Coastal Marsh Biotope/Theme

derekparr

Junior Poster
Jan 23, 2005
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Just got back from a trip to Charleston, SC this weekend and came back with some buckets of mud, water, crabs, and some cord grass and other plants from a coastal marsh area north of town.

The plan is to recreate the area in a 5 or 10 gallon tank. Of course all the plants will be emersed or on land.. using driftwood and perhaps stones to keep the mud up high in one end and shallow in the other where the water will be. Further I plan on putting it near a window, so I won't need lighting.

Possibly .. if I have room in the water portion of the tank, I think I might put a par of sailfin mollies or something else that would be happy in the environment. Of course this might require a larger tank for the endeavor. And ideas? thoughts on that?

Frankly I'm looking for any and all opinions on this subject that anyone here may have. And certainly if anyone has messed with this idea or environment.. please share.

thanks.
 

jimjim

Junior Poster
Jan 24, 2005
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Savannah, Georgia,USA
Re: Coastal Marsh Biotope/Theme

Derek; Try the local live bait shops. You'l be surprised at the nice fish, crabs, small squid and such you can get..Jimjim :gw
 

richardsantink

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Apr 3, 2005
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just outside of Ottawa, Ontario
Re: Coastal Marsh Biotope/Theme

Go for it! I have created several similar biotopes in the past, and the main challenges were:
-good circulation. These areas *seem* still in nature, but are in fact not. Make sure you design your layout so that you have good circulation, with a few pockets of relatively slow moving water.

-expect to do complete teardowns and rebuilds every couple of months - the sand/substrate becomes compacted and 'skunky' if you don't. Also, clean, freshly turned sand has the cool 'surf' look! ;)

-5 to 10g is, in my view a bit small to do this successfully for long periods, but that is not to say it can't or shouldn't be done!

Finally, I wasn't too clear on your post what you meant regarding your plants being on land *or* immersed. In the past, I didn't bother with plants in the water ('cept for some type of algae growth I found on a rock), but I think it would definitely add to this type of biotope.

Good luck!

RAS

P.S. Has anyone ever devised a true 'wave-machine' setup to simulate the surf? I've searched and found many links to surge systems, which, although they agitate the water, don't really simulate wave/surf action..
 

Tom Barr

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Jan 23, 2005
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Re: Coastal Marsh Biotope/Theme

I'd do at least 40-50 gal size for this.
Cordgrass needs full intense sun and the substrate will need some time to settle.

Regards,
Tom Barr
 

derekparr

Junior Poster
Jan 23, 2005
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Re: Coastal Marsh Biotope/Theme

I think I might give up on the cord grass. It is a bit of an excessively large plant for a 5gallon ;]

And anything larger isnt an option. No more room in my 2 room apt.

Also, I threw in a couple test fiddler crab, and they managed to escape.. I presume they climbed out by grabbing the glue in the corners. I've seen crayfish do that before. Apparently theres nothing for them to get ahold of in the plastic bin I'm keeping them in now.

But the point is that something high like cord grass is asking for trouble. But I also grabbed this small plant that has psuedo cabomba looking leaves. Real pretty. I'll try to remember to take a photo of it and put it here tonight when i get home from work. So.. my present thinking is to toss the grass, and live the straight and narrow by growing this small ground hugging plant. And then find a lid for this tank.

Still think it would be cool to rig up some tidal system. ie.. water raising and lowering. But the more I think about it.. the more complicated it gets.
 

derekparr

Junior Poster
Jan 23, 2005
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Here's the Plant I've been referring to.

The attached photo is what I got planted in the crab tank..

I found it growing amongst the cord grass and such where i got the mud, plants and of course the crabs.

so far everything seems to be working well.
I haven't rigged up anything to filter or move the water yet.
Still thinking about how I want to do that.
Besides, they spend so much time on land, that I'm not convinced its thaat important. Of course maybe thats why they're on land ;]



"A bunch of other photos I've taken of the tank are at:
http://www.derekparr.com/temp/
Photos 52 thru 65 are of the tank in question.
Other photos there are of native collected fish, plants and stuff I saw on the trip back up from SC, and another tank of mine, and photos of the Yorktown in Charleston where I was suppose to be doing a 2.4 mile open swim, but it got canceled due to the weather. ;/

marshplant01.jpg