Im a beginner in this topic. This jar is is my first one and almost a year old. All life that i saw moving inside the jar died within a few weeks. I also noticed a lot of bubbles getting stuck on the layer of duckweed and other plant material on the top. Is this still saveable or should i throw it out and redo it?
by Jojodaisuke
8 Comments
If nothing else, I think I still see some blue-green algae. Otherwise, it looks pretty dead.
Edit: it was taken from a swampy area, if that information is important.
I mean technically it is because there is still algae. It could bounce back in a while, you never know
It looks close to dead, if not dead. I’d probably want to start anew. What would you do differently the second time around?
My first jar just surpassed 11 months and I have a ton of critters and plants still going very, very strong. I took from a similar, swampy environment. Maybe you didn’t have enough plants???
technically no, as there are algae and bacteria living here. But if you wanted an ecosystem with visible animals then this ecosphere is on the verge of death, however, you may still have eggs from some animals that are waiting for conditions to improve to hatch, this is quite common, just wait.
Likely asphyxiated. Maybe endure some surface area for water to at least get a minimal gas exchange
That bubble build-up under the surface layer gunk is not good. I would definitely start by scooping that out and resealing. Then, if you wait, some lifeforms may yet appear.
If you can still see live in it (copepods, snails, etc) it may still be good, you could also do a smell test, if it doesn’t smell like the swamp it came from and it smells like sewage then it may be dead, if it does smell like the swamp it came from (or a more natural smell) it could be saveable