AquaAliens Questions

[andrewjfrosenbaum579]

If you need some info about the newest little aliens to come to Littleaussieproducts so far then feel free to ask some stuff or answer some stuff!

[andrewjfrosenbaum579]

Are the Aqua Aliens ostracod or Conchostraca?
Are they freswater or saltwater?
How big do they get?
Are they edible?
They don't look very nutritious.
Where did you find them?

They look a lot like Don's AUSSIE CLAM SHRIMP. But for some reason the water got all stinky and smelt like that sort of paint that smelt like . . . .well . . .poop.

Also, the walking stick was a mayfly larvae.

[UncleBodman]

They are a Conchostracan
Fresh water
These ones get a little less than 1 cm or 1/2 inch
Haven’t tried but they might be nice on toast
No all shell and no meat
They are a south east Queensland Species

[andrewjfrosenbaum579]

Cool

I'm going to buy some if they are available.
If I Have lots then I'll see about putting them in with my triops.
They have a hard shell so nothing to worry about, right?

[BillabongBug]

I was thinking about the same thing (triops with aqua aliens). They look so energetic and vigorous on the video. Wouldn't they be able to run away from a billabong bug?
Triops are awsome and all that but they don't look like a predator that would chase a little clam . And it has a shell!! If a triops will get maybe one and you have a lot of them in the tank you don't notice it. So is it worth a try?
I bet our great administrator, Mr. John Bodman tried that before and would have a great explenation

[andrewjfrosenbaum579]

YES!
Getting some on Friday!
Hey, what temperature are the aliens best in?
Should I put them in with your BillabongBugs I'm ordering as well or should I put them in with my T. Cancriformis?
The vernal pool by the tennis courts is all dried up.
I tried looking for the big lake that was on the amp but it was blocked off and lead to a dead end.

[andrewjfrosenbaum579]

Sorry about the posting issue.

Did you give a kit to Don Dasis?
When he gave me a kit 'AUSSIE CLAM SHRIMP' all of the packaging was the same.
The conditioner was the same, the detritus with the eggs were the same, the food was the same and even the instructions were the same but he changed it a little making it in the non metric system and some different words.
Did you give him your product to sell?
He also just changed the 'eggs' to clam shrimp and food to clam shrimp food.

I think the stink was because I only used a 600 mL container.

[UncleBodman]

I think the stink was because I only used a 600 mL container.

That would be one issue yes, because it will cause pollution unless you use the correct volume that is written in the instructions.

When I tried hatching my AUSSIE CLAMSHRIMP they didn't hatch and the water stank like sulfur.
I think it may be the water conditioner.
Mr. Bodman, what do you have to say?

When you say sulpherish smell it immediately makes me think that you put all of the conditioner in the tank.(there is a sulphur compound in the conditioner) In the instructions it says to use 1 level scoop. And there are enough scoops in there to do 50 or so water changes so if that is what has happened your looking at very large over dose.

[UncleBodman]

I was thinking about the same thing (triops with aqua aliens). They look so energetic and vigorous on the video. Wouldn't they be able to run away from a billabong bug?
Triops are awsome and all that but they don't look like a predator that would chase a little clam . And it has a shell!! If a triops will get maybe one and you have a lot of them in the tank you don't notice it. So is it worth a try?
I bet our great administrator, Mr. John Bodman tried that before and would have a great explenation

The main problem is the size of the tank and the Triops grow so much larger. Eventually the Triops in a hungry mood will catch one and eat it. Also even if they do have a protective jacket. Probably evolved to be protected from such things as Triops in the wild they are very soft just after they shed their skin. That is the time the Triops are likely to go for them and then well its only a matter of time before they all disappear. You've got to remember in the temporary water habitat of the vernal pool the Triops is the top of the food chain.

[BillabongBug]

Ok, one question on an unrelated topic:
Who is Don Dasis

Another thing in that clam shrimp lay eggs just like triops, that need to dry out and wait for a period of time, right? But can they reproduce without the drying part (like sea dragons)??
Ohh, I need to finally get some. I'm still thinking about what to order and I have a limited budget
Does the economy pack include the meteorite?

[andrewjfrosenbaum579]

Don dasis is a fan of triops and owns a large variety of triops and lepidurus.
He sometimes sells some eggs on ebay.

The meteorites are included in the package.
I don't remember much about my clam shrimp any more but I found the whole package of conditioner from the clam shrimp don sold me.

You also forgot to include the scoop in my aqua aliens package.
I had to guess an amount of conditioner and I think I put too much in.
I only used a quarter of the eggs.
Can they go without the conditioner?

I'll look for my old seamonkey scoop and use the big scoop.
Did your instructions say to only put one level scoop of eggs and detritus?
And by polluting the water with detritus do you mean chemical pollution or protozoa pollution or a different pollution?

[UncleBodman]

You also forgot to include the scoop in my aqua aliens package.

Sorry Andrew. the scoop is in the mail for you today. I take it this means you have received your kit today?

I had to guess an amount of conditioner and I think I put too much in.
I only used a quarter of the eggs.
Can they go without the conditioner?

Why would you do this? Sheese my boy!, A little patience is required if you want something to work properly.

I'll look for my old seamonkey scoop and use the big scoop.

Yes the big end is ok but as I said the correct scoop is on its way.

Did your instructions say to only put one level scoop of eggs and detritus?

Yes

And by polluting the water with detritus do you mean chemical pollution or protozoa pollution or a different pollution?

Both. The Bacteria and protozoa will use up the oxygen and produce carbon dioxide suffocating them if the concentration is to high, then the Ammonia and sulphury smells produced by the micro-organisms will kill them as well. One litre tank and no exceptions.

[BillabongBug]

YaY! I finally ordered my Aqua aliens flat pack (and some coco snails)! Now I can't wait for it ... How many working days does it take?
I hope I'l get all my answers from the care manual about the life cycle and all that.
Will the clam shrimp have their own site like the sea monkeys or Billabong Bugs?

[lipkel]

is there any way of breeding these things? is it easy ?

[thorsti]

I was hoping we could see more pictures of these guys. There does not seem to be much at all about them.

[BillabongBug]

I havent seen much pictures but I loved the youtube videos.
http://pl.youtube.com/watch?v=i_hlpnbUdqU
http://pl.youtube.com/watch?v=8IFB_j-9hGE

[thorsti]

Wow!They zip around a lot!

[BillabongBug]

Yeah, they look very energetic! They are smaller that triops but just look at them! I can't wait for mine.

[andrewjfrosenbaum579]

I like my male Aliens. They have these 2 antennae which makes them look real tough.
The females are a bit boring but now they are all dead.
But with hope, there was still one which hides under a rock a lot and avoided being eaten by the billabong bug!
Yay!
I'm going to move the billabong bug to a different tank now.

[andrewjfrosenbaum579]

Ok, this is getting annoying.
I found a whole colony of Aqua aliens in my Billabong bugs tank which failed.
WHY ARE THERE AQUA ALIENS IN MY BILLABONG BUGS TANK!

I keep all my containers even if nothing has hatched just in case something like this happened. I also keep my changed water
The Billabong bugs failed to hatch or I have mistaken the aqua aliens sand for billabong bugs eggs in the container with nothing in it, or I thought nothing was in it
Now I've discovered aqua aliens in my failed billabong bugs hatching tank.

I took some aliens out and put them into my baby fish tank. They swim around chasing the little fish until the fish get angry then the fish start attacking. Very aggressive fish! Luckily the aqua aliens are the same size and they have shells so they are unharmed.

I feed my little baby fish baby brine shrimp and the water get a bit salty so will the aliens survive?
Its very little salt. I put in about 5 drops of brine shrimp water and brine shrimp into the 4 litre tank twice a day.

[BillabongBug]

So eventually the water gets a bit saltier all the time. Unless you do water changes quite often.

[zanman]

Hi.I'm new around these parts and i would like to ask a few questions about my aqua aliens.
How do the aqua aliens hatchlings look like? I have seen little swimming things in my tank but they look like sea- monkey hatchlings i have in my other tank. I think some sea-monkeys got in through my aqua leash (sea-monkeys version of the aqua slurpa) because I also used it to change the water in the tank.
Another question, is the aqua aliens flat pack supposed to come with the meteorites because mine didn't.

[BillabongBug]

If these are sea monkeys then they don't have long to live as they need salt water and the aqua aliens are fresh water.
Time will show what they are.

[zanman]

I had just checked my aqua aliens tank and I didn't see a single moving speck. I guess they were sea monkeys after all.
I wonder why my aqua aliens haven't hatched yet?
I hope they do soon because I'm running out of eggs. Another question, there is some sort of fungus or algae growing in my tank and all the eggs are getting stuck in it, also when I had the hatchlings I fed them, and they didn't eat it so the water is green. Cold these be the problem?

[UncleBodman]

Hi ZanMAn

No, No , Green water is good. It means that there is heaps o algae for the clams to eat that is their favourite food actually. The fungus may be coming from the detritus build up but should not be a problem. As to why they are not hatching I am not totally sure but -

What water are you using? Have you tried adding some of the egg mixture into demineralised water. I have had some people reporting failed hatchings of aliens (clam shrimp) when they are added to their local tap water which I did not estimate to be as hard(dissolved calcium and magnesium carbonate's ) as to stop them hatching. I have to admit my local tap water is not as hard as some places around the world so I have probably made a mistake there, and so am now adding to all new instructions for setting up aqua aliens that they need to be put into demineralised water just like I advise for billabong bugs. Billabong bugs (Triops) are really sensitive to hard water and will not hatch in it. It appears that aqua aliens (clams shrimps are going to need to be added to demineralised water as well so that is the first thing that I’d try just in case your tap water is too hard.

What I’d try is to set up some demineralised water with one scoop of the conditioner and a scoop or two of the clam eggs/detritus mixture.

Also I would carefully siphon of the water in your other tank with most of the wet egg/detritus mixture using a length of air line tubing used for fish tanks but being as careful as possible to avoid sucking up any of the detritus which will most likely have eggs attached to it.
After your old set up has been dry for about one week or two try to rehydrate it with some demineralised water rather tap water and see what happens. I don’t like to endorse brands but anyway ill add that "superior and "wd" demineralised waters available Australia wide at Coles or woollies (in the laundry section near the detergents and such and sold to people that like to iron a lot)are really good brands of water that I use regularly, make sure that you go for one of these brands because I know that they work where rarer types of demineralised water may add strange things that harm them.

[zanman]

thanks for all of your advice, I'll try it straight away!

One more thing, is there a place you cold buy the meteorites because when I got my kit it didn't have any in it. Should I contact Little Aussie products about this because I paid for some?

I just checked Coles today, but I didn't find the brands so I went to safeway and found a brand named wt, is this the same brand?

[zanman]

Oh no! I just checked my new set-up today and I found even more sea monkeys in the aqua aliens new tank. I just put some food in yesterday in case there were any hatclings alive and left it under my lamp for twelve hours and more then six sea monkeys or dragons pop out of nowhere. I'm wondering what's going on. I'm very sad about this because I've waited more than three weeks now and not a single alien hatchling has apeared, and I paid money for this.

[UncleBodman]

HI ZanMan
I’m a little confused by you saying that you have Seadragons in the aqua aliens tank. How did they get there? Baby Aqua Aliens look very much the same when they first hatch out. Maybe you are confusing these hatchling with sea dragons. I guess I just need a little more clarification to answer your question properly.

[zanman]

HI ZanMan
I’m a little confused by you saying that you have Seadragons in the aqua aliens tank. How did they get there? Baby Aqua Aliens look very much the same when they first hatch out. Maybe you are confusing these hatchling with sea dragons. I guess I just need a little more clarification to answer your question properly.

Well.....most of the ones I find are white, but I do see a few red ones now and then. There body's look like up-side down with one little leg out on each side and like light.

[zanman]

I've been thinking about what has been stopping my aqua aliens from hatching and aeration came to my mind. I do put a scoop of food once a week in case some hatched whilst I'm not there. I've heard adding extra food( in my case, uneaten food) can feed bacteria which can suffocate my pets, so I attached a two to three mm wide, sealed the end, and used a safety pin to create tiny holes. I now use it all the time. could they benefit or will this hurt them?

[lipkel]

is there any updates on the care instructions for any of either billabong bugs, sea dragons or aqua aliens????

if so is there anyway you can send them out in like a newsletter to all the little aussie products forums members or something because that would be very helpful especially with new products designed to make ur little tank mates stronger and more efficient

i know this isnt the right place to post this but yeah thought i should just get that of me chest

[BillabongBug]

I don't think there is much changes for the bugs or aliens. There is a new medicine for the sea dragons though. And recently there was a newsletter sent to people and posted on the forum. viewtopic.php?f=10&t=211

[lipkel]

pretty good i think with the newsletter you should also have a link after the name and description of the new stuff to the page where it described/advertised on your website in the newsletter it encourages people buy and it just makes it that little bit easier to get to the thing they want faster

[UncleBodman]

I agree. thanks for your suggestion lipkel

[zanman]

hello again!
I've been away for a while but i have come back from my last post because my aliens have hatched just a few weeks ago.
there's only one problem, in the manual it said to wait for 5 hatchlings, but since the whole packet was in a year ago, i tried to count and got up to twenty and stopped because there were more smaller hatchlings on the side of the tank!

how do i stop this over population?
i also have noticed that they are only growing to the size of about 3mm, there color is a tint of gray and they don't swim around like in the videos.

[UncleBodman]

hello again!
I've been away for a while but i have come back from my last post because my aliens have hatched just a few weeks ago.
there's only one problem, in the manual it said to wait for 5 hatchlings, but since the whole packet was in a year ago, i tried to count and got up to twenty and stopped because there were more smaller hatchlings on the side of the tank!

how do i stop this over population?
i also have noticed that they are only growing to the size of about 3mm, there color is a tint of gray and they don't swim around like in the videos.

It should be fine if you have more than five in there, as long as they are looking healthy and you monitor the level of feeding so as not to cause the water to become polluted you should be fine, perhaps the size is due to not enough food? Are they forming egg pouches yet, if so then they have reached maturity at a smaller size but they should continue to grow somewhat. As far as increased movement it could be due to temperature or paradoxically if they have enough food in the water in the form of microorganism's then they are often content just to park somewhere and rake in the goodness so to speak but they will often be active when it is time to lazy their eggs in the detritus at the bottom of the tank.