I had caught some snails earlier, as you may have read in this post. However, 3 out of the 5 packages sent either arrived dead or died shortly after. In two of the cases, I have a strong suspicion the PO was at fault. In the third case, Sounguru's package, he thinks that there may be something in the tank that killed them, either some kind of metal or chemical, or low oxygen. So, he and I decided to give it another go. So, out I went today, as I had plenty of time today. Sounguru asked me to take pictures, so I have obliged.
Now begins my not that exciting snail collecting photo collection.
Here is the site as the Susquehanna river, from the warmth and safety of my car. The weather lately has been rainy, so it's muddy and the river is up higher than last week. I didn't want to wait though, because I'm gonna be gone for a week starting this Saturday or Sunday to help a friend move to Tennessee.
Ahh, behold the beauty of the modern river. The bubbling scum piles...
Dead fish...
And rusting junk. :shakehead:
Here is the view beside the river. Not too bad.
Looking into the water.
The pleurocerids in their natural environment. Do you see the two snails here?
Another pleurocerid.
See the fish here? I thought he was dead at first, then I saw his gills moving. So, I did what anyone with a net would do... I tried to catch it. And missed. Darn. I think he must be sick or dying though, because I was on top of him, and he didn't move till the net touched him. Even then, he didn't move that fast. My net was just waaay to small. This guy was probably a foot and a half.
So, Dying fish: 1, Biomajorstudent: 0
It was muddy. I had better get some serious love vibes from you, Sounguru! :evil_lol: Got my hiking boots all muddy, but that's what they are made for.
Must be some oil in the water... lots of roads around here. This water is pretty nasty.
The afor mentioned dead fish (not the dying one, this is a different fish). I took it out of the water to see what kind it was. Then again, I stink at IDing fish, so who knows. Anyone? I would have saved it for the bugs, but I didn't have an extra bucket, so it will be scavenger chow.
Agghh! It's dying fish again! I grabbed my net, again. And missed, again. Unfortunately, my net is about half the size of the fish, so my chances were not good. :silly:
Final Score: Dying fish; 2, Biomajorstudent; 0
I think these were mostly Physa spp., leaving little mulm trails.
I think this may be one of the pleurocerids, leaving a mulm trail.
Large print left in the mud on a rock. I'm willing to bet it was a Great Blue Heron, one of my favorite birds.
So, I was done snail hunting, but now I was thirsty. Time for a lime slush!:grinyes:
Then I got home, and got a better look in the bucket. And then, I said some bad words that won't be repeated here.:swear: Somehow, I caught some fish fry when I was netting snails. You can see them here, kinda clearish bodies with big eyes. Unfortunately, I think they will probably die, as I was not that gentle with my netting, seeing as how I though I was getting snails. So, I feel bad for them, but it's really too late to do much.
Now I have the bucket sitting outside, and I am drip acclimating them with some StressCoat conditioned water. I'm hoping if I clean them off a bit, they will ship better. My theory behind that is that the mulmy nastiness may rot slightly in packaging, releasing ammonia and other nasty byproducts. We'll see.
Now begins my not that exciting snail collecting photo collection.
Here is the site as the Susquehanna river, from the warmth and safety of my car. The weather lately has been rainy, so it's muddy and the river is up higher than last week. I didn't want to wait though, because I'm gonna be gone for a week starting this Saturday or Sunday to help a friend move to Tennessee.
Ahh, behold the beauty of the modern river. The bubbling scum piles...
Dead fish...
And rusting junk. :shakehead:
Here is the view beside the river. Not too bad.
Looking into the water.
The pleurocerids in their natural environment. Do you see the two snails here?
Another pleurocerid.
See the fish here? I thought he was dead at first, then I saw his gills moving. So, I did what anyone with a net would do... I tried to catch it. And missed. Darn. I think he must be sick or dying though, because I was on top of him, and he didn't move till the net touched him. Even then, he didn't move that fast. My net was just waaay to small. This guy was probably a foot and a half.
So, Dying fish: 1, Biomajorstudent: 0
It was muddy. I had better get some serious love vibes from you, Sounguru! :evil_lol: Got my hiking boots all muddy, but that's what they are made for.
Must be some oil in the water... lots of roads around here. This water is pretty nasty.
The afor mentioned dead fish (not the dying one, this is a different fish). I took it out of the water to see what kind it was. Then again, I stink at IDing fish, so who knows. Anyone? I would have saved it for the bugs, but I didn't have an extra bucket, so it will be scavenger chow.
Agghh! It's dying fish again! I grabbed my net, again. And missed, again. Unfortunately, my net is about half the size of the fish, so my chances were not good. :silly:
Final Score: Dying fish; 2, Biomajorstudent; 0
I think these were mostly Physa spp., leaving little mulm trails.
I think this may be one of the pleurocerids, leaving a mulm trail.
Large print left in the mud on a rock. I'm willing to bet it was a Great Blue Heron, one of my favorite birds.
So, I was done snail hunting, but now I was thirsty. Time for a lime slush!:grinyes:
Then I got home, and got a better look in the bucket. And then, I said some bad words that won't be repeated here.:swear: Somehow, I caught some fish fry when I was netting snails. You can see them here, kinda clearish bodies with big eyes. Unfortunately, I think they will probably die, as I was not that gentle with my netting, seeing as how I though I was getting snails. So, I feel bad for them, but it's really too late to do much.
Now I have the bucket sitting outside, and I am drip acclimating them with some StressCoat conditioned water. I'm hoping if I clean them off a bit, they will ship better. My theory behind that is that the mulmy nastiness may rot slightly in packaging, releasing ammonia and other nasty byproducts. We'll see.
