RE: NANFA-- Re: busy vermin

Hoover, Jan J ERDC-EL-MS (Jan.J.Hoover_at_erdc.usace.army.mil)
Tue, 17 Feb 2004 18:41:52 -0600

John wrote:
>>>... indubitably , definitely, undeniably earthworms. Segmented little
buggers...length anywhere from a gnat's eyelash to about 3"...<<<

Jan writes:
Aquatic earthworms are under-appreciated. They are diverse and beneficial
in home aquaria (cleaning up detritus, turning over substrate). Because
they tunnel under the soil, they are often unavailable as food, but fish
enjoy them and apparently find them highly digestible (their bristle like
setae or "chaetae" are the only parts that resist digestion). One species
(Chaetogaster limnaei) is a common symbiont (or parasite - according to some
experts) on our native snails (Physa and Helisoma). If you crush snails for
your fish to eat, you can sometimes see them swarming over the soft parts of
the animal.
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