We have recently discovered fine, tiny little red hair like organisms in our net tank. We noticed the waste was disappearing and didn't know what to attribute it to. We know that gammarus have just literally appeared in in many systems in Hawaii, so we thought maybe the gammarus had finally made their appearance here. However when I scooped up a little bit of the poo from the bottom of the tank and began inspecting it, there were these tiny little worms. Friendly has them too. Anyone else have these or know the name and where they originate?
I used to have a pale colored wriggling worm like mosquito larvae but only about a hundred times smaller. They swim well in all directions and were in their millions in my swirl filter. When i ran the trial with the local feed(had steroids or antibiotics in them) they reduced and finally disappeared from the system. To date they have not returned. My AP plant growth has diminished from when they were present leading me to believe they are a sign of a healthy AP ecosystem.
Gina, they may be bloodworms. I too, have them in my swirll filter, if I don't clean it often.
I have a lid on the filter, when I lift it off...I'll see flying, what appears to be mosquitoes, but they aren't. (They don't bite) I call them 'midges'. Midges is kind of a generic name...I think 'no-see-ums' are also called midges.
Gina, they may be bloodworms.
Cleaned out my swirl filter today and guess what? They've returned but its a different type. After some searching, i believe the first set was bloodworms(thanks Chi) and now these new ones look like a very tiny guaramus. AP creates an inter dependent eco-system unlike all these other types of agriculture which diminish nature, its good to be a part of assisting nature in this way, don't you think?
This is by no means conclusive, but in the case of media beds with the standard AP ratios of fish and feeding, I think there is sufficient solid waste available as feed for them. Perennial roots may not be as appealing to them as softer roots in fast crops, and also nature has a way of limiting symbiotic colonies in inter dependent eco-systems anyway. I think also, if your feeding regime establishes a population proportional to quantity of feed and feeding is then reduced they will for sometime use the roots as subsistence until the colony reduces to match the new inputs. Of course this is just speculation on my part