Inland Aquatics and Detrivore Kits-Where did the critters go?

[halmast]

I added an Inland Aquatics detrivore kit to my 125 gallon reeftank which has been up and running now for 4 weeks. The tank has cycled. Since adding the kit to the tank 4 days ago I have seen one bristleworm, and one microstar. The rest of the critters I have not seen. Is this unusual? Are they hiding in the DSB or under the LR (130 pounds Tonga ridge)?

[Pomacanthus1]

Yep, they're probably all in the sandbed. I didn't notice anything i added from my kit from IA for a few months until the spaghetti worms started multiplying and popping up everywhere.

Your chances of seeing critters is much higher at night. After the lights have been out for a few hours, use a flashlight to look arounds. You'll be amazed at what you find.

[dc]

Some of that stuff is pretty small, check out your tank at night with a flashlight. It does take awhile for them to reproduce, but in no time you will be amazed.!

[MattG]

i added a kit from ipsf.....i have never once seen a worm or anything during the day......at night on the front of the tank i look at the sand and can see worms pressed up against the glass :)
night viewing is one of my favorite times with my tank.....

[JoJoIndianapolis]

halmast,

If you let your tank cycle for another month or so with out introducing any fish you will notice a lot of new life in your tank.

Lots of copepods, ampihpods, mini stars, and other phlya of life. In Land is great place to buy these detro kits!

Even when you do introduce fish you will still have a great number of life, but remeber, there's a lot of fish that eat these little, pods, and stars which is benifical to the fishes diets .

[minh_han]

I looked on the Inland Aquatics website and saw their detrivore kits for $60 +S&H. Is the kit worth it? Should I just try to collect live sand from different sources? I've started my tank for about a week and a half with nothing but LR and LS, but, for a number of circumstances, I don't know how alive these things are. I do see some copepods and some small worms every now and then. Nothing else of note though. Any thoughts?

[SeanT]

Halmast,
you didn't mention whether or not you had any rock in there.
If not you will need to add a little bit of something to feed your detrivores lest they all die off.

[Tennsquire]

You can always try to find someone who has these critters in their reef. I bought a detrivore kit some months ago from IA, and my sandbed literally moves at night with worms, pods, snails, and mini brittle stars. I put a handful of stomatella in, and they are everywhere now. It's pretty cool.

[SeanT]

Originally posted by minh_han
Are detrivore kits worth it?
Yes, they certainly are. Especially if you have a new tank.
Many feel you chould add a new detrivore kit every year or so to replenish those that didn't breed sucessfully etc.

[minh_han]

What's a stomatella? And, I've been reading more about spaghetti worms, and it seems the things IA sells as spaghetti worms would be more accurately described as hair worms. R.S. has recommended trying to get both spaghetti and hair worms. Any idea how/where to get them?