This is a great thread! I searched it up because I'm thinking of starting a blackworm/shrimp tank. Probably put it downstairs and not tell my mom there's worms in it, just shrimp =P What do you think of a small pool sand layer covered in gravel?
The California Blackworm
- Thread starter DeeDeeK
- Start date
I think this thread is cursed because after I read through it all and then posted, I found a blackworm in my 50 gallon tank which I have never put blackworms into....
Observation...
I have black worms in my tank ... Yes, I put them there on purpose. This is what I notice. The worm seem to collect and congregate at the tank's glass. No mamtter how much I try to dispurse them around the tank.
Is this their usual MO?
Thanks.
Best wishes,
Wes
I have black worms in my tank ... Yes, I put them there on purpose. This is what I notice. The worm seem to collect and congregate at the tank's glass. No mamtter how much I try to dispurse them around the tank.
Is this their usual MO?
Thanks.
Best wishes,
Wes
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I have found that blackworms in my keeping prefer to cluster around well-rooted plants first and between the glass or any buried, solid objects second. I suspect the interface between the non-granular things and the sand is more open to to diffusion of gasses, espc. O2 would be of interest to the worms, extending their range downwards. They'll follow my plant roots down into even anoxic or highly anaerobic regions - surely they depend on the O2 piped down by the roots (necessary for the root's own survival in the otherwise oxygenless environment) for survival since their tail ends don't reach the surface of the sand from down there.
I've also noticed that if I drop an algae wafer anywhere on the sand, scads of blackworms move into that area and remain while there's any wafer left. I think they must be eating either the wafer or bacteria as they infiltrate the sand below. Seriously, dozens and dozens of worms all crowd around the wafer sight.My fish never cared for the wafers and so only some shrimps and snails would nibble on it, leaving the wafer to crumble and decay for days on end while the worms feasted.
I think the worms favor decaying muck to anything else and the deeper in the sand they reach, the more of and more predigested muck as well as bacteria can be found to their taste.
My worms always favored hairgrass and well established cabomba caroliniensis (sp?), oh and of course variable-leafed water hyacinth which they would follow along the roots of all the way to the bottom of the sand .
Ok, observation and conjecture this is, not fact, but I think it makes sense and I hope it's useful to you.
Wes...that's pretty much the same behavior in my tanks and I'm not sure why.
One possibility could be due to the bacterial densities along the glass. Light does reach the substrate through and down the sides of the glass...so there is some photrophic activity in the upper substrate. In Winogradsky columns the highest densities of bacteria sampled above the anaerobic layer were next to the glass. Same thing should be happening in our tanks.
As for roots and worm congregations; it's all about the rhizosphere. The rhizosphere around plant roots is rich in microbial activity due to root diffusion of photosynthetic exudates and O2. The ecology is an attraction for grazers.
Tom
One possibility could be due to the bacterial densities along the glass. Light does reach the substrate through and down the sides of the glass...so there is some photrophic activity in the upper substrate. In Winogradsky columns the highest densities of bacteria sampled above the anaerobic layer were next to the glass. Same thing should be happening in our tanks.
As for roots and worm congregations; it's all about the rhizosphere. The rhizosphere around plant roots is rich in microbial activity due to root diffusion of photosynthetic exudates and O2. The ecology is an attraction for grazers.
Tom
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I can't seem to get my black worms to trive at all, even though that there are few fishes that eat them I have three Banded kuhli loaches, two ghost shrimps and about 15 RCS in the tank.
This week I plan to reinnocculate the tank and see waht happens to the worm population.
Any Ideas how to keep the population going?
Thanks for looking.
Best Wishes,
Wes
This week I plan to reinnocculate the tank and see waht happens to the worm population.
Any Ideas how to keep the population going?
Thanks for looking.
Best Wishes,
Wes
Yeah, you can pick up a batch at your LFS for about $2.00 or less and sometimes you can get them to breed in your tank. Just dump them right in. Some (if not most) will be eaten by the fish right off. But there will be many survivors. that get to the bottom of the tank. If your substraight is deep enough they will burrow into it and may thrive there and become a food source for your bottom feeders and other fishes.
Best wishes,
Wes
