Microfauna Biodiversity in your Freshwater Aquarium

A diverse population of microfauna is critical for the balancing of any freshwater aquarium ecosystem. Simply put, the more microscopic life you have in your tank the better! Here you will see just a few of creatures that make their home at Phillips Fish Works. We are constantly taking samples from our fish breeding system, microfauna tanks and scum jars looking to see what's swimming around. In this video you will see Ostracods "seed shrimp", Daphnia "water flea", Amphipods "scud shrimp", Gastrotrich, Cyclops "copepod", Vorticella, Stentor, Paramecium, Amoeba and many more.
If you spend some time observing these microscopic lifeforms you will see they are all participating in a seesaw balancing act. Over time populations of different microorganisms will rise and fall eventually resulting in a stable balanced aquarium. This balance is greatly supported by the introduction of new microfauna into the tank. These new microscopic creatures add to the biodiversity which given time will help the stability of the ecosystem.
#naturalaquarium #freshwateraquarium #plantedaquarium #microfauna #naturetank #microorganisms

[BobyChanMan]

Not that long ago finding info like this was a tall order. Concepts like this weren't being showcased and talk about outside of close knit hobby groups and academic circles. Thank you for teaching people this, this should be core knowledge for anyone who wants to get in to this hobby.

[robofreak]

Seeing living microfauna for the first time in the tank is a great feeling. I wish they were a little bigger so it's easier to tell which one they are, but then they wouldn't be MICROfauna anymore.

[JasonyBee]

This guy is the real deal. Hes doing it for the hobby🎉❤❤

[ReignBeauofTerror]

I'm so glad I found you, and I can't wait to get your insect bag for my aquarium!

[RockhillfarmYT]

Biodiversity is definitely the key to any ecosystem

[gavinmelton]

Quality content, love how passionate you are when talking about it.

[gibbieraven]

01:49, Profound words of wisdom (along with such an informative video). Thank You!

[abelarredondo]

Thank you for showing the different kinds of organisms

[sherryjarecki]

I wish u would of said the names of each micro!!! Im trying to find out what the stem crown white plant looking things is called. Ive looked under a micro scope of a lot of stuff you showed but dont know what all the names of them are. I like the rotifer . I think they are cool

[boiboi]

i just got into the aquarium hobby and honestly i’m having more fun sucking up microbes with a pipette and looking at them under my microscope😅

[RoyIMVU]

I want to start a shrimp tank and have had freshwater moss growing nicely and was worried when I noticed these small creatures. After doing some research on these, I find some are actually beneficial

[lacreiataylor]

Love your page...but can you do videos on when and how to introduce them to your tank? And how much for the size tank vs the amount of fish to not eat the population to quick

[robertbaker]

Excellent! Still trying to figure out to keep some of these things going. Had some seed shrimp in a grow out tank and have now now. Do have scuds and works well as fry grow.

[FreexNgeex]

I wish we could show each other our set ups and talk about methods. Loved the video btw

[skarr]

The editing and music on this video is so eerie lmao

[mlgaleks]

Get some water and plants from a pond and add it to your aquarium thats how you do it

[mcjigger]

Hey, thanks for sharing your knowledge.. I have 8.0 - 8.3 ph tank, is it too alkaline for scuds / cyclops / daphnia ?

Second question, do you just put dry leave right away to the tank, or you have some process beforehand?

[babykrishu]

Can i add even if my resurrection jar is stinking??

[AquaticDomain]

How would you go about adding biodiversity to a african cichlid mbuna tank? It's a 120g with a 20g long sump. Do you recommend removing sponge filter on intake and converting to a refugium? I am trying to run my light extra time to give them a good supply of algae with pretty good success. What would be the ideal sump/fuge setup? Should it be more like a saltware fuge?

[Jay]

Question. Can micro fauna establish themselves over time or do they need to be added???? If the first one is true, how do they get there???