Within this tank lives a miniature world. There are predators and prey. Wind and rain. This desert is a dangerous place but despite all odds, some animals have evolved to survive it transformed from an empty Wasteland to a thriving ecosystem to understand the Mysteries Within first we must go back to day one it all started when I got the tank some materials and a whole lot of cacti I proceeded to mix up some dirt and then build up the substrate After placing in some rock I begin to plant the cacti ouch their spines are extremely sharp and it was a huge pain to plant anything I added in some final touches and the tank was complete this will serve as the foundation for a thriving ecosystem on day three I introduced the first Animals these are called isopods as you can see I have two varieties here clowns and zebras after I place them in they began to search for shelter alongside the isopods I introduced springtails and buffalo beetles these two detrivores will eat pretty much anything they can find All of these tiny bugs will eventually be food for a future predator by day 50 the isopod population began to Boom in the shaded areas of the tank they would form small little herds the juveniles looked almost identical to their adult counterpart here you can even see one shedding its skin While the zebras were thriving the clowns seemed to have disappeared entirely on the other hand the Buffalo beetles were taking over I placed a dead cockroach into the tank to show just how many there were soon there was nothing left but a hollow skeleton they were running rampant and I Needed a predator I needed something deadly something fast something almost as terrifying as my mother-in-law let me introduce you to the Dune scorpion he is a vicious predator and will make short work of a beetle or isopod do you see that tiny white drop on a stinger well that is a Potent Venom and I have to be extremely careful I picked him up and prepared to place him into the tank after a gentle love tap he took his very first step into the new world scorpions are Almost completely blind so they don’t use their eyes to get around within just a few minutes he managed to take down a buffalo beetle with a full stomach he began to search for a place to burrow after a few hours his burrow was complete and it just looked like an ordinary hole but If we look underground we can see it is so much more it is his home [Applause] [Music] he would spend most of his time here but as day turned to night he would emerge under ultraviolet light he will glow a radioactive green On day 60 I realized the Scorpion wasn’t going to be enough The Beatles were breeding faster than the Scorpion could eat them I needed to add competition meet the blue death fainting Beetle this is no ordinary bug they have three super powers first off they make their own sunscreen This white powder on their shell will protect them from the Desert Sun secondly they have a huge abdomen to store water kind of like a camel they can last for ages without any water at all but if a predator tries to eat them that’s where its third superpower comes into play they are Indestructible their thick armor will protect them from sandstorms and strong Desert Winds I added them into the tank and immediately one was making a fatal mistake he wandered towards the Scorpion burrow and then down inside he was walking towards his Doom air was a stalemate the Beetle made his move He tapped the Scorpion and then retreated deeper into his burrow foreign gave the beetle a gentle push and then made his journey back to the surface that was a close call I decided to let them be overnight As the sun began to rise something extremely rare was about to happen it was rainy season and one of the few storms of the entire year was about to commit foreign began to flood as the storm faded away animals began to emerge the rain brought new life to the Desert landscape this Rose of Jericho opened its leaves after receiving water by day 63 the Water Area was teeming with life hundreds of tiny eggs that laid dormant in the sand began to hatch the pond was swarming with these tiny white dots that were going to become something incredible Meanwhile on land I figured it was time to introduce a new animal here is a Mexican jumping bean and here are 30 more these are not what they seem after I added them in they began to dance They seemed to roll around mindlessly but each one is on a mission find shelter they jump to escape the desert heat it didn’t take long for them to huddle under whatever they could find now inside every Bean lives a caterpillar one day they will emerge into a beautiful little moth foreign by Day 72 Life In The Water had grown substantially these little white Crustaceans are called fairy shrimp they glide through the water filtering out whatever food they could find in the shadows lives an animal much larger and less delicate than the fairy shrimp meet the triumph [Music] I put one on my fingers so you can get a sense of scale they look completely prehistoric they look to be thriving now but there is a problem every day the water level got lower and lower the Desert Sun was quickly drying up their little pond Foreign day 81 the pond was almost dried up but life was more active than ever many of the triops were carrying bundles of eggs and needed to find a safe place to lay them here you can see a female carefully digging her nest She would lay her eggs in this hole and they won’t hatch until the following rainy season the fairy shrimp had also laid their eggs and their life cycle was reaching the end only a few days later the pond had dried up completely the rows of Jericho had closed and Life seemed bare but after closer inspection you will notice hundreds of tiny eggs waiting for the next time life was booming but it was time to introduce a new Predator this animal will easily find her way to the top of the food chain let me introduce you to the bearded dragon I’m just kidding she’s way too big for this tank but I have many more projects on the way so do me a favor and 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This video, titled ‘Simulating a Desert for 100 Days’, was uploaded by Dr. Plants on 2023-02-18 16:18:33. It has garnered 23822243 views and 493824 likes. The duration of the video is 00:08:48 or 528 seconds.
#ecosystem #paludarium #vivarium Scorpions, Death Feigning Beetles, Mexican Jumping Beans, and so much more! Over the past 100 days, I documented my little chunk of the desert. Watch as it transforms from a barren wasteland into a thriving ecosystem!
