Nature Crafts and Critters-Nanaimo, BC

Fish, frogs and crayfish may disappear from your tank with no sign of them anywhere. Where did they go? There are a number of options! Escapees Some species of fish are likely to have jumped, crawled or flipped themselves out if you don't have a enclosed top. Among these are swordtails, rainbowfish, frogs, salamanders and crayfish. They may also climb up air tubing and filter tubes to get out. Look in dark corners, under furniture and in dust bunnies for these escapees. If they are still alive, put them back in the tank. They just might survive! Others you may not find until months later, dried up. Unless the critters are large, you are not likely to notice a smell. If you have other pets, they may find a (not -so-tasty) treat on the floor.   Some amphibians and invertebrates (crayfish) will try to escape during rainy periods as that is when they typically migrate to other locations. My newt would only try to escape when we took him to our cottage when the water body was nearby. At

Infusoria are probably the best first food for really tiny fish fry that hatch from eggs. If you are planning to breed egg layers, they are a must! Infusoria can also be added to daphnia cultures as a source of food for them too. Start your cultures at least a week before you plan to breed to make sure you have the food ready for your fry. Most fry don't eat the first few days so that will give you about 10 days to get your infusoria cultures well-established.   What Are Infusoria? Remember back to grade 6 when you peeked through a microscope to see what lives in a drop of pond water? You probably saw microscopic paramecium, amoeba, green euglena, rotifers, etc. Well, those are what make up common infusoria. They are present everywhere in nature. Their eggs float around in the air and when they land on water with a suitable food source, they hatch, feed and multiply.  Various species of infusoria are about 25 to 300 micrometers in length. Tiny! Perfect to fit in the mouth of very s

Microworms are a harmless nematode that make a great food for tropical fish fry like guppies, bettas, and amphibian larvae (newts, salamanders and dwarf African aquatic frogs). They are very easy to culture and provide a good volume of live food once cultures are established.  Materials: starter culture of microworms plastic container like a yogurt or margarine container (I prefer the 500mL size as they take up less storage space) lid with small holes in it culture medium (oatmeal, flaked potatoes etc) paper towel cut to size of the container flat wooden stick like a popsicle stick or tongue depressor (or other small piece of food-safe wood) active baker's yeast (optional) You may notice that yeast is optional! If you are starting with a liquid culture, you do not need active yeast. The yeast is just to start brand new cultures that don't have any food for the worms. Once you have a live culture, the tiny amount of media you have them in will start the bacteria, fungi and yeast

Learn how easy it is to attract and collect FREE fish food! Pot worms that can be found in your yard in the Pacific Northwest (BC, Washington & Oregon) make a great food for guppies, tetras, bettas and many other tropical and cold water fish! All you need is a few flat trays, some water, a turkey baster and small collection container. In the temperate rainforests of the Pacific Northwest they are available from November to April. I don’t know the latin name of these yet, but am searching for it.  I believe they are a type of Annelid (segmented) worm. Will share it here when I find it. 

When you get new fish or plants, small mollusk hitchhikers may come in unnoticed. What is your first reaction? For many hobbyists, it's "Ugh! Get rid of those things!"  I hope this post teaches you to pause and rethink your initial reaction to snails (and other things) we have been taught to be worried about. What are the Concerns About Snails in Aquariums? Let's start with some history. I believe the main concern about snails originated from the commercial food fish industry which also translated into the tropical fish trade. Some types of snails can carry parasites that infect some species of fish. These parasites may reduce the growth and success of commercial food fish produced and in high enough numbers can even kill the fish. One example is the ram's horn snail ( Bolbophorus confusus)   that is eaten by and infects catfish that are then eaten by and live in the intestinal tract of White pelicans. The pelicans release parasite eggs back into the catfish ponds

  Today we are checking up on our guppy maternity tank.  As our young adult females continue to produce babies, it is time to move some of the the hybrid fry and young fish to another tank to grow up. This also gives more room in the maternity tank to reduce stress on the females and babies. Some of the young are starting to show color. They are moved from a 20 gal tank to a 15 gal tank that was a snail and scud (amphipod / side swimmer) tank.  Enjoy! Here'a 10 day update on the guppy fry! 

Of all the things I have made so far, I think this is my favorite! Making mini-crafts are always cool! I love working with the scales. It is like putting a jigsaw puzzle together! I love the rich brown wood texture of the scales. And I find it oddly soothing to pull the scales apart from the pine cones! Kind of like popping little packing bubbles. Here we go!  Materials: sharp scissors glue gun and glue sticks acrylic paint (red, silver) (optional) paintbrush (optional) glitter glue (optional) rings about 7cm-8 cm (3 inches) in diameter (some examples are a canning lid, the rubber from a canning lid, a ring cut out of cardboard, an expired glow in the dark bracelet (from the dollar store) about 40 pine cones scales per mini wreath-scales with patterns on the inside work well if you plan to leave the wreaths natural color. Step 1 Collect and lay out your materials. Step 2 Lay out the scales around your ring. This gives you an idea of how many you need and how you might arrange them. I u

If you are interested in raising guppies, there are a few things to know that can reduce or even eliminate them eating the babies in the first few weeks after they are born. This goes well beyond providing them with a breeders box, which is often a cramped space and may actually contribute to the mother's eating the young. If instead, you look at the basic needs of guppies in detail, that can help!  Guppies, like all other animals (mammals, birds, reptile, fish etc) need food, water, shelter and space in the right balance to survive and thrive. When these things are not balanced to the needs of the fish, they can be a significant cause of stress. Genetics can also play a role. Let's look at these factors in detail. Space: Make sure you have a tank that is large enough for the number and size of guppies that you have and will have in the future. If it is not large enough for future population, then have other tanks ready to transfer the growing or adult guppies to.  One thing I

Look at the lovely natural texture in this pine cone scale star! A nice addition to any tree. Great for anyone who likes to do jigsaw puzzles!  Materials: pre-cut pine cone scales (removed from cone stem)  piece of flat cardboard or plastic (yogurt lid etc) sharp scissors glue gun glue sticks glitter glue (optional) tacky glue (optional) Step 1 Cut out a 5 point star from cardboard or plastic. I found an outline on Google Images and printed it off in the size I wanted for my star. Then traced the outer edge and cut it out. Mine is about 12 cm (4.5 inches) across. Step 2 Separate out about 100 scales into a pile. Make sure each scale is approximately the same width and length. Making them uniform size makes them easier to fit together.  Step 3 Start by cutting a few of the scale tips off and gluing one scale to each point of the star. Make sure the scale hangs over the edge slightly so the cardboard tip does not show. These are placed so the outside of the scale is side up. Next, glue o

Redwood cones are very useful and flexible as Christmas decorations. They are the perfect size for a smaller tree or to add to the top of a large tree as they are not too heavy. Just painting them can make an effective ball for a tree! Adding some glitter glue adds some sparkle as well! Tip: I paint on a coat of Tacky or white crafter glue to seal in the scent. It can be strong, especially in newer brown cones. To reduce the scent, I will often choose grey weathered cones as they don't have as much scent. This is especially important if you have someone with allergies in the house. Materials: acrylic paint (red, white, green) tacky glue glitter glue paintbrush water cup ribbons (to hang them with). dried redwood (sequoia) cones (with stems is ideal but you can also use a hot gun to glue stems on them.) Step 1:  Collect your materials.  Step 2: Start with painting some solid colors, then coating them with glitter glue. I even left a few natural! Other options: Painting two or three