A:
The
dilemma of adding ornaments to Sea-Monkey tanks seems eternal. First,
I must say that my quick answer to that question is to avoid using
ornaments with Sea-Monkeys, except Sea-Diamonds (and I always suggest
you use less than the half of the package).
However,
if you visit my office you'll find a big 1 gallon tank with colorful
gravel and a glow-in-the-dark plastic plant in the middle, and you
may think "this is not what this guy suggests in his site" The answer
is pretty simple; Sea-Monkey formulas and procedures are not created
for bigger, ornamented tanks. I can't responsably suggest something
that I know for sure that will cause a massive disappearing act
of your Sea-Monkeys.
 |
My
Sea-Monkey Farm.
Take a look at this short 155k *NEW* 5 secs. video by pressing
HERE |
A more
complicated answer is; yes, you can prepare a batch of Artemias
by using the method described in my "Breeding Wild Artemias" section,
and prepare an ornamented tank, but I must warn you, this requires
a lot of patience, as curing the tank and ornaments requires several
weeks of testing and preparation before adding your pets.
By
"testing" I mean choosing different kind of ornaments and gravel
and putting them thru a test with hot water and several days of
direct sun and heavy salt water. If the ornament's color fades or
if you notice that the water contains particles from the ornaments,
dont use them. Do this several times before you finally decide that
the ornaments do ok in salty water.
If
you plan to "glue" the ornament, use ONLY Aquarium Silicon and let
it dry FOR A WEEK OR MORE. Then, I suggest to use the method of
rinsing with hot, salty water and let it dry again.
Several
weeks will pass doing these tests, but the real "wait" is coming
now... you have to finally prepare the tank and let it take some
sunlight during a few more weeks until it develops
some natural algae. I suggest you use a white cloth in front of
the tank to avoid a direct exposure to the sun (as a kind of sunscreen).
Look carefully for tiny bubbles during the day that arise from the
bottom, this usually mean some kind of algae activity, and the tank
is almost prepared to be filled with young Artemias.
No
matter which method you used to raise the Artemias, try to throw
out some of the new tank's water to use some of the Artemia's water.
YOU MAY ALSO NEED A CONSTANT 4 WATTS LIGHT, DAY AND NIGHT to encourage
the continous growth of algae.
PLEASE
DO NOT CONFUSE THIS WITH A SELF-CONTAINED ECOSYSTEM, YOU HAVE TO
STILL FEED YOUR PETS! The purpose of the algae growth is to ensure
a good oxygenation and some "snack" for your pets, but another source
of food is mandatory to ensure several generations of families grow
in your new tank.
If
you get involved in a similar project, please share it with the
Sea-Monkey community! :)
