Bio Diversity

[routestomarket]

Hi all,

I have had my scrubber up and running since June this year with great results. I have made a few changes recently so dont have any in use pics for you all to see.

Since installing the scrubber and removing any filter medium that would appear to trap food and critters going through the tank I have had somewhat of an explosion in the life forms in my tank.

I used to have quite a few of the flea like shrimps but not really anything more. Now I have about three other species of shrimp,one of which looks like a baby cleaner shrimp and the others more like pill bubs / woodlice.

In addition to the shrimps I have many limpet style snails with the conical pyramidical shell and last night I noticed a nudibranch.

Unfortunately my camera does not have a good enough macro function to get a decent enough picture of the above but I just wanted to know what experience anyone else has had with increased bio diversity.

Thanks in advance

Keith

[SantaMonica]

Sounds about right. As long as you don't have a wrasse or something else which will eat them, they will continue to grow.

[kcress]

I've had all those things too. They were around before my TS so they probably aren't directly related.

With marine diversity being the most competitive and aggressive on the planet, marine ecosystems operate by essentially having lots of different lifeforms waiting for their own Green Light. The green light can consist of many and various water/environment parameters. If you install a TS, as it takes the tank through various water quality changes, you will have the Green Light going on at different points for different lifeforms. It will also change from a Green Light to a Red Light for others,(like hair algae). Because some now have the Green Light certain lifeforms will come ON that other lifeform need to thrive. Your flea like shrimp are Arthropods and are generally called "Pods". They can feed a great many other lifeforms and hence are perhaps the Green Light for them.

[routestomarket]

Thanks for the replies guys.

To be honest, and may sound like a dumb statement, I thought pods were tiny, these guys seem to be getting bigger by the day and some are about 1cm / 1/2".

I think they are getting to be more prelevant and therefore noticable as I now have no skimmer / filter wool etc to remove them.

I must say I went through a phase of some trepidation installing the TS and removing everything else but it has worked!

Thanks guys! :D

[kcress]

Some of the pods get that large.

You can look around as some fish love pods. For instance Mandarins need them. Most Mandarins die after a few months because they starve to death. Having them in a tank with a steady pod population would be a cinch. You would need a refuge for the pods so the mandarin doesn't eat so many that they all die off or of course the mandarin will follow.

[routestomarket]

Thanks for the info!

Due to my nature I am a tinkerer by heart and the current system I have includes 2 horizontal scrubbers, 1 major, 1 minor flow off and a fuge underneath.

I will be taking some photos at the next cleaning to show everyone and I think I may have some unusual findings for people.

[SantaMonica]

I'm keeping two medium mandarins, and one large scooter blenny, right now. They live solely on the pods streaming in from the scrubber.

[kcress]

Nice SM! How old are your mandarins??

routestomarket; When you do pictures please show us your horizontals in place I am very interested in that subject presently. :lol:

[SantaMonica]

I've had them for 5 or 6 months. Not sure how mature they are... they are about 3 in long. They go from pod to pod to pod. Many times they can get 4 pods in the same spot.