These small animals live on the bottom of youre pond.
They thrive when the water is muddy, and are active
during the evening and night.
A sowbug is a close relativ of the woodlouse and has a striking
ressemblance , but is more flat and has longer antennas.
What does a aquatic sowbug eat?
As a scavenger they eat rotten things, like fallen
leaves of trees and the algae they find on the bottom.
These isopods have gills on the underside and have
the ability to live in very oxygen-depleted environments,
like the bottom of the pond.
cultivating the aquatic sowbug
On the bottom of a basket put a lot of dead
leaves and some mud from a pond. The sow bug
will appeare and can be used as a living food
for salamanders and fishes. It can be combined
with cultivating Daphnia.
The sowbug is a clumsy swimmer too, who swims on one side.
Seen from the underside. This animal is missing 3 legs,
but some months after this photo has been made it's
still alive.
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