Bugs you might encounter in your aquarium

[tetrakid]

It may or may not be harmless. but if it were me, I'd try to get rid of the damn creatures without delay.
I'd clear the tank of fish/shrimps and put in a couple of dainty dwarf puffers to see if they'd do me the favour.
Creepy crawlies have no place in a pet tank.

[Urban Aquaria]

Yeah, those critters usually hitchhike in with plants bought from LFS. Most of the plants are grown in outdoor concrete ponds at plant farms, so all sorts of insects and critters have access to them.

I've seen similar creatures appear when i prepare and quarantine my newly bought plants, especially when i do the soak process with anti-snail treatment... it kills inverts so all those creepy crawlies start dropping dead at the bottom of the treatment tank, quite surprising how many critters come attached to LFS plants.

[tetrakid]

Yeah, those critters usually hitchhike in with plants bought from LFS. Most of the plants are grown in outdoor concrete ponds at plant farms, so all sorts of insects and critters have access to them.... quite surprising how many critters come attached to LFS plants.

I won't mind if they come with a bunch of dero worms attached though, lol.

Anyway, how's the Dero culture faring?

[Urban Aquaria]

I won't mind if they come with a bunch of dero worms attached though, lol.

Anyway, how's the Dero culture faring?

I guess if you were to buy any new plants from LFS and are patient enough (and with good eyesight), its probably possible to collect them directly from the plants, thats how they hitchhike into most tanks anyways... just have to separate them out carefully before cleaning and treating the plants.

The dero worm culture is doing quite well so far, still experimenting with various ways to maintain them and maximize their growth rate. They do need some care and time to multiply to numbers sufficient enough to serve as a live food supplement though, so its basically like having another mini aquarium to look after.

I do notice that dero worms don't stand a chance in tanks with small fishes, they simply get eaten up too quickly. They can only thrive in tanks without any fishes (ie. shrimp only tanks are ideal) or live inside the filter itself (which i'm trying out at the moment).

[tetrakid]

....The dero worm culture is doing quite well so far, still experimenting with various ways to maintain them and maximize their growth rate. They do need some care and time to multiply to numbers sufficient enough to serve as a live food supplement though, so its basically like having another mini aquarium to look after.

I do notice that dero worms don't stand a chance in tanks with small fishes, they simply get eaten up too quickly. They can only thrive in tanks without any fishes (ie. shrimp only tanks are ideal) or live inside the filter itself (which i'm trying out at the moment).

It's certainly worth looking after the Dero worm culture well, as it may turn out to be the viable long-term source of live food for your fishes. It may be useful to consider introducing some Moina into their tank, as I think they may survive there in some sort of symbiotic relationship.

[Urban Aquaria]

It's certainly worth looking after the Dero worm culture well, as it may turn out to be the viable long-term source of live food for your fishes. It may be useful to consider introducing some Moina into their tank, as I think they may survive there in some sort of symbiotic relationship.

Yup, i put some moina into the dero worm culture too... the moina get ample supply of suspended bacteria and infusoria to filter feed on, while the dero worms eat up the molted shells and dead moina. Its a good system.

I did noticed that the dero worms can tolerate much worst water conditions than the moina though, when the water starts to stink (i tested not changing the container water for a few days, while still continuing to add lots of food), the moina population quickly drops significantly, yet the dero worms still continue thriving and growing. I guess dero worms are naturally hardy creatures, which probably explains why they can overtake a shrimp tank quite easily as long as there is excess food and organic detritus.

[tetrakid]

Yup, i put some moina into the dero worm culture too... the moina get ample supply of suspended bacteria and infusoria to filter feed on, while the dero worms eat up the molted shells and dead moina. Its a good system.

I did noticed that the dero worms can tolerate much worst water conditions than the moina though, when the water starts to stink (i tested not changing the container water for a few days, while still continuing to add lots of food), the moina population quickly drops significantly, yet the dero worms still continue thriving and growing. I guess dero worms are naturally hardy creatures, which probably explains why they can overtake a shrimp tank quite easily as long as there is excess food and organic detritus.

Though they are hardy, I do encourage you to provide the best optimal conditions for their growth at all times so as not to risk a crashed or unhealthy culture. With good care, you should be able to build up a good-sized culture in time.

[Urban Aquaria]

Though they are hardy, I do encourage you to provide the best optimal conditions for their growth at all times so as not to risk a crashed or unhealthy culture. With good care, you should be able to build up a good-sized culture in time.

Yeah, i split the dero worms into a few separate containers for testing purposes... currently observing their tolerance limits to different water conditions and trying out various methods to keep them with the least amount of space and maintenance.

[tetrakid]

@Urban Aquaria

As a matter of interest, as an experienced aquarist, do you think earthworms (aka Red Worms) are good for fish?

Do many fish keepers like to feed their fish with these worms?

[Urban Aquaria]

@Urban Aquaria

As a matter of interest, as an experienced aquarist, do you think earthworms (aka Red Worms) are good for fish?

Do many fish keepers like to feed their fish with these worms?

Earthworms can be fed to fishes, many aquarists use earthworms as live food for their larger fishes too. Recently i've been seeing places like C328 and Seaview selling plastic containers with starter cultures of earthworms in soil. I guess as long as the earthworms are maintained in a clean parasite/disease free environment, they should be safe to feed to fishes.

Only thing is that earthworms are too large for small fishes (the ones we usually keep in aquascapes), so you'll need to chop up the worms into much smaller pieces to feed those fishes, abit of a hassle... its one of the reasons why smaller versions of aquatic worms like tubifex worms are used instead.

[tetrakid]

Earthworms can be fed to fishes, many aquarists use earthworms as live food for their larger fishes too. Recently i've been seeing places like C328 and Seaview selling plastic containers with starter cultures of earthworms in soil. I guess as long as the earthworms are maintained in a clean parasite/disease free environment, they should be safe to feed to fishes.

Only thing is that earthworms are too large for small fishes (the ones we usually keep in aquascapes), so you'll need to chop up the worms into much smaller pieces to feed those fishes, abit of a hassle... its one of the reasons why smaller versions of aquatic worms like tubifex worms are used instead.

Does C328 sell them all the time? Must pop in to get a couple of jars for my giant goldfish. Are they expensive?

[Urban Aquaria]

Does C328 sell them all the time? Must pop in to get a couple of jars for my giant goldfish. Are they expensive?

Not sure if it's a regular item, or maybe just a hobbyist occasionally supplying them with cultures... but the containers of earthworms i saw were placed on top of the shelving in the middle of the shop (next to the koi tub). Didn't check the price though, but i guess they shouldn't be expensive.

Seaview displayed the containers of earthworms at their cashier counter.

The earthworms look like the common garden variety (like the ones people use for fishing bait), so maybe you could just dig up some worms from a garden and see if you can breed and grow them in a container of soil.

[tetrakid]

........ The earthworms look like the common garden variety (like the ones people use for fishing bait), so maybe you could just dig up some worms from a garden and see if you can breed and grow them in a container of soil.

Is it possible to bring in the red variety (Canadian) here? Do you think they will survive in the soil in this climate?
I think birds should love them yummy too.

[Urban Aquaria]

Is it possible to bring in the red variety (Canadian) here? Do you think they will survive in the soil in this climate?
I think birds should love them yummy too.

I'm not familar with the various types of earthworms though... guess you could try getting a starter culture from overseas (need AVA approval or permit?) and see if they can live in local conditions.

Maybe similar worms are already available locally, can check at the plant farms and nurseries to see their selections of earthworms (usually meant for seeding garden composts), they sell them by weight.

[RonWill]

As a matter of interest, as an experienced aquarist, do you think earthworms (aka Red Worms) are good for fish?

Correction.

Earthworms and Reds (or night crawlers) are two different things, the latter being more commonly used in vermicultures / composting bins. Young reds can be used as supplementary diet, whether whole or chopped, to your fishes.

Stick to Deros if you're only keeping small fishes. Less work.

[Urban Aquaria]

I searched around online for local suppliers of earthworms and came across this local website which sells worm composting systems:

http://worm-compost-bins.com/

http://worm-compost-bins.com/composting/

Looks interesting, i might try setting up a small DIY compost bin as an eco-project (can chuck aquarium plant trimmings and excess floating plants into it as the worm's food source too)... then can use the generated "worm tea" as natural liquid fertilizer for the house plants.

Anyways, they have a good explanation of the various popular compost worm variants, seems the malaysian blue worms (perionyx excavatus) are the worms of choice for locally as they can do well in local climate conditions. Maybe you can check with them if they happen to also have stock of the red wigglers (eisenia foetida) too.

[tetrakid]

Correction.

Earthworms and Reds (or night crawlers) are two different things, the latter being more commonly used in vermicultures / composting bins. Young reds can be used as supplementary diet, whether whole or chopped, to your fishes.

Stick to Deros if you're only keeping small fishes. Less work.

Thanks to Shifu RonWill for the feedback.
I am thinking of doing it for my big goldfish, as my main interest is goldfish. I prefer the adult the red night crawlers as their colour is appealing as well as looks nutritious too.
And if they grow too huge, I can always chop them up for my goldfish too. By the way, I think Koi fish will without doubt also be delighted to gulp down em night crawlers too.

PS> Nice to see Shifu RonWill posting...

[tetrakid]

I searched around online for local suppliers of earthworms and came across this local website which sells worm composting systems:

http://worm-compost-bins.com/

http://worm-compost-bins.com/composting/

Looks interesting, i might try setting up a small DIY compost bin as an eco-project (can chuck aquarium plant trimmings and excess floating plants into it as the worm's food source too)... then can use the generated "worm tea" as natural liquid fertilizer for the house plants.

Anyways, they have a good explanation of the various popular compost worm variants, seems the malaysian blue worms (perionyx excavatus) are the worms of choice for locally as they can do well in local climate conditions. Maybe you can check with them if they happen to also have stock of the red wigglers (eisenia foetida) too.

Thank you Shifu UA for the info.
I am keen only on the red variety of crawlers. Hope I can find a source. Ordinary garden composting earthworms are easier to obtain as one can just practically harvest them anywhere. I think it shouldn't be much of a problem to raise the red variety here, as I understand they can't stand cold weather. Even in the West, they also use heaters to maintain warmth when cultivating indoors.

[tetrakid]

For those who are serious about cultivating live fish food for business purposes, there is a good publication available bit it is out of print and hard to get.
This is a hard cover full-colour book much treasured by many fish-feed cultivators as it contains valuable instructions for cultivating various live fish food.

Used copies of this book are available, but are understandably rather expensive. But it is good value and provides much-needed practical know-how and insight in cultivating a wide range of live fish food. This book should appeal to serious aquarists and business entrepreneurs who can recover the cost of the book with sales of live fish food after acquiring the knowledge and expertise.

Culturing Live Foods: A Step-by-Step Guide for Culturing One's Own Food for the Home Aquarium

[BFG]

There are a lot of earthworm how to in youtube.