worms to maintain substrate?

[chrisfraser05]

As in title really, is there a worm you could use in a soil substrate in a tropical tank to aid maintaining/mixing the substate. Also maybe the odd one might make a nice meal for the fish lol

 

[chrisfraser05]

nobody?

 

[ceg4048]

You don't need to mix the substrate. Aquatic sediments have different dynamics than terrestrial sediments therefore worms are not applicable.

The important aspect of aquatic sediments is the population of nitrifying bacteria which detoxifies the sediment. The oxygen level in the sediment supports these bacteria. Healthy plants send oxygen to the roots which then diffuses into the sediment and therefore accomplishes this important function automatically.

Therefore, avoid putting animals in the substrate because they tend to consume and reduce the oxygen levels in the sediment.

Cheers,

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Healthy plants send oxygen to the roots which then diffuses into the sediment and therefore accomplishes this important function automatically.

As Clive says aquatic plants need to be very efficient at maintaining an oxygenated rhizosphere and they have special vessels in the stem, rhizome or root for this purpose. These types of cells are called "aerenchyma", and are another reason why planted aquaria are easier to manage then un-planted ones.

This is from "Long-distance transport of gases in plants: a perspective on internal aeration and radial oxygen loss from roots".

....Diffusivity of gases in water is approximately 10 000 times slower than in air; thus direct exchange of gases between submerged tissues and the environment is strongly impeded. Aerenchyma provides a low-resistance internal pathway for gas transport between shoot and root extremities. By this pathway, O2 is supplied to the roots and rhizosphere, while CO2, ethylene, and methane move from the soil to the shoots and atmosphere. Diffusion is the mechanism by which gases move within roots of all plant species, but significant pressurized through-flow occurs in stems and rhizomes of several emergent and floating-leaved wetland plants. Through-flows can raise O2 concentrations in the rhizomes close to ambient levels....

Having said that, the same thought occurred to me as Chris, and I've tried to obtain some California Black-worm (Lumbriculus variegatus) for this purpose, so far unsuccessfully.

cheers Darrel

 

[chrisfraser05]

thanks for the replies guys.

My thoughts were that the waste and mulm may get mixed better into the substrate instead of building up at the surface and also may help in areas where there is little or no roots.

Prob completely un nesscicary but I'd like to see if anyones done it!

 

[roadmaster]

I like trumpet snails for keeping the substrate turned and to help bring nutrients to the roots.
What they eat on the surface,they excrete in the substrate. They don't eat plants,and if one does not overfeed the tank, their numbers are manageable.
Some Folks despise them ,but they do a pretty good job at preventing dead spots in the substrate and oxygenating same in my view.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

I like trumpet snails for keeping the substrate turned

Yes, I add MTS to all the tanks as well, I've never found any problem with them. They are unusual snails in that they can grow new shell at below pH7, even though a lot of my older ones show considerable shell erosion towards the top of the spires. Ingo Seidel recommends them for cleaning Loricariid eggs, and I've used them as "egg sitters" for Corydoras as well.

cheers Darrel

 

[frothhelmet]

Darrel, could you elaborate on 'cleaning' eggs? You mean eat the fungused ones and leave the rest alone? Why dont MTS eat the good eggs too? Would they eat smaller eggs of say tetras? Many thanks for your input.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

You mean eat the fungused ones and leave the rest alone? Why dont MTS eat the good eggs too? Would they eat smaller eggs of say tetras?

My suspicion is that it is the fungi that they are after (to eat), they are definitely all right with tough eggs like Corydoras catfish (Ian Fuller recommended them) and Killis, or fish that show parental care like plecs or cichlids, I've never had them in with tetra eggs deliberately, but my suspicion would be that they are much more likely to eat the eggs if they were small and single.

I have Planaria in the tanks at the moment, and they definitely pick off any eggs on the glass or hardscape.

This was a thread on Planetcatfish <http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=33665>, "Sidguppy" has kept MTS with Synodontis eggs and he is well known in fish-breeding circles.

cheers Darrel

 

[Tim Harrison]

Is there a worm you could use in a soil substrate in a tropical tank to aid maintaining/mixing the substate.

What about Lumbricus terrestris with aqualungs and spades?