Junkyard Eaters: Skeleton and Carcas eradicators

[krystian]

Hello,

In nature when a skeleton or shell falls to the bottom of a body of water, a long time lapses until decomposition is successful and the skeleton degrades into calcium, elements and becomes part of the sea bed.

However, are there organic life which fulfill or aid this task?

In a freshwater aquarium setting- are there animals which feast on crustaceans or have been known to devour exoskeletons and fish carcases?

I know for instance in marine habitats hammerheads eat bony fish and are known sometimes are junkyard eaters.

Would there be any organisms which synthesize calcium and elements from skeleton structures?

I'm just curious if this is possible and if there is anything that does this.

 

[amitnarain]

go get a hammer and crush the shells!

 

[amitnarain]

oh i forgot to say welcome to u .

so... welcome.

 

[krystian]

Thanks for the welcome!

I'm still extremely curious on learning on availability of lifeforms in response to the question I asked about. Though the shell smashing answer is feasible, I'm just curious if there are any life which actually do this, or devour exoskeletons from the sea bed.

Strange? Yes. But it seems anything is possible in this world.

 

[mr86mister]

you know what that is a good question, i have always wondered about that, i guess in the natural world there are microscopic organisms that break down the shells and years of rotting probably help as well but i'm not sure of anything specific you could put in an aquarium


Welcome to AA

 

[amitnarain]

maybe 'underwater weathering' (dont know the actual name): the wear of the shells caused by underwater currents and small particles in the water causing friction and hot and cold, etc,.. all contributing and naturally crushing the shells over the years.

btw im no expert at these theories but i guess so.

 

[mr86mister]

yeah i agree with you, basically thats what i was thinking i just could not put them into words...lol

 

[jrp1588]

Ever wonder what sand is? Ground up shells and rocks. As amitnarain said, I think the sea just wears them down. But I'm sure there are also microorganisms that help things out a little.

 

[Jchillin]

Nature will naturally eliminate wastes from just about every area. The problem us FW folks have is we tend not to have or want these creatures in our tanks. These microscopic organisms would quickly overtake the tank and spell doom for our fish (for comparative purposes, think of asexual snails). I'm no marine biologist but it seems to make sense to me.

 

[krystian]

Ever wonder what sand is? Ground up shells and rocks. As amitnarain said, I think the sea just wears them down. But I'm sure there are also microorganisms that help things out a little.

That is exactly what sand is. However, my question is concerned about the existence of organic life which aid the decomposition process or have been known to feed on skeletons and shells as part of or symptom of deprived diet.

 

[QTOFFER]

Yay! My PhD in biochemistry has come in handy!

Bone, whether from fish or from mammals, is made of 1/3 collagen and 2/3 calcium phosphate. Collagen is a protein that can only be digested by bacteria and certain insects. The collagen in dry bone is protected from bacterial attack by the absence of water, and from insect attack by the hard calcium phosphate matrix it is embedded within. In slightly acidic water, the calcium phosphate slowly dissolves. Bacteria consume the collagen, and their acidic wastes hasten the calcium phosphate decomposition.

Cartilage (from sharks or mammalian joints) is made of hydrated collagen- it's 70% water by weight. Because of this, bacteria make short work of cartilage even on dry land.

Mollusk shells are made of calcium carbonate. It slowly dissolves like calcium phosphate.

Crustacean shells are made of chitin - a hard polymer of sugar (like starch, glycogen, and cellulose) that is found in the exoskeletons of all arthropods, including spiders and insects. Some arthropods can digest chitin, as can some bacteria.

Of course, the pounding action of waves and the grinding action of current-driven rocks and shells help to pulverize underwater skeletal remains too.

 

[Toirtis]

Most snails will chew away at any bone matter on a tank's floor...so that is one way to go.

 

[krystian]

Most snails will chew away at any bone matter on a tank's floor...so that is one way to go.

Oh yeah? Snails chew bone matter? Out of preference or if there is nothing else to eat they will?

 

[aqh88]

My applesnails usually love a nice dead fish when it happens, a shrimp skin after it molts, or if they can find it a whole dead shrimp. Also snails and shrimp eat dead snails. Between the 2 they clean up everything in my tank within an hour except for snail shells. If even a large fish dies I'll never know except for the fact it's missing. Lost a 7" pleco that way but I have about 50 applesnails and a dozen or 2 shrimp in a 55g. Only on rare occasion have I even found a fish skeleton and I had to steal it away from the pile of snails.