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Rather, my goal is for 100% customer success and if possible, make our products "customer-proof!" So how do you protect customers against themselves?Overfeeding is a chronic problem. Almost every beginner tends to over-feed aquariums and Micro-Lobster Breeder Tanks! I'm told that it's human behavior to filter out information and hear only what you want to hear. Some say I should just accept it, set a price to provide information to clean, recycle, and provide more opae'ula to restock the tank. That may be good business but it goes against my principles.
We will follow the same strategy that we used in creating True Indoor Bonsai as the most successful gift bonsai for anyone who can grow houseplants. We came up with three rules for success:
1. Grow only plants that will grow well for you in your environment (or change your environment to meet the needs of your plant). We know most people prefer to grow indoors and we did a huge amount of research and trials to identify the ideal plants. We found that even ficus required more light than normally available indoors. So we primarily recommend Dwarf Schefflera, Pachira, and Dracaenas. We stay away from difficult plants because we don't want customers to kill plants! Opae'ula have extraordinary survival traits, ship well, have limited requirements, and are long-lived!
2. Start with plants with character to avoid the lengthy period requiring the most skill. People want beautifully trained trees and they want it now! In the case of bonsai workshops, the reality is that the results can only be as good as the potential quality that is already present before the workshop begins. As we educate, more understand and accept that you get what you pay for! In a similar manner, we will ship complete units that have several "fail-safe" features!
3. For optimum results, provide optimum growing conditions and optimum care! We've done two of the crucial steps to successfully create bonsai. Fuku-Bonsai offers the finest value products with extensive information, website resources, and personalized assistance via email or phone.
So how do we protect customers against themselves? Sometimes it's frustrating. Some totally insist that "they followed the instructions EXACTLY!" But when I ask for details, they've done the exact opposite! Reluctantly, I've come to agree with my friend that: "It's human behavior to filter out information and hear only what they want to hear."
I think it's also human behavior to think (or reason) that there's no way that Micro-Lobsters can survive on such a tiny amount of food! So they feed a little extra, thinking that they are "being good" to their pets!
Sometimes they can get away with it for a long time due to the opae'ula's extraordinary ability to survive and because of the features built into Fuku-Bonsai's Micro-Lobster Breeding Tanks. But even these are not enough to off-set chronic excessive over-feeding! Here are two steps towards making your Breeder Tank "crash-proof!"
1. Add an airstone behind the main aquascape and background. And,
2. Consider periodic water exchanges.
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I reluctantly provide these recommendations as the essence and the
attractiveness of the Micro-Lobster units are the very easy-care
features.
In researching the issue, I value the recommendation of Thomas Iwai, Jr., the lead researcher at Anuenue Fishery Research Center (Hawaii Department of Land & Natural Resources; Division of Aquatic Resources. He writes: |
" A proper aeration system in a reproductive system will help to maintain beneficial aerobic bacteria that will metabolize the harmful waste products (ammonia and nitrite) that could create problems. High nutrient levels (largely caused by overfeeding) will result in increased algae growth since the bacteria is unable to keep up with the amount of nutrients being generated (murky water); thus an algal bloom or excessive algae growth is likely to occur.
A minimal level of maintenance is required to ensure a “healthy” system (e.g. proper feeding, occasional cleaning of the glass, removal of excessive algae, opae'ula biomass density, lighting, etc.). In other words, the less feeding that is done, the cleaner the tank and water will be. The more feeding that is done, the more maintenance will be required. If the maintenance is not done, then problems are likely to arise. "
That's how to protect customers against themselves!
For those who tend to over-feed, here's how to "crash-proof" your Breeder Tank. You will need the following items that should be available at your nearest pet store:
1. Air pump: The smallest size available from your pet store.
2. Air tubing: About 24" long.
3. Air stone: With fine bubbles of the type recommended for use with your air pump.
4. Air check valve: To prevent water from backing up into your air pump. (This is not necessary if you can position the air pump on a shelf above the tank.)
5. Two-way valve: This will allow you to bleed air to adjust the air flow in your tank. Most air pumps are made for 10-gallon aquariums which may produce too much air in the 1/2-gallon or 3/4-gallon Breeder Tanks. Bleeding the air is preferable to putting a flow-restrictor valve in-line as this will create back pressure and cause the air pump to wear out faster.
6. Small fine aquarium net.
7. Brackish water. Ask your full-service pet shop to mix up brackish water to a salinity of 1.005 to 1.010 specific gravity and follow instructions below to also utilize "old water."
A BRACKISH WATER OPTION: FUKU-BONSAI BRACKISH WATER CONCENTRATE NOW AVAILABLE!
FUKU-BONSAI'S BRACKISH WATER CONCENTRATE is designed to produce our proprietary water chemistry without the expense of shipping the actual water component. This savings is due to the general availability of "distilled water" everywhere. Distilled water is preferable to any other type of water and it is relatively uniform everywhere and generally available in supermarkets. A gallon is usually $2 or less. It is possible that tap water, bottled water, reverse osmosis water, softened water, or other forms of water may work but these are not recommended until and unless you can get a knowledgeable person to test and guarantee that the water will be suitable.
Many problems are due to the use of improper water and our Brackish Water Concentrate was developed to prevent such problems while still protecting our proprietary water chemistry. It includes minerals and additives as well as other items commonly found in "instant ocean" or artificial salts for marine aquariums. One standard packet of Fuku-Bonsai's Brackish Water Concentrate is pre-measured for use with one gallon of distilled water. Precise measurements are given for proper formulation to mix as little as one cup of brackish water. Properly used, it will produce brackish water that is within our recommended salinity range.
Consider a majority water change at the time of this conversion as well periodic future partial water changes. This is standard aquarium maintenance technique that is not as needed for Micro-Lobster tanks due to opae'ula traits and the features incorporated into our tanks. However, if the goal is to provide the very highest optimum long-term water quality, consider changing one cup every 3 months.
PROCEDURAL STEPS FOR RETRO-FITTING A SUB-GRAVEL AERATION FILTER SYSTEM
1. Drill a 1/4" hole in the cover between the light holder and edge of the cover rim.
2. Pre-mix 1/2-gallon (for a BT-1 tank) or 3/4-gallon (for a BT-2 tank) of Fuku-Bonsai Brackish Water Concentrate with distilled water per label instructions. This should be done at least one hour before and again stirred vigorously before starting the retro-fit.
3. Pour off one cup of "old tank water" and reserve and set aside for later adding back into the tank.
4. Empty out the remainder of the tank by steadily pouring out ALL contents of your tank into a clean plastic container. This means everything in one steady motion until all water, gravel, and Micro-Lobsters are in the container. If a few Micro-Lobsters are still in the tank, add a little water back, swirl and pour into the container. Pour back some water and using the cleaner stick, clean the walls of the tank and discard the dirty water (making sure there are no Micro-Lobsters in it).
5. Install the airstone and replace the gravel. Thread a airtube through the hole in the cover and attach an airstone. Position the airstone on the bottom between the central aquascape and background. With a clean large plastic spoon, scoop out the gravel and place behind the central aquascape and background as high as possible over the airstone, keeping the front of the tank empty of gravel. The variation of high and low adds to the aesthetics. Even without the airline, if the gravel is stacked up high on one side, there is sufficient circulation to prevent anaerobic conditions from developing. The airline assures this will not happen and makes the unit crash-proof.
6. Pour in the reserved one cup of "old tank water" and complete filling with the new water created from the Brackish Water Concentrate and distilled water. Fill to about 1" below the bottom of the light unit. When using air, it is necessary to keep the water level a little lower and to periodically clean off built-up salt from the light unit.
7. Net and replace the Micro-Lobsters into the tank. Pour water from the water containing the Micro-Lobsters through a small fine net. If you stop occasionally to count before adding to the tank, you can tally up a population count (including making an estimate of the number that were still hiding in the central aquascape). To add to the tank, turn the net upside down and from the top, press the net so the Micro-Lobsters will touch the tank water for them to swim into the tank.
8. Turn on the air and adjust to a minimum amount. The more air that you bleed off, the lower the amount of air bubbles in the tank. Only a tiny amount is needed. Observe the actions of the Micro-Lobsters. Do they seem energized and more active? Are they scurrying around checking out their new retro-fitted habitat?
DISCUSSION AND RATIONALE
Fuku-Bonsai Micro-Lobster Breeder Tanks were designed for minimum maintenance but requires very low light and minimum feeding. The retro-fitting of a sub-gravel aeration system will make the unit more "crash-proof" as it will increase the bacteria population to be able to handle more waste products (including more uneaten food). But there are limits to what it can do and it is still necessary to try to feed only what can be eaten in an hour or two.
Consider the addition of a sub-gravel aeration filtration system as "insurance" to maintain research specimens on a long-term basis. The other super-insurance is to change about 1 cup of water every 3 months. Use distilled water and add enough artificial ocean salt to hit a range of 1.005 to 1.010. Opae'ula can handle much lower salinity but we recommend this level to assure mosquito larvae don't develop. Opae'ula can also handle a higher ocean salinity (1.032 specific gravity) but this is not recommended as we have observed that opae'ula are most abundant in lower salinity brackish water.
Adding a sub-gravel aeration filtration system is also a step toward larger captive breeding reproduction. In general, increased reproduction rates will require larger tanks and to date, the successful research was conducted in 10-gallon tanks. We believe that those with optimum largest reproduction as their goals use 10-gallon or large tanks. In the future, Fuku-Bonsai will make available critical components including pre-inoculated Breeding and Bacteria Habitats and bulk certified specific varietal opae'ula broodstock, along with premium Micro-Lobster food, Brackish Water Concentrate, and resource materials. Customer will obtain their own tanks, aeration system and distilled water.
But for schools or educational institutions, a 10-gallon unit is too large and must be permanently installed. Instead, we are developing a 2.5-gallon Captive Breeding Package. We may also have a 5-gallon Captive Breeding Package. Other educational plans are in the works and there may be other answers! Stay tuned! ~~~David
*** Go to Captive Breeding Package (2.5-gallon educational and research unit)