the cup? Can you fill me in on your process a little more that you didn't show in camera for the first timers here haha? Thanks
Oh yeah , sorry. It's essentially just a cup or bottle with holes in the bottom... for draining back into the pond ( I put the holes on one side only). Then over the top lip or mouth of the jar/glass/ bowl/ bottle I put a fine mesh filter sock, or media bag...or brine shrimp netting style material, and then you just suck up all the little daphnia and stuff into a turkey baster, and squirt that into the mesh/netting...the water drains back into the pond ( I set it on the lip of the pond). And after 30 squirts I'll have a few thousand to feed my babies and if I need more I'll collect about a grapes size pile of the little guys... and then let then swim in the cup and feed them spread out ...but you could just plug the whole net or mesh into one tank if desired
@@Fishtory Thanks. That makes sense. Love the videos. I grew up in the PNW and now live in salt lake City. Talk about going from one extreme to the other with water hardness lol. Keep up the great work.
That's really cool! I saw a baby critter in my shrimp tank yesterday, but I didn't know what it was. From what you said in this video, it was a daphnia!
Every time I try this I have the same problem. Ostracods. They eat all the daphnia and copopods. The shells of the ostracods aren't so great for nano fish and fry. Do you have any clues as to why show up and eat all the yummy little critters?
@Fishtory Water source was always only rain. I leave several buckets under the drip line off of the roof. I added some dried leaves from the yard. My initial time trying this was only for mosquitos (and water for house plants). I still do it this way. A few times I got other little critters showing up. I harvest the mosquitos while hoping the daphnia and copopods would multiply. Every time ostracods show up and monoculture the water.
@andicarson1339 so I bet they're in the moss or grime between the roof shingles in that case. (Scuds). But also, usually Mosquito Larvae also consume daphnia and cyclopse also... so that's tricky. Hmm ill think about any more possible solutions and msg you if I think of something useful lol.
Alex, are there any special measures that you take to make sure you harvest mosquito larvae before they become mosquitoes? If so, what? My situation is much tighter with my neighbors, my yard being a balcony, so I need to have this covered before setting anything up outdoors.
Um sometimes I put them in a big jar , in the warm fishroom, then cover it with a hairnet...let em hatch in 2 or 3 days...and toss the flyers... but generally now, I select the young ones, and feed them in the first week of their larvae stage, and I watch and make sure the fish are eating them all. But you could cover a daphnia or cyclopse...or scud bin easily...it just would need to be clear plastic, so algae can grow as food for them
I hope you see this, but have you bred your Sundadanios yet? I commented on your other video about them, but I'm wondering if you have any extra info on getting them to actually spawn
All my outdoor systems have developed microfauna food webs naturally to the point I don't have to feed them. So far I've identified daphnia, cyclops, scuds, and ostracods.
Most fish over an inch will just eat them. But some like the threadfin rainbow, can't fit them in their mouth and generally avoid them/ try and fail to eat them.
This is great, thanks for all the helpful content here. Curious, how much of a factor is lighting for a tub like this? I have a north-facing patio that only gets an hour or so of direct sunlight in the warmer months. Also, is there a risk of birds spreading non-native invertebrates from the aquarium hobby? A mesh lid would help here, though I suppose dried daphnia eggs could easily fly away on their own.
Looks good to me but I'm sure you could find an idea screen or mesh for those tubs at your local home hardware store. Good space to keep extra aquarium plant species too. 🤔🤷♂️ jmho
to answer your question: Some Cyclops (copepod) are known to harm mosquito larvae. I'd be disappointed if they do that with shrimp. now my question. Does anyone know if scuds eat mosquito larvae?
What's up Alex ! I have a tub and a couple barrels outside from last year , and the little bugs and plants are starting to thrive again ! I was surprised to see the Ludwigia Repens made it through the winter ! Interesting ! What is up with the different type of masqueto larvi ??? Their bigger , faster and ball up different than the larvi im used to seeing . I knowtised them last year ! Does anyone know anything about these seemingly new little creatures ! ???
I have tried that. But I don't see any life now In the autumn I could collect mosquitolarvaes. It might be because I am doing it wrong. I look at day. I'll try to go out tonight with a flashlight. But except for that, what can I do to get it working? I have 10 buckets or more. Some with freshwater. One or two with lakewater. Some with left over water from aquariums. One with high nitrate left overs. One was empty but nature filled it up (rain). Some have leaves in. Some doesn't. Most have stones. At least that works during the summer. My catfish loves green stones. :) Some of them have algae already. That can be useful too. But less than half I think.
So the water needs algae to grow for the daphnia to eat. So it may be that you're bucket isn't in the sun enough, ( also having 20 gallons or larger makes a big difference to being able to produce enough of them to feed to the fish. My 5g buckets have enough for maybe one group of fry 1 or 2x a week without depleting the breeding population or daphnia
My resurrection jar used to be teeming with ostracods and cyclopes but now it has just a few copepods in it here and there. Plenty of aeration lighting humus etc but their numbers seemed to have died back dramatically,any idea why?
Hey Alex, We just started a brine shrimp culture and despite the fact that they are intended as food, we feel bad about not giving them some live plants in their tank. Do you have a good source for sea lettuce (Ulva lactuca) plants or maybe Caulerpa spp.? Don't need much--its only a 5-gallon tank--but everyplace I have found it wants like $30 for a tiny piece and then charges another $30 for shipping. Any ideas where we inland inhabitants can go for decently priced sea plants?
Well done! Interesting about the Mosquito larva. I think putting crushed coral in is a good idea. The algae looked like Ulothrix, but I would need a closer look. There are several that look alike. I just did a couple Story Maps for my Aquatic Ecosystems class I will send you.
Get some sticks in those tubs!
Seriously, I got tired of pulling dead squirrels and birds out of my tubs a few years ago. A stick / branch provides an escape route ;)
Got a jar on my windowsill with cyclops add a tiny pinch of fish flakes once a week and it's been endless since
From where did you get the cyclops?
Getting fish in the mood with micro crustaceans not unlike having oysters on a date ;)
Ahhh very true
Again, I’m blown away by your intense devotion to the hobby of fish keeping. Most of it baffles me but your videos are bringing me along. Thanks. Time for me to give back$
Exciting! I've been meaning to set up some live cultures and this is exactly the kind of information that I needed!
@Fishtory/ Alex: Thanks, bro. Much love and respect for you. 💙👊🏾
I definitely want to do this ❤
That was most awesome! Holy cow....that one female Pencilfish was huge 😳 😍
I love your videos about your outdoor tanks/ponds and critters! So fun to peer into your tanks at night with the flaslight!
I live in Australia, and it's summer , mosquitoes are by the million. I just leave a bucket out for a few days, and before you know it, I've got lots of mosquito larvae, and my fish love them.
Definitely!
Your yellow shrimps are really good looking!
tried to put organic matter in the culture, and POOF!, it so rich with tiny little water flea. 😃
Can’t stop watching your videos; it’s so brilliant to find someone spreading scientifically backed information on RUclips! Thanks for all your effort and putting this content out for free.
I have a million questions but just now im wondering - how do you avoid introducing parasites to your tanks? Does your process of light, aeration and bringing temp up help?
Fascinating! Thank you.
"Someday Goals" for sure. I'd have to figure out a way to guarantee the wife no mosquitos since they're such a pest around here and all I have are smaller nano fish so I can't feed the larvae to any of them.
Very cool system!
A few gambusia in a tub...or guppies can keep them away.
Good video, and I really liked the editing showing the different types and deference between male and female water food sources.
I will def try this! I collect rainwater to mix with well water for my tanks and rainwater for houseplants. Looks like I can also give a go at growing fish food. Experiment time! Thanks Alex!😁☮❤🐠🦐🪴
Good luck!
@@Fishtory Thanks!😊
Good stuff Alex!!! I've tried doing similar projects for live food as well. I am really enjoying the results
I enjoy this so much! Amazing content, best wishes to you and your future projects! 🌻
Thanks for the video!
What about planaria? I have a small manmade pond that has no fish. By feeding mosquito larvae and other meaty morsel critters, I ended up introducing planaria to one of my tanks. How did they get in my pond? How do I know if a bucket outside won't also end up with them? 🤔
That intro ha ha! Love the videos mate.
Thanks 👍
Im just Glad someone got it!
@@Fishtory No Wukkan Furries ha ha
Sorry, i missed the part about how you use the mesh bag? Are you putting that over the cup or jar and sucking them up from the pond with your turkey baster and squirting out into the cup? Can you fill me in on your process a little more that you didn't show in camera for the first timers here haha? Thanks
Oh yeah , sorry. It's essentially just a cup or bottle with holes in the bottom... for draining back into the pond ( I put the holes on one side only). Then over the top lip or mouth of the jar/glass/ bowl/ bottle I put a fine mesh filter sock, or media bag...or brine shrimp netting style material, and then you just suck up all the little daphnia and stuff into a turkey baster, and squirt that into the mesh/netting...the water drains back into the pond ( I set it on the lip of the pond). And after 30 squirts I'll have a few thousand to feed my babies and if I need more I'll collect about a grapes size pile of the little guys... and then let then swim in the cup and feed them spread out ...but you could just plug the whole net or mesh into one tank if desired
@@Fishtory Thanks. That makes sense. Love the videos. I grew up in the PNW and now live in salt lake City. Talk about going from one extreme to the other with water hardness lol. Keep up the great work.
That's really cool! I saw a baby critter in my shrimp tank yesterday, but I didn't know what it was. From what you said in this video, it was a daphnia!
Cool. Still really really cold here in Maine but in another week or two I can get started. 😊
As long as it's not freezing I think you can start!
That’s very cool Alex ! Definitely something I would like to try this year😁👍
Good content more like this is well needed
Ammazzinggg. Wwooorrkkkk
Every time I try this I have the same problem. Ostracods. They eat all the daphnia and copopods. The shells of the ostracods aren't so great for nano fish and fry. Do you have any clues as to why show up and eat all the yummy little critters?
Where are you getting your water from? I'd assume their in the water... and the daphnia and cyclopse cab travel via the breeze, of rain even.
@Fishtory Water source was always only rain. I leave several buckets under the drip line off of the roof. I added some dried leaves from the yard. My initial time trying this was only for mosquitos (and water for house plants). I still do it this way. A few times I got other little critters showing up. I harvest the mosquitos while hoping the daphnia and copopods would multiply. Every time ostracods show up and monoculture the water.
@andicarson1339 so I bet they're in the moss or grime between the roof shingles in that case. (Scuds). But also, usually Mosquito Larvae also consume daphnia and cyclopse also... so that's tricky.
Hmm ill think about any more possible solutions and msg you if I think of something useful lol.
I need to go out and check my tub it's two years of leaves and neglect. Wondering what's there this year lol.
Yeah! Let me know what you find, please
Do you regularly take out duckweed from the tub(s) to allow for more sunlight exposure?
Yeah or toss in a goldfish to eat it lol
Alex, are there any special measures that you take to make sure you harvest mosquito larvae before they become mosquitoes? If so, what? My situation is much tighter with my neighbors, my yard being a balcony, so I need to have this covered before setting anything up outdoors.
Um sometimes I put them in a big jar , in the warm fishroom, then cover it with a hairnet...let em hatch in 2 or 3 days...and toss the flyers... but generally now, I select the young ones, and feed them in the first week of their larvae stage, and I watch and make sure the fish are eating them all. But you could cover a daphnia or cyclopse...or scud bin easily...it just would need to be clear plastic, so algae can grow as food for them
I hope you see this, but have you bred your Sundadanios yet? I commented on your other video about them, but I'm wondering if you have any extra info on getting them to actually spawn
All my outdoor systems have developed microfauna food webs naturally to the point I don't have to feed them. So far I've identified daphnia, cyclops, scuds, and ostracods.
Will smaller fish tear apart bigger mosquito larvae or just avoid them?
Most fish over an inch will just eat them. But some like the threadfin rainbow, can't fit them in their mouth and generally avoid them/ try and fail to eat them.
This is great, thanks for all the helpful content here.
Curious, how much of a factor is lighting for a tub like this? I have a north-facing patio that only gets an hour or so of direct sunlight in the warmer months.
Also, is there a risk of birds spreading non-native invertebrates from the aquarium hobby? A mesh lid would help here, though I suppose dried daphnia eggs could easily fly away on their own.
my yellow shrimp tank has so many cyclops it looks cloudy
Time to get a net or syringe and feed fishies!
Looks good to me but I'm sure you could find an idea screen or mesh for those tubs at your local home hardware store. Good space to keep extra aquarium plant species too. 🤔🤷♂️ jmho
Yes totally. I like the Mosquito Larvae because it's feefree adult fish food, but you could definitely avoid it
to answer your question: Some Cyclops (copepod) are known to harm mosquito larvae. I'd be disappointed if they do that with shrimp.
now my question. Does anyone know if scuds eat mosquito larvae?
What's up Alex ! I have a tub and a couple barrels outside from last year , and the little bugs and plants are starting to thrive again ! I was surprised to see the Ludwigia Repens made it through the winter ! Interesting !
What is up with the different type of masqueto larvi ??? Their bigger , faster and ball up different than the larvi im used to seeing . I knowtised them last year !
Does anyone know anything about these seemingly new little creatures ! ???
I have tried that. But I don't see any life now In the autumn I could collect mosquitolarvaes. It might be because I am doing it wrong. I look at day. I'll try to go out tonight with a flashlight. But except for that, what can I do to get it working? I have 10 buckets or more. Some with freshwater. One or two with lakewater. Some with left over water from aquariums. One with high nitrate left overs. One was empty but nature filled it up (rain). Some have leaves in. Some doesn't. Most have stones. At least that works during the summer. My catfish loves green stones. :)
Some of them have algae already. That can be useful too. But less than half I think.
So the water needs algae to grow for the daphnia to eat. So it may be that you're bucket isn't in the sun enough, ( also having 20 gallons or larger makes a big difference to being able to produce enough of them to feed to the fish. My 5g buckets have enough for maybe one group of fry 1 or 2x a week without depleting the breeding population or daphnia
@@Fishtory I have tried - twice - to send two videos. Have you (or youtube in generel) disabled to ability to send a (unlisted) youtube video here?
You say this tub is on its second year, so what do you do with the tub over winter as I would assume it would freeze and kill most off its diversity?
So I assumed the same thing! But no, the leaf litter at the bottom never froze 100% solid I guess. But someone it came back more diverse than ever!
So you don't use lids at all? Also, do you add water or just rain water?
Mosquitoes like water that is dirty and on the Acidic side. And since the other is less Acidic the mosquitoes did not lay their eggs there.
AHH well there we go. Thank you!
👍
My resurrection jar used to be teeming with ostracods and cyclopes but now it has just a few copepods in it here and there. Plenty of aeration lighting humus etc but their numbers seemed to have died back dramatically,any idea why?
Is there green water/algae... they may have eaten it all
@@Fishtory dang that's probably it lol the water is clear. Time to get more leaves and drop some algae wafers in there 😂
Hey Alex, We just started a brine shrimp culture and despite the fact that they are intended as food, we feel bad about not giving them some live plants in their tank. Do you have a good source for sea lettuce (Ulva lactuca) plants or maybe Caulerpa spp.? Don't need much--its only a 5-gallon tank--but everyplace I have found it wants like $30 for a tiny piece and then charges another $30 for shipping. Any ideas where we inland inhabitants can go for decently priced sea plants?
Won't everything multicellular die in pH 12?
Where do you live tho? I don't think I could do this in Ohio 😢
It would work perfectly in Ohio actually. I'm in Washington and it's a bit cold here ... on the edge of not working
Well done! Interesting about the Mosquito larva. I think putting crushed coral in is a good idea. The algae looked like Ulothrix, but I would need a closer look. There are several that look alike. I just did a couple Story Maps for my Aquatic Ecosystems class I will send you.
Multiple online sources say Daphnia eat mosquito eggs 👍
Thanks for the info. I bet they do of the smaller species. There are some tiny tiny eggs, and others are much larger. I'll have to observe closer
Those are bladder snails, not pond snails ☝🤓
Still a risk of parasites for your fish.
Correct
@@Fishtory in your opinion is it worth it??
@vb2377 imo not really I just spawn daphnia in a plastic cup once I'm running low and honestly it's really easy
Noice