aufwuchs…. what is this green stuff growing on my rocks

[Magnum Man56 171]

I ‘ve got a couple threads indirectly talking about aufwucks, which is in this instance “wild algae” with all the little critters that live in it, in the wild, it’s not the sterile algae that just grows in our tanks, it may be the same green stuff, but the micro wildlife is what makes it the incredible natural food it is for so many of our fish in the wild…

I ordered 2 new large LED spotlights that will go on a timer, with the sole intention of growing heavy algae on a large pile of big stones on one end of my tank( intention is to make a spot the micro fauna can grow and reproduce, and not be eaten by the fish immediately )… I tried to highlight some areas of tanks before, with some smaller spots, but they grew excessive algae on the spotlight lit areas I tried to high light ( which was not my intention in those tanks ) so, these are twice as strong, and will be directed at this big rock pile, with the intention of growing heavy algae on this rock pile in my hillstream tank, at which point I’m hoping the micro fauna will inhabit this rock pile, actually creating aufwucks… last time I added several of these micro critters, knowing the tanks were not ready, I just added them to the top of the tank, and it was a feeding frenzy… once this rock pile is established, I’ll be adding the micro fauna with a turkey baster, to directly inject them into the pile for initial protection from the fish… now that the over sized sponge filters are fully seasoned , and the hang on back filters removed, I should be able to colonize this tank… I’m going for the micro worms, Ostracods, and Copepods, to seed my algae with, when building my aufwuchs pile

I’m curious about any other micro critters I can add to make my green goo, as nutritious for the fish as possible… I found this place that sells several, that I listed above, but I suspect a good portion in the wild might be insect larva ( now I don’t want an infestation of flying bugs in the house so maybe the micro crustations are going to have to be as good as it gets??? any other suggestions I haven’t listed that might survive in a tank???

Freshwater Copepods for Sale | Cultures + Combo Bundles

Live freshwater copepods for planted tanks, fry, and shrimp cleanup. 32oz, 64oz, and gallon cultures plus combo bundles. Free shipping. Live Arrival Guaranteed.

copepodsforsale.com

@TwoTankAmin … posted a google link that explained better, in another thread I copied. and added here…

 

[Magnum Man56 171]

along this same line of thought, I’d like to try this in my silver dollar tank, as well, which has a nice bed of algae , however that tank is highly filtered with 3 hang on back filters, because of the bioload of several adult silver dollars, and I expect the filters will get filled with micro fauna… but using my specialized turkey baster perhaps I can get them started, and happy in the algae covered drift wood seen in these pictures I would guess the fish being bigger, that they wouldn’t specifically target the micro critters, but would eat them if encountered away from the safety of the driftwood???

 

[Magnum Man56 171]

this is that turkey baster that comes with a vacuum tip, for sucking up mulm, as well as a couple shapes of rigid tubes, for use as a feeder… this should allow me to inject these specialized areas, with a high density of the micro critters, as opposed to just laying them on the surface, to be eaten right away…

Amazon.com : NQEUEPN 69cm/27.17in Aquarium Turkey Baster for Spot Cleaning & Feeding | Aquarium Long Pipette with Straight Tube, 90 Degree Tube & Flat Nozzle, for Reef, Shrimp & Fish Tank : Pet Supplies

Amazon.com : NQEUEPN 69cm/27.17in Aquarium Turkey Baster for Spot Cleaning & Feeding | Aquarium Long Pipette with Straight Tube, 90 Degree Tube & Flat Nozzle, for Reef, Shrimp & Fish Tank : Pet Supplies

www.amazon.com

 

[GaryE17 15]

You know, when you spell the word as "aufwucks" rather than as "aufwuchs', my brain jumps to the idea you may be having a very bad day and are expressing frustration... don't torture your mods who have to deal with old school polite language rules!

 

[Magnum Man56 171]

I honestly can never remember the correct spelling, as German is not my native language… ( and it was kind of intended to sound that way in the title of the thread, although not intentionally misspelled )

 

[Innesfan54 16]

My Nannostomus, which are industrious aufwuchs grazers, would love your tank...minus the big fish.

 

[Magnum Man56 171]

this is the start of the rock pile( I’ll order another 30 lb bag ) and one spot light close to the side glass… I think I’m going to put the 2nd one maybe a foot from the side glass to spread it out… there is still a full 48 inch led aquarium light over the top of the tank… I expect a couple weeks and I’ll order the lil critters… there are still 7 baby spot tail algae eaters in this tank, the goal of the rock pile is to protect the micro’s with an area that provides what they need to survive… the baby spot tails can work their way in quite a ways, so I’m going to almost double the size of this pile, it’s currently half oh the height of the 55 gallon tank… I may order another 2 spotlights depending… they are all 70 watt led’s

I’ve been letting the front glass algae go until the rock pile get covered…

 

[Magnum Man56 171]

interestingly, the magnets I’m using to hold the background in place, I used some nylon twine, to hold the inner magnet in place, when I pull the background down, while working on the tank… the hillstream’s and spot tail love chewing on the twine… I assume it’s perfect for algae to grow on???
there is also another smaller pile of large rocks on the opposite side, that grows algae from the over head light… I added a few to help hold the sponge filter in place, that don’t have any algae on them yet…

 

[Magnum Man56 171]

well, it took some digging , but I found out what the micro worms were in the companies fresh water variety pack, which is what I ordered 1st to try…

Freshwater Ecosystem Starter Pack (5 Cultures)

Five cultures: phytoplankton, copepods, daphnia, microworms & ostracods. Everything to kickstart a thriving freshwater ecosystem. Free shipping.

copepodsforsale.com

they are Panagrellus redivivus, which is a yeast worm, and doesn’t sound like they would reproduce in an aquarium… so a great fry food, but nothing sustainable in an aquarium…

 

[Magnum Man56 171]

well, it took some digging , but I found out what the micro worms were in the companies fresh water variety pack, which is what I ordered 1st to try…

Freshwater Ecosystem Starter Pack (5 Cultures)

Five cultures: phytoplankton, copepods, daphnia, microworms & ostracods. Everything to kickstart a thriving freshwater ecosystem. Free shipping.

copepodsforsale.com

they are Panagrellus redivivus, which is a yeast worm, and doesn’t sound like they would reproduce in an aquarium… so a great fry food, but nothing sustainable in an aquarium..

 

[Magnum Man56 171]

I found this really interesting… I entered south American algae… I’m curious how many species may be different in Africa, particularly the rift lakes… or asian / indian areas the hillstream loaches come from

Google Search

 

[Magnum Man56 171]

ahhh differences enough to effect specific species nutritions???

Google Search

looks like we can keep their bellies full, with staple foods, even enough to breed, however we may not experience potential wild colors or potential lifespans???

 

[GaryE17 15]

Another twist - I watched wild mollies in the Yucatan grazing aufwuchs, and they were picking small creatures out of it more than eating it. So there are a lot of beasts in there in a huge cliff of algaes etc in nature, but no way in a tank that they would be able to build a population in with fish in our relatively small aquaria.

It's like sending @WhistlingBadger to a grassland to hunt, only one with no mammals.