10-year-old brine shrimp...

[Sk8r]

Just thought it might interest you that I've had 2 brine shrimp in an ecoglobe that are entering their tenth year of life.

Having had to part with my marine tank for a crosscountry move and an apartment, I grew lonesome for saltwater---and got this silly little Ecoglobe (R) which at the time had 5 shimp. Winken, Blinken and Nod died; Huey and Louie persist, and are celebrating their 10th year.

Ecoglobe promises to renew the globe for a smallish fee and postage. But I never have. These two tough guys have survived winter cold and summers without airconditioning, and are still kings of their mini universe. They are evidently both male, so there have been no spawns.

We take these little guys as fishfood---but I thought you might be interested to know they have lives, and fairly long ones.

 

[michael_cb_125]

I have an Ecoglobe also. they are so cool. But I dont think that they are brine shrimp. Mine are little red shrimp that crawl and swim. All the brine shrimp that I have seen swim through the water column.

 

[greenbean36191]

Usually they're Halocaridina rubra. I know a few guys who study them that have had them in sealed bottles for pushing 30 years. They're really amazing little shrimp.

Just as an interesting side note, they've genetically traced the source of some of these shrimp in the commercial ecoglobes and found out that many of them are actually poached from restricted land.

 

[michael_cb_125]

Are they related to the red Hawaiian shrimp that inhabit the Lava tubes found on the islands?
~Michael

 

[Sk8r]

Interesting. Halocaridina rubra. Illegal shrimp. Who knew?

They do get spawns of them, reportedly, so they may be growing their own, now, but a spawn is not a good thing to happen in an Ecoglobe, so they may try not to get females in the sort.

After 10 years and not as much sunlight in the last one, the green algae has given way to a kind of colorless sort of fluff, but I've set it in better light. We'll see how the algae fares now.

 

[greenbean36191]

Are they related to the red Hawaiian shrimp that inhabit the Lava tubes found on the islands?

Same ones.

AFAIK they don't try to sort them by sex. With limited resources they aren't likely to devote energy to spawning anyway.

 

[akitty6552]

Where does one get this ecoglobe?

 

[buttons buster]

thats pretty amazing congrats man

 

[michael_cb_125]

http://www.abundantearth.com/store/ecosphere.html

 

[chrisstie]

Have you noticed your shrimp shrink at all? I've had mine for about a year or so now that I received as a christmas gift. Apparently if you like fish most people think a ball of shrimp is a good gift. I was estatic until I researched it and learned about the questionable legality of the species inside.

Anyway, mine have shrunk but now I see tiny little copepod looking things running around on the side of the globe. I'm wondering if they spawned or if its something else.

 

[Sk8r]

I'd bet that is a spawn. They'll probably be eaten.

I got interested in these globes after my college experience: we had scats, and my roommate was dating a guy who was trying to 'contain' them in an ecoglobe-like environment for NASA. I have since tried to do a number of self-sustaining environments. My mandarin's relationship with the fuge is thus far the most successful---and common---outside of an ecoglobe.

 

[JHemdal]

And I thought my eco-sphere was doing good at five years old! Here is a link to an article that I wrote on closed eco-systems:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2008/9/aafeature3


Jay

 

[chrisstie]

If I may, what are "Scats".. I'm afraid to google it for fear of not finding out what it really is versus other connotations

 

[tetra-tag]

Scatophagus argus: brackish water fish often kept as an aquarium specimen. Reportedly named for its questionable dietary habits. I hope that's not what NASA was investigating.

http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=4698

 

[chrisstie]

Hmm. Apparently I missed the boat on brackish water species. I grew up on saltwater not knowing a thing about how to actually keep the aquariums and so my pet back then was a goldfish that lived for something around 12 years. Boy do I miss that fish he went with me to college too.

Interesting name for a fish, though, looks like it'd make for a neat tank but somehow I think I prefer salt thanks for clearing it up for me though, love learning about new things!

 

[Sk8r]

Neat article.

Yep, scats are rather pretty greenish/yellowish black-spotted fish that grow the size of a dinner plate. We had a 200 g tank of them back several moves ago. They eat algae, and tolerate pretty iffy water conditions, so they are a good candidate for a closed system.

One thing I've tried to do with my tank is make sure it can live without feeding if I'm gone for 2-3 weeks, can it self-sustain? With corals, small gobies and a fuge and detritus eaters and dragonets with a fuge and kalk drip, yes. It holds out just fine. I have a tank-sitting looking in on it and feeding when she can, but mostly not. It's a great way to set up, because you're not tethered to your tank.

I know what you mean about goldfish and attachment to these long-lived fishes: we had some koi we gave to a big-pond breeder when we moved 10 years ago. Now the area is offering some that could be descendants of our butterfly koi. So what have we done now that we finally have a house? Install a koi pond.

 

[Redds]

10 years thats crazy

 

[johnmaloney]

wow, 10 years! I want those shrimp, keep the globe though- they can go in my 72gal.