Other critters to stir sand

Well, yes, MTS are something I actually keep. The idea of stirring the sand yourself is best if you wish to be sticking stuff in the tank and stirring it around a lot. Some people like that. I keep freshwater DSB tanks, and there are roots aplenty and I wish to keep the aerobic, anaerobic and heavily anaerobic (anoxic) zones separate and intact.

The point isn't to stir the sand down to the bottom but to contribute to the functionality of a freshwater DSB tank, preferably with plants.

Burrowing critters like to stick the the aerobic layers except for a few adapted to stick parts down into low or no oxygen zones (keeping oxygen absorbing organs or limbs up in the oxygenated regions as do cali. blackworms). Fish are not my favorite choice because they're vigorous enough to stir up roots and can also extend the oxygenated region deeper than is useful for it to be in a freshwater DSB because of their speed and vigour. Lovable rascals, those loaches!

Oh, my kuhlis are many times larger than my male endlers. I've seen them of late nab a sleeping endler and take a nice few nibbles before the endler roused fully enough to escape, and then it died and sank and was fully consumed. Male Endler's Livebearer <1 inch long. Kuhli Loach ~ 4inches. Chomp! Easier to bite through than a small snail and they eat my snails quite regularly with there are no blackworms hand. Fortunately they prefer snails to endlers - In Gustibus Non Disputum est!

Sonofagun, there was a posting somewhere with other suggested burrowing inverts! Or maybe I just had a dream about on. I'm sure assassins were mentioned on it.
 
I know my cories probably stir the top 1/8 - 1/4, but when going after worms they'll stick their whole head in the sand to get at them lol! (so possibly the top half inch)
They've made a huge dent in the worm population. I'm not sure if they will even eat anything else anymore, they've ignored (I think) everything that's gone in for the last few weeks. (I'm a little worried about that :? )
 
jetajockey said:
she already mentioned MTS in the original post. The only other one I know if is assassin snails.
Click to expand...

I guess assassin's dig around to look for other snails if they can't find them up top?
Hadn't thought of them.
 
MTS are over rated for stirring sand. They hardly go down at all. They really only scratch the surface and stir the already aerated part of the tank.
 
use the other end of your net, the handle. It works, you just run it along the bottom of the tank to stir up the sand. Simple.
 
I think I'll say it again: I don't want to stir the sand myself, and I don't want to turn over the deeper sand and disrupt the mildly and heavily anaerobic/anoxic layers. The request I put forth, and will put forth again is for critters to stir the sand. Not for methods by which I may stir the sand. I've known how to stir things by myself since I was very young and at 43, may have seen as many hand-stirring techniques as I'll ever have use for at this point. Thanks.

If one has a tank with a deep sand bed, a freshwater tank with a deep sand bed, and one wishes to retain the functionality of a healthy freshwater deeps sand bed, one with plants in it especially, the best answer for healthy sand agitation is a community of inverts, and perhaps something like cories which will turn over the uppermost bit without digging too vigorously.

I understand most folks don't prefer to read a lot before replying and I empathize. Sort of a leap without looking thing we've all got. Although I am a critter (homo sapiens), I am definitely not one of the sort I wish to have living in my tank and stirring the upper layer of sand.

Here is an article I had publish a while ago now, where the idea of a freshwater DSB is expanded upon a bit, and which might give a feel for what sorta critters I'm asking after and what I hope they'll do.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_7/volume_7_1/dsb.html
 
Oh, I do like MTS for stirring the sand, since they only go down a little bit. They slightly deepen the aerobic layer of sand, increasing its capacity to eat NH3 and NH4 and NO2, and also, the MTS help plow mulm down into the sand, where it can further decay out of sight and sift deeper from then on, becoming a great fertilizer and also a supplement to dissolved CO2 - mulm is good from planted tanks.

YAY MTS! My philosophy is to be very specific about what I am wanting out of a thing before deciding yay or nay on methods to accomplish it. My sand stirring is clearly not the sand stirring of my brothers.
 
here's the closest thing to an aquatic earthworm;
http://www.azgardens.com/p-817-eel-glass.aspx
after a couple of years they may outgrow your tank,
so be prepared to euthanize or give them away later.
these will not dig up your plants, but may disturb any
shallow root foreground plants. they'll be fine in any
freshwater tank as long as it's not too soft and low pH.

pisodonophis_boro_x.jpg


I wish I could find these from another vendor,
azgardens is a well known shipping nightmare.
 
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Sorry for suggesting you do it yourself... AFAIK, and this has been stated before, there aren't many freshwater sand-sifters out there. Again, sorry I couldn't help.
 
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