I'm the kind of person who takes wiki walks on a regular basis - other people watch Game of Thrones, I'm reading about obscure things. Quirk of mine, I guess. A recent video I linked to in another post got me wondering on the feasibility of setting up an anchialine pool biotope tank, which led to one of my very long wiki-walks. After a lot of research and reading and comparison with my former experience I think it's safe to post my thoughts in a public forum for public ridicule, knowing I've done my best to at least take as much stupid out of these thoughts as possible.
I stumbled upon a 1986 paper (Maciolek, J.A.) on the environmental features and biota of anchialine pools, the natural habitat of h.rubra. Several of the pools possessed sedimentary bottoms, which allowed macroalgae and brackish-adapted vascular plants to grow within them, as opposed to the usual Lyngbya cyanophyte crust, which was most common on rocky-bottomed anchialine pools. As I'm not sure where the heck to find a good source for the bright orange Lyngbya cyanophytes, let alone how to grow them, I directed myself to the examples I recognized, that is: Enteromorpha (A tubular form of Ulva), Cladophora (Likely C.prolifera as opposed to C.aggregans, the freshwater marimo algae,) and Ruppia maritima, that is, widgeon-grass, which is a pretty wide-spreading brackish to full-on sea-salinity adapted freshwater SAV.
Of the fauna, what jumped out was that the vast majority of the creatures (other than h. rubra, other shrimp and snails, such as sponges, bristleworms, fish, tunicates) were "invaders" from a littoral marine environment. I also found a familiar friend in the listing of extant snails in anchialine environments - our good friend Tarebia granifera, or at least a snail tentatively identified as such.
This got me thinking rather grandiose thoughts about setting up a 20-long with a partial deep sand bed on one end, about 4in deep, giving way to small chunks of lava rock and reef rock cemented together with reef-safe epoxy to mimic the porous structure of the rocks lining the anchialine pools (and to buffer the tank water), and then decorating it with large chunks of lava rock. I'd fill it halfway with sea-salinity water, seed with Enteromorpha and c. prolifera before slowly trickling RO/DI water in to decrease salinity and acclimate the macroalgae to brackish. Once I reached about 1.010 SG I'd introduce the snails and the chaeto, and plant some widgeon-grass. It'd require excellent lighting but widgeon-grass is the least-demanding of the SAVs, and the light would be focused mostly on one end of the tank.
I'd rely on the macroalgae, widgeon-grass and naturally-occurring biofilm for biological filtration, naturally, and keep an eye on water parameters, and then if all went well I'd probably introduce about 20 to 40 opae'ula into the tank and see how they did.
This isn't a now thing, naturally. This is probably more like a "keep a 10 gallon freshwater planted shrimp tank and then try it only if you succeed" project, if ever, but I thought I might as well air this to see if anyone else had similar thoughts.
Anchialine pool biotope tank thoughts.
Moderator: Mustafa
Re: Anchialine pool biotope tank thoughts.
I'm glad that you like to do research, because that's the type of person that every hobby needs: a person with curiosity and a thirst for knowledge. Although you can find all kinds of life in some anchialine pools, including various plant life, the fact that these pools are usually large and continue underground makes the conditions there quite a bit different (most importantly, ammonia cannot possibly accumulate there) from the conditions within the confines of a 1 or 2 gallon tank (or even a 20+ gallon tank for that matter). In aquaria where you create good conditions for Opae ula surivival, you usually have too few nutrients to support most plants and animals. Only the hardiest of plant and animal life can survive and thrive (like the special Chaetomorpha "Supershrimp Macroalgae" and brackish snails that I sell). I have done quite a bit of experimentation with various sorts of Macroalgae, other types of plants, red cyanobacterial mats, animals etc. from brackish water environments, but have not found any compatible species (so far) beyond the snails and the special type of brackish Chaetomorpha. It would be great to have more species that could live in such an environment *without* affecting the shrimp, but there just won't be all that many species out there that can do that given the fact that such extreme environments require extreme adaptations..which only a few species have. Sure, as you saw some people try to keep hermit crabs and some other brackish tolerant species in Supershrimp tanks, but the bottom line is that the shrimp will suffer in such arrangements.
Having said that, I like your idea of setting up a 20 gallon experimental biotope tank with widgeon grass. It's always good to experiment and see if any new information can be gleaned from such endeavours. I would suggest, however, to have a successfully breeding tank going first. That way you have something to which you can compare your experiments. There has to be a measure, in other words. And, the best evidence for a successful shrimp tank are breeding shrimp (if they are old and mature enough, of course).
So, if you decide to go ahead with this at some point, please keep us informed here.
By the way, although Tarebia granifera may occur in some anchialine pools on Hawaii, it is not native to the Islands. It seems like both Tarebia granifera and Melanoides tuberculata were introduced to Hawaii by western explorers (ala James Cook and Co.) who probably brought the species in their water supplies collected from various locations in Asia and the Pacific, where these species are native. It only takes a few tiny, barely visible, babies to establish a population. There are also theories that hypothesize that the Polynesians brought them over...but so far they appear to be unsubstantiated.
Having said that, I like your idea of setting up a 20 gallon experimental biotope tank with widgeon grass. It's always good to experiment and see if any new information can be gleaned from such endeavours. I would suggest, however, to have a successfully breeding tank going first. That way you have something to which you can compare your experiments. There has to be a measure, in other words. And, the best evidence for a successful shrimp tank are breeding shrimp (if they are old and mature enough, of course).
So, if you decide to go ahead with this at some point, please keep us informed here.
By the way, although Tarebia granifera may occur in some anchialine pools on Hawaii, it is not native to the Islands. It seems like both Tarebia granifera and Melanoides tuberculata were introduced to Hawaii by western explorers (ala James Cook and Co.) who probably brought the species in their water supplies collected from various locations in Asia and the Pacific, where these species are native. It only takes a few tiny, barely visible, babies to establish a population. There are also theories that hypothesize that the Polynesians brought them over...but so far they appear to be unsubstantiated.
Re: Anchialine pool biotope tank thoughts.
What size tank should I set up for a breeding tank, and how big a population should I introduce when I get it set up? If my girls are saddling up now and they reproduce, I might be able to seed one... if it's going to be a smallish one. Or you know, buy more shrimp from you. (:
- Mel
PS: Recommendations on how to furnish the tank would also be appreciated. I'd assume for ease of breeding it'd be bare bottom except for say, the reef rock I use to buffer the brackish water, but any other details you've used that work would also be appreciated. (:
- Mel
PS: Recommendations on how to furnish the tank would also be appreciated. I'd assume for ease of breeding it'd be bare bottom except for say, the reef rock I use to buffer the brackish water, but any other details you've used that work would also be appreciated. (:
Re: Anchialine pool biotope tank thoughts.
The size of the tank does not really matter much. I have bred H. rubra in tanks sized between 2.5 gallons to 20 gallons. The 2.5 gallon was my *original* tank where I started with about 35....lost a bunch of shrimp in the beginning due to my wife spraying some insecticide in the vicinity of the tank (and I had an airstone bubbling slowly (one bubble every two seconds..) in the tank at that time...turns out it's useless, not needed, as you know). I did a huge water change immediately and saved about 21 shrimp. When I moved to San Diego a few years later I fished out several hundred shrimp from that tiny tank, plus dozens of larvae..all offspring of the original 21, of course. So, they breed even in relatively small tanks. Decoration....none. I have a substrate in most of my tanks, but in a handful I don't even have a substrate...just a some crushed coral sprinkled loosely around the bottom. What's more important is that the tank has time to establish its "natural" balance. I would start with at least 10 shrimp. I have always started my 10 and 20 gallon tanks with about 30 shrimp. It really does not matter. You just want to make sure that you have males and females. 10+ shrimp should guarantee that that is actually the case. In any case...the instructions I give on the setup page for H. rubra are basically taken directly from my experiences with my own breeding tanks. I don't do anything special beyond that.
Re: Anchialine pool biotope tank thoughts.
It is very useful information.. I have been searching for a while as I am trying to build similar pool.. Can you share more useful details to assist me? Waiting for reply thanks in advance:)MelWong wrote:I'm the kind of person who takes wiki walks on a regular basis - other people watch Game of Thrones, I'm reading about obscure things. Quirk of mine, I guess. A recent video I linked to in another post got me wondering on the feasibility of setting up an anchialine pool biotope tank, which led to one of my very long wiki-walks. After a lot of research and reading and comparison with my former experience I think it's safe to post my thoughts in a public forum for public ridicule, knowing I've done my best to at least take as much stupid out of these thoughts as possible.
I stumbled upon a 1986 paper (Maciolek, J.A.) on the environmental features and biota of anchialine pools, the natural habitat of h.rubra. Several of the pools possessed sedimentary bottoms, which allowed macroalgae and brackish-adapted vascular plants to grow within them, as opposed to the usual Lyngbya cyanophyte crust, which was most common on rocky-bottomed anchialine pools. As I'm not sure where the heck to find a good source for the bright orange Lyngbya cyanophytes, let alone how to grow them, I directed myself to the examples I recognized, that is: Enteromorpha (A tubular form of Ulva), Cladophora (Likely C.prolifera as opposed to C.aggregans, the freshwater marimo algae,) and Ruppia maritima, that is, widgeon-grass, which is a pretty wide-spreading brackish to full-on sea-salinity adapted freshwater SAV.
Of the fauna, what jumped out was that the vast majority of the creatures (other than h. rubra, other shrimp and snails, such as sponges, bristleworms, fish, tunicates) were "invaders" from a littoral marine environment. I also found a familiar friend in the listing of extant snails in anchialine environments - our good friend Tarebia granifera, or at least a snail tentatively identified as such.
This got me thinking rather grandiose thoughts about setting up a 20-long with a partial deep sand bed on one end, about 4in deep, giving way to small chunks of lava rock and reef rock cemented together with reef-safe epoxy to mimic the porous structure of the rocks lining the anchialine pools (and to buffer the tank water), and then decorating it with large chunks of lava rock. I'd fill it halfway with sea-salinity water, seed with Enteromorpha and c. prolifera before slowly trickling RO/DI water in to decrease salinity and acclimate the macroalgae to brackish. Once I reached about 1.010 SG I'd introduce the snails and the chaeto, and plant some widgeon-grass. It'd require excellent led lighting but widgeon-grass is the least-demanding of the SAVs, and the light would be focused mostly on one end of the tank.
I'd rely on the macroalgae, widgeon-grass and naturally-occurring biofilm for biological filtration, naturally, and keep an eye on water parameters, and then if all went well I'd probably introduce about 20 to 40 opae'ula into the tank and see how they did.
This isn't a now thing, naturally. This is probably more like a "keep a 10 gallon freshwater planted shrimp tank and then try it only if you succeed" project, if ever, but I thought I might as well air this to see if anyone else had similar thoughts.