I've been keeping this jar of creek water for a few weeks now. My ecology class was performing a species diversity lab, which required us to scoop a bunch of certified Little Guys and sort them into petri dishes based on their scientific Little Guy Identification Index. Afterwards, they were all returned to the creek from whence they came.
Well except for a few, which I stole away into a jar.
Everyone, this is my new pet: Creek Jar. Initially, this jar had scud shrimp, stonefly larvae, tubifex worms and snails. My plan was to aerate it by blowing into it with a taco bell straw a few times a day, which seemed like a logical short-term solution.
Everyone except the snails died overnight :-(
In hindsight, maybe baha blast-flavored carbon dioxide wasn't the pick-me-up everyone needed. The snails (faucet snails I think), wise and noble as they are, survived by staying above water so they wouldn't suffocate. The others were not so fortunate, and their tiny remains now haunt my room.
My next plan was to get some algae in there, ASAP. I figured a big algae bloom could get some good gas exchange into the water, so I could at least save the snails. I got a vial of unspecified Mystery Algae (green) and dumped it on in. A few weeks later, and I still don't see any algae whatsoever, but the snails are still alive and even started to explore in the water more -- does that mean it worked? I'm thinking about taking a sample to class and test for dissolved oxygen...
I did crack the lid open to perform a smell check, and it smells strongly of farts. I have no idea what to make of this.
Anyways, if anyone has any recommendations for hardy plants that can survive in jars of water by a windowsill, please let me know!!
also.... why he got that bubble??