Re: NANFA-- hydras, flatworms, etc.

Dave Whitacre (streptoprocne_at_earthlink.net)
Wed, 4 Jun 2003 23:15:19 -0600

Thanks, Todd. Yes, I suspect you're right that Darwin's Select are still in
there! I'm watching and waiting. Meanwhile, I was looking at Pennack this
morning, and plopped a couple of the worms under a borrowed dissecting
scope. I'm thinking they may be freshwater oligochaetes. They have what seem
to be very faint eye spots, and I also noted that they seem to have "buds"
near the tail that are perhaps fixing to bud off...as many of these
freshwater annelids apparently do. Thanks again, and I'll keep you posted.
Dave Whitacre.
PS--I'm in Boise, Idaho, but I hail from southern Illinois originally, and
that is the small stream fauna I am imprinted on. So, I'm way into the
southeastern fauna you guys seem to be mostly into.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Todd Crail" <farmertodd_at_buckeye-express.com>
To: <nanfa_at_aquaria.net>
Sent: Wednesday, June 04, 2003 10:03 AM
Subject: Re: NANFA-- hydras, flatworms, etc.

> Howdy Dave. I didn't want you to get lost in the haze of the fortunate
ones
> getting to go to the Convention :)
>
> A "Freshwater Reef" is waaaaay underated, I'm glad to see someone else
going
> this path and enjoying all that our waters provide in diversity.
>
> First question is, where are you at? "State" would be sufficient if you
> don't feel like giving specifics, to get an idea of locale. Pictures are
a
> huge help as well, especially if you have a good macro lense on your
camera.
> That may be the key to getting a proper ID. There are also various field
> guides that have had thier names bounced around the list that would allow
> you to use a magnifying glass and key out. I'm going to look in the
> archives and will repost those guide names. I meant to save them, I need
to
> pick them up for birthday related type things coming up :)
>
> With the hydra, hydroids and the like... Something that can and does often
> occur is a population explosion upon introduction (kind of like what
happens
> when an exotic organism is introduced to a new ecosystem), the food source
> is specific and available, but is consumed too quickly. The population
then
> crashes. Chances are, you have "Darwin's Select (tm)" still living in
> there, they're just not as obvious as when you had "Hydropolis". I would
> watch for medusae still, but my guess is this is what occurred.
>
> You may be able to nurture the population using something like Brine
Shrimp
> Direct's Golden Pearls (brineshrimpdirect.com) with their < 60 micron
> clusters and spheres and stuff. I don't want to discourage use of this
> product because I'd really like to see more freshwater aquarists
developing
> this approach to husbandry, but it is possible you would run into some
algal
> bloom issues as you're figuring out the balancing act of "food to mouth"
> ratios. I've been "gut loading" tiny bluntnose minnows with the product
> for my Stonecat (using the Artemia 1 product), and haven't seen any algae
> issues... But I'd hate to hear "My tank is covered in cyano and it's your
> fault for not warning me!" :)
>
> The worms are detritus generalists, so they probably have a sufficient
food
> source.
>
> Hope this helps... Hope to get back with the field guide names here
shortly.
>
> Todd
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Dave Whitacre" <streptoprocne_at_earthlink.net>
> To: <nanfa_at_aquaria.net>
> Sent: Tuesday, June 03, 2003 9:10 AM
> Subject: NANFA-- hydras, flatworms, etc.
>
>
> > Hello NANFA folks,
> > I have been listening in for a while, and now have a question or two.
The
> only
> > fish I have at the moment is a gorgeous Black-striped Topminnow, who is
> living
> > off the fat of the land in a 10-gallon tank. I have been feeding him/her
> > zooplankton all spring, that I get with a plankton throw-net at a nearby
> > cattail/duck marsh.
> >
> > One of the benefits of this method of food collection, is that various
> cool
> > critters become established in the tank from time to time. So, I had a
> huge
> > crop of Hydra for a while...but in the past 10 days, all the "adults"
> (polyps)
> > have disappeared. What has happened to them? Did they die off, or merely
> > change form? There are now many tiny, translucent smudges on the glass,
> that
> > might be new polyps getting established. Did the polyps produce tiny
> medusas
> > that are floating around in there now? Any ideas?
> >
> > Also, I now have a crop of tiny white worms crawling all over the glass.
> They
> > are about 1/5 inch long, quite slender, with a noticeable swelling at
the
> > anterior end, and they cruise rapidly, and in rectilinear fashion, on
the
> > glass. Their motion resembles that of a flatworm (say, Planaria)--just
> > straight, fairly rapid creeping--no wiggling. Any ideas? Could these
> indeed be
> > some sort of Turbellarian?
> >
> > Also, lots of smaller white things that are also wormlike--say 2 mm
long.
> They
> > may be growing into these longer white worms, but I'm not sure.
> >
> > Any ideas?
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Dave Whitacre, Newbie
> --
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http://www.nanfa.org
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/ nanfa_at_aquaria.net. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or get help, send the word
/ subscribe, unsubscribe, or help in the body (not subject) of an email to
/ nanfa-request_at_aquaria.net. For a digest version, send the command to
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/ For more information about NANFA, visit our web page, http://www.nanfa.org