On Tue, 25 Jan 2005 00:38:30 GMT, "Larry L"
wrote:

Damnit, Connor,
you've got me convinced I need to spend some time staring at a bug tank.
I'll run into town tomorrow and shop for a tank .... I hope to find a small
Plexiglas one I can travel with in my trailer. I have sampling nets, and a
fair amount of experience using them, so I think I can catch the bugs. I
worry about keeping them alive, after capture and getting them home, but I
bet I manage. In the fishing season, I usually camp in one spot for a
couple weeks at a time, and that appears to be about the expected life, of a
bug tank ... so it should work out OK if I sample a local river when I get
there I'll be ready to dump the contents about the time I want to move on.

Baetis are starting to hatch locally now and will be my first intended
captives .... maybe some midges, of course, .... and Rhithrogena are a real
possibility to be near hatching stage here in NorCal .. Brachycentrus soon

Hehe, I feel like a kid expecting a new toy, as I think about it ....


If you have any bug tank links or suggestions ..... I'm all ears ...ah, eyes
I guess on UseNet

Since I do have a bug tank, this subject caught my attention. I
really enjoy having a tank.

I keep mine in a cool basement with absolutely no cooling devices. I
have found that they aren't needed for Mayfly's, but you will want to
have one for Stones and Caddis. They tend to die off quickly without
one. My primary focus is Mayfly's anyway.

Here are some photo's that I've taken. The majority of these insects
were in my tank and have hatched in my tank.

http://www.njflyfishing.com/photopos...ry.php?cat=505

So here is what I use for my tank. It's a 10 gallon tank with a
filter and has one of those air stones in it. Not sure what it's
called. I have some rocks from the stream and some plants that I
picked up in the local pet shop. I think I may opt for a slightly
larger tank though. It will give me more field to take my photo's in.
For water, I use some stream water and some tap water. This has not
affected the mayfly nymphs, but may have something to do with the
stones and the caddis. I thought Stones and Caddis would be more
adapting to different water, but the mayfly's definetely prevail. Get
some rocks from the stream and add them to the environment. I also
grab some stream debris and place that in the tank as well. Make sure
you place the rocks in such a way where your insects can crawl under
them without them falling. Make sure you place objects in the tank so
that your nymphs (isonychia)/(stonefly)... can crawl out of the water
and hatch onto. Without this, they cannot hatch.

If you're going to take photo's of your insects, I recommend you
placing the tank in such a position where you can spin the tank at
will or place the tank in such a position where you will be able to
get to all sides of the tank.

Get a good handheld flourescent light so you can move it around the
tank to whatever position you like. A flash will come in handy as
long as you know how to use it through a tank. I'm not a professional
photographer, but from my experiences I'm able to take photo's without
having flash spots all over the place.

Overall, I consider myself very successfull with my setup. If you
have any other questions, please feel free to ask here or on the site
mentioned above. I'll try to answer your questions as best I can.

Good luck.

-=Paraleptropy=-
http://www.neflyfishing.net
0 Limit,Catch -n- Release