fresh water creatures that will eat ditritus or fish poo?
- Thread starter l.MetalHead.l
- Start date
oh yea. there are hundreds of them in your LFS.
they get pretty big...but can easily fit in your tank
they are called gravel vacs and only cost a few dollars each
a fish should not be forced to eat fish poo as its only food source. there should be also a supplemented diet involved.
they get pretty big...but can easily fit in your tank
they are called gravel vacs and only cost a few dollars each
a fish should not be forced to eat fish poo as its only food source. there should be also a supplemented diet involved.
Now, now Jon 
Seriously, there are quite a few 'natural' species that do this. First, your bacteria obviously, but that's not what you are aksing for. Plants, but they do this a very slow rate unless you are talking an extremely heavily planted tnak w/ lightly stocked fish. Also there are inverts, such as clams, shrimp, and oh yeah Planaria!!!
However, in the caseof the inverts, most are either filtering the water column and not the substrate or will more readily eat left-overs. I'm certainly no invert expert, but I would try there as well. I'm sure they could further clarify this for you.
Of course anything besides plants, well poop too!!!
But in the end, Jon has the right of it...
Good Luck!
Seriously, there are quite a few 'natural' species that do this. First, your bacteria obviously, but that's not what you are aksing for. Plants, but they do this a very slow rate unless you are talking an extremely heavily planted tnak w/ lightly stocked fish. Also there are inverts, such as clams, shrimp, and oh yeah Planaria!!!
However, in the caseof the inverts, most are either filtering the water column and not the substrate or will more readily eat left-overs. I'm certainly no invert expert, but I would try there as well. I'm sure they could further clarify this for you.
Of course anything besides plants, well poop too!!!
But in the end, Jon has the right of it...
Good Luck!
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Recently, someone mentioned to me how they’d introduced live black worms to the substrate of their planted fish tank. They suggested they’d help break down the fish waste into more easily usable fertilizer for the plants, as well as addition snacks for the cories in there. I’ve had them get into my own substrates in some of my older tanks, but I had just vacuumed them out, assuming they were harmful in some way.
Anyone know more specifics about this?
Anyone know more specifics about this?
I have seen my snail eat fish poo. I think shrimp might. I had them in my neon tank and because they were clear and hard to spot I was afraid of hurting them during gravel vacs. So I would just do water changes and check my readings a lot. After the heater incident the shrimp died. I noticed my gravel became very dirty very fast with out them.
Snails and shrimp will pick through detritus for undigested leftovers. But don't for get that they create their own waste as well. In such a closed system once it enters the tank it will stay until removed somehow.
the creatures come when there are an abundance of detritus (so much that the tank is considered bad), planaria is a worm that comes in overfed tanks with lots of detritus, they eat the detritus, the fish eats the planaria, thats the cycle. Some other worms may as well, but i dont think you can sucessfully add anything long term to clean your tank sucessfully (as snails, shrimp, worms dont sucessfully do it but do at least do SOMETHING), best way is have a nice growth of healthy bacteria and keep that gravel vacuum handy .
I ocaisonally see my ghost shrimp have stomachs filled with black stuff which i am guessing is fish poop......
. I ocaisonally see my ghost shrimp have stomachs filled with black stuff which i am guessing is fish poop......
I brought feder shrimp to try to feed my spiny eel and found they did a good job of keeping the bottom clean
keep in mind the fish poop eaters poop too.
just buy a gravel vac and use it regularly. plants will help absorb fish waste as well.
just buy a gravel vac and use it regularly. plants will help absorb fish waste as well.