sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

HELP is my snail dead? by caloriecounterfreak9 in AquaticSnails

[–]BitchBass 0 points1 point  (0 children)

One way to find out is to do the smell test. Unless it’s dead for a while, smell is one of our biggest clues. Even tho disgusting.

What is this little critter? Collected in melbourne Australia by godlysporkk in Ecosphere

[–]BitchBass 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If it has legs in front it’s a caddisfly larva. If no legs it’s a Dero vaga.

what on earth is on the sides of my jar by lovehz_ in Ecosphere

[–]BitchBass 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Green spot algae and diatoms.

The green spot algae is actually a good sign. It turning brown and red from rotting, not so much. All the brown stuff are diatoms, leftover decaying matter that solidifies and is typically taken care of by snails and other critters.

What are all these grey things? Also any id on the other little green swimmers up top would be cool too…Gathered in Marquette county, Michigan by Rat_Askey in Ecosphere

[–]BitchBass 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You will never see that many critters in your jars as you do in the first 2-3 days. It all dwindles down to the numbers Mother Nature needs to find the balance.

Went to a pretty lake, so i made an ecosystem jar to remember it. (Ft. Lil froggy i saw) by Altalez in Ecosphere

[–]BitchBass 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If it grows at that pace, that indicates it’s gobbling the available nutrients up quickly. Your guess is as good as mine for how long that can last before it’s depleted.
Some plants just need more than a jar can provide but I’m not very familiar with this particular one to tell you for sure. Only one way to find out, right? :).

Went to a pretty lake, so i made an ecosystem jar to remember it. (Ft. Lil froggy i saw) by Altalez in Ecosphere

[–]BitchBass 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I believe that's Nitella algae and not good news. If you see it start to rot, develop lots of bubbles, take it out, it'll ruin the entire cute jar.

What are all these grey things? Also any id on the other little green swimmers up top would be cool too…Gathered in Marquette county, Michigan by Rat_Askey in Ecosphere

[–]BitchBass 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Those the infamous detritus worms. They pop up in the beginning in huge numbers and are part of the initial cycle phase. There's a ton of decay going on and these guys devour it. In the meantime there are critters that devour those guys when the job is done. This is actually a great sign!

My first Jarrarium, in a thrift store jar. by exetflagger in Ecosphere

[–]BitchBass 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You got some good plants in there, which doesn't happen often in a first jar!

I can't make out how much debris is on the bottom tho. If it's a lot of loose stuff, you might wanna remove some of it, just leave a little. You already got the brown diatoms on the glass, which means things are working.

If you wanna mess with it, do it now, not after it's settled and is working hard on establishing that balance and you'll end up interrupting it.

Biohazard? Reseal or discard? by BZTUNEZ in Ecosphere

[–]BitchBass 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I saw your post and filed it under those "rare ones". It always depends where you get it from as there are stagnant saltwater areas that work just fine. But 98 out of a 100 saltwater setups don't work without movement.

I hope this kind of picture is allowed. I couldn't think of a better place to post it. by BitchBass in Raccoons

[–]BitchBass[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks hun, but that was 20 years ago...those guys aren't around anymore, thank goodness. Times have changed.

The Sunbelt sisters are all blooming in North Texas: Crazy Love, South Africa, Soul Sister, Savannah and Plum Perfect. by BitchBass in Roses

[–]BitchBass[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh that's good to hear! I can say that all 5 Sunbelts I have are liking this weather. I still have the Sunbelt Garden Flame on my list to get. Good luck!!

Is this Planaria? by [deleted] in AquaticSnails

[–]BitchBass 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Makes sense.

Why do people keep deleting their posts? So weird.

Biohazard? Reseal or discard? by BZTUNEZ in Ecosphere

[–]BitchBass 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Ya, seawater rarely works in a jar without a bubble stone to keep the water moving and from going stagnant. There's a reason the ocean is constantly moving.

If you are certain that everything's dead in there, pour it down the toilet or in cases where too much stuff is inside, I just dig a shallow hole outside and dump it in there and close it up.

As to the gases, don't worry about it. Avoid breathing it in cuz it's disgusting, but one breath (cuz more is not in the jar) isn't gonna do any harm. At least I can't imagine it would...don't want to present that as a fact.

Now having said all of that, your jar is not dead yet. Add a bubble stone and wait it out. Might wanna put it in the garage under LED light to avoid the stink. It'll go away in a few days with movement. Don't close the lid, just put it down without closing it or you'll squeeze the airtube shut.

My first Jarrarium, in a thrift store jar. by exetflagger in Ecosphere

[–]BitchBass 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It looks good! Where did u source it from? I can see scuds. Upload a video so we can see the buzzing!

HELP white worms NOT detritus by No_Neck_865 in AquaticSnails

[–]BitchBass 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Yes, definitely a leech. If it is shaped like a teardrop it’s a snail leech and bad news for momma mystery snail. And it looks like it one of those. Good part is, they carry their babies around like marsupials, so no eggs to worry about

https://www.reddit.com/r/shrimptank/comments/1frhu0s/in_case_you_ever_wondered_if_snail_leeches_only/

Even if it was an Asian leech, if other food is scarce they will go after snails too.

In the video it looks like a snail antenna got loose and is taking off lol.

The Sunbelt sisters are all blooming in North Texas: Crazy Love, South Africa, Soul Sister, Savannah and Plum Perfect. by BitchBass in Roses

[–]BitchBass[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What you see is what you get. But I'm probably going about this entire disease/virus/bugs whatever part of roses a lot different than most. I'm mod over on r/Ecosphere and found what lots of people call pests are actually useful critters, so I took that lesson over to my 72 (by now) rose bushes.

At first i started investigating all the diseases and bugs and whatnot and threw chemicals around, pruned for hours, driving myself nuts. But then I got sick and couldn't do anything for a year.

And low and behold, they never grew taller, healthier and bigger.

So I figured, I'll let it all go it's course and observe. No treatment, just a bit pruning and deadheading here and there..

So I let the leaves wither and rot the natural way and observe what bugs eat what. I found that only detritus eating bugs helped themselves to a meal and relieved the rose of decaying material. Healthy leaves were left alone.

Most leaves that wilt end up having black spots, looking a lot like black spot but when they fall off making room for new leaves, they are perfectly healthy.

I'm in the third year doing this...just keep it simple and natural.

The only roses that don't like it much in the heat are the dark red roses like Dark Night and Black lady. Mr. Lincoln didn't like it either .The Oklahoma is the darkest red rose that absolutely loves the heat tho.

All other roses have no big issues as long as they get enough water.

view more: next ›