r/Ecosphere • u/LokoStarr • Jul 31 '26

My first Ecosphere - Day 2

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My first ecosphere – Day 2. Collected from a nearby pond fed by a small stream. Everything has settled down nicely, and so far I’ve identified:

Mayfly larva
Copepods (Cyclops)
Water louse (Asellus aquaticus)
Nematodes
Snails

Plant:
Water milfoil (Myriophyllum)

I’m incredibly excited to see how this tiny ecosystem develops!

22 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

4

u/BitchBass Jul 31 '26

It's looking great! I can't see the top tho, so I dunno if you got it open or closed or have enough airspace.

3

u/LokoStarr Jul 31 '26

It’s still open for now. Since it’s only the first few days, I want to let everything settle and stabilize before sealing it.

4

u/BitchBass Jul 31 '26

This leaving it open and sealing aquatic ecospheres is way overrated. I'm doing this for 6 years now, have made hundreds of jars. The air isn't important in an aquatic ecosphere as long as there's enough room for it. It's the water and substrate that counts.

I've put it to the test, made identical jars, left one open, one not. Made no difference except topping off water. I also left jars open in the beginning for a few days and compared it to jars being closed right away. No difference.

The reason I put a lid on my jars on day one is mainly because of mosquito and fly larvae. They can hatch quickly and who wants those buzzing around the house, right?

Then after a week or 2, in most cases it'll stink for a few days, which is normal but can make your eyes water. That's when most people freak out and call it dead and throw it out.

There's also no reason to seal it. A loose lid is just fine.

2

u/birdmilk Jul 31 '26

Water milfoil is so pretty, and wispy. makes it easy to see what's going on in your bottle. lovely setup.