Central Taiwan Biotope Creation Log and Journal

[cockroach]

Found a very interesting hitchhiker last night. It appears to be an aquatic caterpillar.
I noticed what I thought was a greyish coating growing over the algae on some rocks and between rocks. I stood and watched it for a while and then saw it move.
I had to move some rocks to actually catch him but glad I did. It did not seem to hurt any of the fish and was not shy remaining out and about even with the lights fully on.

There were two of these critters found on the rocks. They close themselves under a very well camouflaged cover and don't move. I am wondering if this is not the caterpillar morphing. So I left one and removed one to see what was under it. I will watch the in tank one to see how it develops and hopefully catch what it becomes. In the video at the start, the caterpillar is perched on one of these critters turned upside down.

 

[Ogertron3000]

That's freaky, never seen nothing like it. Will be very interested to see what it turns into.
I'm really enjoying this tank, who new pulling stuff from the local river could be so interesting

 

[cockroach]

Thanks
It has been interesting seeing what there is.

I went back to the stream yesterday to collect feeding stones and decided to check the water parameters as it is "the middle of winter" here. The stream is no more than a trickle but still flows a little.

Some pics of the stream as it is at the moment.
Upstream


The cascade showing low flow


Downstream


The temperature was 22°C. Which is really warm for this time of the year.


The TDS was 319ppm which was much higher than I anticipated. My tank is only at 167ppm. It could be higher due to the lack of rain recently concentrating TDS in the stream.


I used a quick test strip to get an idea of other parameters:
NO3 Top - >10ppm
NO2 Bottom - >0.5ppm

GH - about 7°d


KH - 6-10°d but seemed closer to 10 maybe 8 or 9.


pH - was about 7.6 or slightly higher. i will be buying a pH pen this year to get a more accurate reading.

Cl2 - >0.8ppm

 

[duanes]

Great info with the testing, goes to show the high nitrate many find acceptable in aquariums is really not the norm, when it comes to nature, almost anywhere in the world.

 

[dan518]

It will be interesting to see if the parameters change over the year.

 

[cockroach]

Went to another stream in the mountains. This is a much more un-impacted stream as it is in a sparsely populated area.

Looking downstream from the pools.


The temp was 21°C at 12:30pm

Part of the pool I filmed underwater. The area was covered with rhinogobius and acrossocheilus parallens
TDS was measured at 211~213

The trusty strip tests.
NO2: Likely 0ppm or there about
NO3: Less than 10ppm
GH: Slightly more than 7°d
KH: about 4-5 °
pH: 7.6
Cl2: 0ppm

Some underwater pics from the videos I took.


There were lot of fish and they were all actively feeding and doing what they do. I spent about 2 hours in three small pools.
In the pics underwater the pools look a lot bigger than they actually were.

 

[cockroach]

A screenshot of the acrossocheilus parallens


A rhinogobius lurks in the this screenshot

 

[Deadliestviper7]

Found a very interesting hitchhiker last night. It appears to be an aquatic caterpillar.
I noticed what I thought was a greyish coating growing over the algae on some rocks and between rocks. I stood and watched it for a while and then saw it move.
I had to move some rocks to actually catch him but glad I did. It did not seem to hurt any of the fish and was not shy remaining out and about even with the lights fully on.

View attachment 1357513 View attachment 1357514 View attachment 1357515 View attachment 1357520

There were two of these critters found on the rocks. They close themselves under a very well camouflaged cover and don't move. I am wondering if this is not the caterpillar morphing. So I left one and removed one to see what was under it. I will watch the in tank one to see how it develops and hopefully catch what it becomes. In the video at the start, the caterpillar is perched on one of these critters turned upside down.
View attachment 1357516 View attachment 1357518 View attachment 1357517 View attachment 1357519

Looks like a hellgrammite, try throwing in a few small insects or aquatic worms, eventually they grow into
What is called a Dobson fly, surprised your fish showed no interest in eating them

 

[dan518]

Looks a nice place for a walk. The acrossocheilus parallens look good. What is the air temp there.

 

[cockroach]

Looks like a hellgrammite, try throwing in a few small insects or aquatic worms, eventually they grow into
What is called a Dobson fly, surprised your fish showed no interest in eating them

It does resemble that. I will read more and see if there is something similar locally.

Looks a nice place for a walk. The acrossocheilus parallens look good. What is the air temp there.

It was about 27~28°C at lunch time.