The California Blackworm
- Thread starter DeeDeeK
- Start date
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Dr. Awkward was raving about tannins on the Freshwater DSB thread, so I thought, heck, I have a mulberry tree, lets see what happens if I add a few dead leaves to my tank. Well, they didn't produce much in the way of tannins, but they did add a nice natural look, so I left them in. Now I find that my blackworms are sproinging up under the leaves and all around the edges, so thrilled they're speechless! This makes me think they are eating the leaf litter, and so maybe I could culture more blackworms in the tank this way.
I googled the use of leaf litter in aquariums, and apparently all kinds of inverts and shrimpies also eat leaves, and dwarf cichlids and cories use them for spawning. I'm happy with mulberry leaves, but it seems you can use most hardwoods, fruit woods, oaks, maples, or beeches. Or if you can afford to order some of those special indian almond leaves the betta breeders use, they are probably really good. Dead leaves (you want naturally dead and fallen, not live ones) are also full of beneficial bacteria, unless you choose to boil them before putting them in your aquarium.
When you think about it, leaf litter is probably very common in freshwater fish habitats, because trees, needing water, grow abundantly near water sources such as rivers and lakes, and trees drop leaves all the time. People with ponds and swimming pools are forever trying to skim the leaves out. It makes sense to me that dead leaves have a natural role to play at the very bottom of the food chain, even lower than our lovely blackworms.
I googled the use of leaf litter in aquariums, and apparently all kinds of inverts and shrimpies also eat leaves, and dwarf cichlids and cories use them for spawning. I'm happy with mulberry leaves, but it seems you can use most hardwoods, fruit woods, oaks, maples, or beeches. Or if you can afford to order some of those special indian almond leaves the betta breeders use, they are probably really good. Dead leaves (you want naturally dead and fallen, not live ones) are also full of beneficial bacteria, unless you choose to boil them before putting them in your aquarium.
When you think about it, leaf litter is probably very common in freshwater fish habitats, because trees, needing water, grow abundantly near water sources such as rivers and lakes, and trees drop leaves all the time. People with ponds and swimming pools are forever trying to skim the leaves out. It makes sense to me that dead leaves have a natural role to play at the very bottom of the food chain, even lower than our lovely blackworms.
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Leaf litter; what a great suggestion! I think I'll throw some in my invert tank.
Did I mention I've started up an invert tank? Partly to try to grow my own cali blackworms faster than the fish in the other tank eat 'em. Partly because arthropods are super cool and I want a bunch of scuds to feed to my fishies.
I bet scuds will love leaf litter, and so will all the weird little copepods and nearly invisible aqua-bugs that thrive in the absence of fish.
Did I mention I've started up an invert tank? Partly to try to grow my own cali blackworms faster than the fish in the other tank eat 'em. Partly because arthropods are super cool and I want a bunch of scuds to feed to my fishies.
I bet scuds will love leaf litter, and so will all the weird little copepods and nearly invisible aqua-bugs that thrive in the absence of fish.
Sounds like you're on your way to a neat little pond tank! Would love to see some pics of your setup with the worms, planaria, scuds, shrimp, etc. It would be awesome to see a swarm of daphnia in there, a water strider on the water, a diving beetle, dragonfly nymph, etc, etc.
Love reading this stuff...extremely interesting and very different from the normal drivel. Can't wait to read more and see some more pics! thanks
Love reading this stuff...extremely interesting and very different from the normal drivel. Can't wait to read more and see some more pics! thanks
Wow, "extremely interesting and very different from the normal drivel!" High compliments indeed!
When my picopond is better matured, pics and probably a new thread will be forthcoming. Dragonfly nymphs and many aquatic beetles are just too scary and prone to eating everybody else in a 7 (or is it 5?) gallon tank and I'm afraid a water strider would feel cooped in and just climb out and go 'way.
Anyhow today it's off to Golden Gate Park with its many ponds and a couple of streams in order to collect daphnia and already decomposing leaf litter and whatever hitchhikers that may include. People are going to think I'm a freak, this blond chick getting her feet wet and filling plastic bottles with pond muck and water in the middle of the Arboretum or the japanese tea garden.
I'm a-scared of introducing nasty pathogens and parasites into the tank, which is why I'm doing it now, while I've only got a few shrimp to kill. I figure if they die, I'll lay low for a while 'til the heat is off (I mean quarantine the tank for a couple of months to try starving the nasties out) before stocking shrimp again. I'll prob'ly use glass shrimp to test it out at first if, indeed, I need to quarantine for a while.
Hey, it's time for me to start that new picopond thread; I'm going way the heck off topic here!
I keep finding leeches in the blackworms I get from the pet store. Fortunately, they attach themselves to the inside of the plastic bag, so when I pour the blackworms into the rinsing cup, the leeches usually stay behind, and I can just throw them out with the bag. I did find a tiny leech on a piece of zucchini I pulled out of the aquarium, though, which concerned me a bit. I could tell it was a leech because of the way it inched around. I'd like to create my own leech-free blackworm culture.
I wonder if they'd multiply in a 2 gallon betta bowl? Or would that get too dirty without a filter, or aeration? I heard they like java moss, maybe a bunch of that would be enough to prevent stagnation. I guess I should try it, and if it gets gross, that's not the end of the world, I'll just try something else.
I wonder if they'd multiply in a 2 gallon betta bowl? Or would that get too dirty without a filter, or aeration? I heard they like java moss, maybe a bunch of that would be enough to prevent stagnation. I guess I should try it, and if it gets gross, that's not the end of the world, I'll just try something else.
I saw a blackworm poop the other day!
You know how they spend their time with their tails sticking out of the substrate and heads down in it? Well I happened to look at a worm's tail (butt) and suddenly it erupted a small geyser of light-colored muck. The particles it was made of must have been quite fine. I couldn't distinguish them. Now that's some stuff that'll work it's way down into the substrate and fertilize some plants!
You know how they spend their time with their tails sticking out of the substrate and heads down in it? Well I happened to look at a worm's tail (butt) and suddenly it erupted a small geyser of light-colored muck. The particles it was made of must have been quite fine. I couldn't distinguish them. Now that's some stuff that'll work it's way down into the substrate and fertilize some plants!
Check out this study I found about the denitrifying effect of different amounts of tubifex worms in sediment:
http://www.int-res.com/articles/ame/9/a009p289.pdf
http://www.int-res.com/articles/ame/9/a009p289.pdf
