hi all,

@ineke, @fishmosy and others have mentioned the benefits of growing biofilm on moss in jars.

 

some questions -

1. can this be done outside in a spot that catches morning sun say .. in a jar with a closed lid? (could i open lid once a day for oxygen?
2. given i would be getting lots of biofilm from the moss jars can - is there any reason why shrimps need direct tank lighting or will ambient room lighting most of the time be enough?

thanks ppl :-)

 

love n peace

will

Edited November 4, 201510 yr by NoGi
Fixed up user @tagging

Yes it can be done outside in a spot that catches morning sun ..... BUT depending on what organisms are present in the water you use, you may get growth of unwanted organisms like stringy algae. 

Every biofilm is unique. The organisms that grow in it depend on complex interaction between the organisms that are present and the environment. For example, if you have moss in the jar then there will be a different suite of organisms present than if you use plastic plates as the substrate. Even two jars set up in exactly the same way beside each other will have substantially different biofilm communities. Similarly if you use fertiliser to boost growth of the biofilm, some species will do better than others and possibly take over. This is a common problem in marine aquaculture because you want crustose coralline algae and diatoms rather than turfing algae, which you can do by managing the amount of light and the water flow over the plates. because of this - growing biofilm cannot be done by recipe. You have to just do it and adjust what you are doing based on your results. If you get too much stringy algae, place the biofilm in a shadier spot. If you dont get much growth, try adding fertiliser (tiny amount) and/or more light. 

There is some annecdotal evidence that exposure to light makes shrimp have better colouration, and therefore would indicate better health. Secondly growth of autotrophic organisms in biofilms ( algae, diatoms ect. that photosynthesise, and are arguably the most nutritious organisms eaten by shrimp) relies on light being present. Although you would be adding biofilm for the shrimp to eat, I think it would be better to also encourage growth of biofilm in the aquarium itself as well by ensuring adequate lighting. And to be adequate, you dont need much light at all. For example, I only run an Aqua Pro Z for 4 hours over my zebra tank, which provides a nice green coating over the rocks in their tanks, plus of course ambient light from being inside a house and dappled light through a window on the other side of the room. When I ran the Aqua Pro Z for 6-8 hours I tended to get growth of stingy algae which the zebs did not eat. 

I am always much less precise in the science of things so Fishmosy's information is much more informed. My tanks receive 6-8 of artificial light and are mature tanks with plenty of plants , moss and large surface areas of glass for biofilm to grow naturally . I often trim my moss and place it in ice cream containers in a well lit area by a window which only gets early morning sun. I leave it covered in tank water for 2-3 days and if I put it into a tank the shrimp will graze on it for quite a while. My shrimp are fussy eaters when it comes to commercial foods so I would have to say the biofilm in the tanks reproduces quickly enough to keep them well fed. My tanks all have 20 - 30 shrimp maybe up to 50 and are only 24" tanks. Remember biofilm grows on all surfaces in the tank including the substrate so given the right light and good water conditions most of our tanks should produce enough for our shrimp. But they always like any plant or moss that has been out of the tank for a while so I guess as Ben said different conditions grow different biofilm.

i have kept moss in glass jars with a piece of muslin or a chux as a lid to prevent bugs getting in and allowing air in and the moss has grown reasonably well just getting the morning sun . I do change the water 2-3 times a week in the jars so I don't know how much that affects the biofilm but the moss does multiply well. However I still think it grows just as quickly in the tank.

thankyou both :-)

i have rinsed out a collection of jars i had which are over 1 litre in size and will label them accordingly and place moss from each of my tanks in them and see how i go :-)

love n peace

will