Detritus Eaters

[JaredL]

I am looking for some kind of organisms to add to my tank to help break down mulm accumulation on the bottom. I'm not needing to remove this as my nitrates are not a problem. My goal is to break down the detritus further so it can fertilize my substrate.

Substrate is baked clay(oil dry) on top of a plenum, with a fine gravel cap. Planted tank. Inhabitants are Black Phantom Tetras, Harlequin Rasboras, Guppies, Yoyo Loaches, and a Pleco.

I've tried ghost shrimp and small snails, but they got annihilated by tetras and loaches(no surprise). I'm thinking something more like a micro fauna or some kind of worms that might be able to sustain a colony despite some predation by the fish.

I would be very grateful if anybody could share any experience you may have with this.

[Fish Folk]

At your own risk… Malaysian Trumpet Snails. They utterly take over 😂

[Expectorating_Aubergine]

Some good choices that will do what you want are

Ascellus aquaticus 

Trumpet snails (Malaysian, rabbit, etc)

Red wriggler earthworms

I think the most feasible and easiest to get would be the worms. I have tanks with a substrate like yours (drystall and smashed up bricks). I have found that the worms take readily to living in it and breaking down mulm. Also they take a lot of it down with them, without disturbing your plants. Be sure to use the red worms. They can live at higher temps than the larger nightcrawlers. Since earthworms do gas exchange via the skin, being under water is not a problem (as long as the water is oxygenated). I have had these guys in my office tank for about 6 months....

Edited November 24, 2022 by Expectorating_Aubergine

[TOtrees]

What about cories or geophagus? 

[nabokovfan87]

I vote shrimp!

On 11/24/2022 at 6:57 AM, JaredL said:

I've tried ghost shrimp and small snails, but they got annihilated by tetras and loaches(no surprise). I'm thinking something more like a micro fauna or some kind of worms that might be able to sustain a colony despite some predation by the fish.

Amano shrimp should be "fine" but other bigger species compared to the ghost would be where I go to.  Cherry shrimp, etc.

Once you get enough in there (maybe start them elsewhere and introduce them in batches?

[JaredL]

On 11/24/2022 at 12:45 PM, Expectorating_Aubergine said:

Some good choices that will do what you want are

Ascellus aquaticus 

Trumpet snails (Malaysian, rabbit, etc)

Red wriggler earthworms

I think the most feasible and easiest to get would be the worms. I have tanks with a substrate like yours (drystall and smashed up bricks). I have found that the worms take readily to living in it and breaking down mulm. Also they take a lot of it down with them, without disturbing your plants. Be sure to use the red worms. They can live at higher temps than the larger nightcrawlers. Since earthworms do gas exchange via the skin, being under water is not a problem (as long as the water is oxygenated). I have had these guys in my office tank for about 6 months....

From what I've read, those worms still need to surface from time to time. Have you not found this to be the case? I have a 29 gal and it has a decent amount of depth that I don't think a worm could make it to the surface. 

[Expectorating_Aubergine]

I haven't seen or had any evidence that they come to the surface for air. I've always heard tell on other fish and reptile forums of people finding worms in the gravel long after having fed them out. Aquarium gravel, specifically the kind of coarse stuff we're talking about (oil-dri, in this case), is much more open and less prone to going anerobic than wet soil. Plus, they talked about it in the Wild Kratts episode about earthworms. Why would the Kratt bros lie about that! 😆

[JaredL]

On 11/24/2022 at 10:06 PM, Expectorating_Aubergine said:

I haven't seen or had any evidence that they come to the surface for air. I've always heard tell on other fish and reptile forums of people finding worms in the gravel long after having fed them out. Aquarium gravel, specifically the kind of coarse stuff we're talking about (oil-dri, in this case), is much more open and less prone to going anerobic than wet soil. Plus, they talked about it in the Wild Kratts episode about earthworms. Why would the Kratt bros lie about that! 😆

Thanks for the info. I'm gonna give those a try. A+ for the Wild Kratts reference!