hi my little boy is getting interested in insects, he also likes to make a few flies.
can anyone recomend a tank to house a few aquatic insects in?
i can't find anything narrow enough to make viewing easy.
thanks, dave

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smellynets.blogspot.com

Hello Dave,

just posted an answer in Paul's thread about his site :

Mayfly in the Classroom website

You'll find an easy and cheap one to make there.

Best regards,
Johan

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Johan Janssens

Thank you Johan, very helpful link.
good luck with your own projects too.
all the best , dave

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smellynets.blogspot.com

My kids like to see the results of a few early Spring kick samples crawl about too (yeah, like I'm not remotely interested!). In the past I have used a small critter pen (little cheap plastic tank), a ten inch glass tank and even a used Ferro Roche box. I put an airstone at one end to oxygenate the water and to create a strong flow - without this and unless you can keep the water quite cold by keeping the tank outside most of the time I find that the inhabitants start to die off. Baetis nymphs seem to be the most delicate, followed by Gammerus shrimps. Stone clingers of various types, Hydropsyche nymphs and Rhyacs all seem to be pretty hardy. The Baetis nymphs start to hatch off if things get warm (as you would expect I suppose) if they don't die off first. I put in plenty of substrate from the river and normally find plenty of interesting stuff comes out of that too. I haven't found the bigger tanks to be a problem in terms of seeing stuff, and indeed my kids like to poke around with a stick to uncover the inhabitants. As in fishkeeping, the larger the volume of water the more stable the water chemistry and temperature tends to be.

Happy creepy crawly keeping!

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strikealight


Dynamite fishing is always effective.

hi, got a tank . a pen pals plastic tank, it has a secure lid so if we get a "hatch" my better half wont have a fit. it was £6 from pets at home. spent more on an led light! it wont warm the water up too much i thought.
it has a hole to take an air line. i might get a very small internal filter, it should help. they will be very spoilt insects indeed....Smallworld Pump and Filter Kit by Penn Plax | Pets at Home
has anyone witnessed a hatch of corixa? not the best pilots but an interesting sight. a friend who works at a trout lake has been given instructions by my 5 year old to catch us some shrimp and damsel nymphs!
thanks for all the help, will let you know if it becomes a success.
cheers, dave

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smellynets.blogspot.com

Hi Dave,

you and your son are going to see some wonderful things like this:




Be sure you keep a camera nearby, it's worth it!


all the best,
Johan

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Johan Janssens

hi Johan, nice video. reminded me of the first time i witnessed a large mayfly hatch on Pickering beck in Yorkshire, amazing. hope my son gets to see such a marvelous sight.
atb, dave

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smellynets.blogspot.com