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October 7th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| Eco-Jar
So in biology we are setting up some eco jars with some native flora and fauna, as well as 2 guppies. My jar currently has all plants from local lakes including 1 strand of elodea, 2 strands of milfoil, 1 strand of cabomba, and a large multi branching piece of hornwort. It also has 12 zebra mussels (all are really tiny except one), some duckweed, a damselfly larvae, a giant 1.5 inch snail, some amphipods ( zooplankton according to my teacher) and about a dozen tiny snails. Sound good so far? Next week I am adding the 2 guppies and some more zooplankton. By the way the jars are 1 gallon. | 
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October 7th, 2009
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| | Moderator
| ive seen a video here about someone doing this...although im not very scientifically smart, (I failed science a few times) I do not think 2 guppies in that type of setup with all the plants, wouldnt be a good environment for them  they like swim space ...but again thats me... | |
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October 7th, 2009
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| | Moderator
| I'm with Shawnie. Guppies like exploring, and a 1g isn't good for that (it's also a pain to properly heat). I'd stick with inverts. Certainly sounds like you've got an interesting setup so far.
These aren't the closed system deals, are they? Turns out that they don't actually work in the long run. They just aren't big enough to hold everything a functioning eco-system needs. There needs to be food going in (though not much) and waste coming out (though, with plants, not much). | |
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October 7th, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| I 3rd on Shawnie's post. | |
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October 7th, 2009
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| | Moderator
| Huh. I just noticed that you said you're working with "native flora and fauna." You've got zebra mussels and milfoil (guessing Eurasian, ignore that if I'm wrong), neither of which are actually native to the US. If you haven't already discussed this in class, you may be able to score some extra credit, or at least extra Brownie points with the teacher, if you look into how these invasive species have affected the local wildlife and how they affect your little mini-habitat. | |
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October 7th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Since it sounds like this is a school project I say good luck. But please, get those guppies out of there and into a proper home as quickly as possible. For the short term they may last but as they're a more tropical fish an unheated 1 gallon space of water, they won't last long.
I can't tell you not to do something like this if it's for school but I'd do some research on the side and take it in to your teacher. If you were going to try something like this the guppies "enviromental needs" need to be taken into account as well. Take some information on them into class and share it with you're teacher.
Sirdarksol: Oh!!! bonus marks!!! Good eye. | |
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October 7th, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| You could put some ghost shrimp in the eco jar | 
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October 9th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| I know most of the things are not native to here, but since we find them all around here, that's what we use in class. They only stay up till the beginning of January, and they get opened once a week. The water is about 77 degrees because of the light. In fact, with the "native plants" I just went out today and got some milfoil, hornwort, potamogeton, and elodea for my 90 gallon planted. | |
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October 9th, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| Instead of using guppies, would your teacher consider using a "native" fish? Such as a mosquito fish? The jar is still a bit small for them, but they would not be affected by the lack of a heater, and they are native to the U.S. so you would be sticking to the native species. Just an idea... | |
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October 9th, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| Zebra danios might do good? | |
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October 9th, 2009
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| | Moderator
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Gouramiguy17  Zebra danios might do good? |  in a jar? | |
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October 9th, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Gouramiguy17 Zebra danios might do good? | Ahh, but are they native to the US? Aren't they native to Asia? | |
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October 10th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| I live in michigan, so we do not have mosquito fish here. They breed the guppies at the school, so that's what we are using. | |
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October 10th, 2009
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| | Moderator
| Well, it's unfortunate that they're only allowing the use of guppies and that they require that you use guppies, but at this point, your only two options are to follow along and be pretty much guaranteed an okay grade, or practice civil disobedience and risk getting in loads of trouble (though there is a small potential for a higher grade if you were to submit your scientific and ethical reasoning behind not wanting to add the guppies).
Nobody here can tell you what you should do, because it hinges on how you weigh things in your own life. I honestly can't tell you which one I would choose, since grades in high school can make or break a college choice.
Whatever you choose to do, good luck and good grades  | |
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