The Puffer Forum

RTR wrote:The risk of having a number of live blackworms in the substrate is that the water depth and food availability for them is iffy. If a colony collapses, the tank can go sour quite rapidly. They are not easy to culture in captivity. NIMFT.

Make since..I wouldn't want that kinda of problem. They filter feed right?

Mmm, so they only risk is that the colony could starve, and collapse. Turning my water into something very nasty.

Mezzovex wrote:I have a whole colony of blackworms and snails in my saps tank. He just eats whenever he is hungry, and i never have to feed him.

So u supplement ur snails and worms right? How do u maitain them?

I dont do anything. Everything is self supporting. snails eat algae and plants. worms eat any poop and plant mass that falls on the surface. and my SAP eats them both.

Mezzovex wrote:I dont do anything. Everything is self supporting. snails eat algae and plants. worms eat any poop and plant mass that falls on the surface. and my SAP eats them both.

Ok, I'm very curious. My tank has no algea in it. I don't think my tank could support something like. what type of substrste do u use? How big is the tank?

IME, backworms are certainly enjoyed by SAPs, but are have zero crunch, so should not be a staple food for them.

I have never been able to produce enough prey (whether red cherry shrimp, snails, or anything else I have cultured as food) in a tank with the target fish to be fed. I also would love to hear how this is managed.

yes me too, I have tried that.. I still have some snails and some shrimp in my SAP tank that have survived and the tank looks great compared to others, but as a viable sustainable food source.. no way, it didn't work.

Ok its a 55g tank with 50 pounds of natural sand in it. I had my first fahaka in it, but he died. Left over worms, and snails bred and lived in this tank for about 4 months before i moved my SAP from my 25g to this tank. There are a ton of tiny snails small enough for my 1" SAP to eat. 2 big snails in there are the ones that keep on breeding. So I basicly bred my tank with snails and worms to keep it cycled enough to where i could add my SAP

Mezzovex wrote:Ok its a 55g tank with 50 pounds of natural sand in it. I had my first fahaka in it, but he died. Left over worms, and snails bred and lived in this tank for about 4 months before i moved my SAP from my 25g to this tank. There are a ton of tiny snails small enough for my 1" SAP to eat. 2 big snails in there are the ones that keep on breeding. So I basicly bred my tank with snails and worms to keep it cycled enough to where i could add my SAP

sounds really neat, if u don't mind, could u keep a journal and up date us on this? I've read in a lot of places having a tank like that hard to sustain. What about the lighting? All live plants right?

i have had no problems. ((this is an end resault of my lazyness.) lol

my lighting... is 2 philips regualar house bulbs.so my tank has a yellowness to it, which helps the algae grow. so the snails have stuff to eat.