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Ever wondered what that soft, dark, crumbly layer at the bottom of your aquarium is? It’s called mulm, and while it might look like dirt, it’s actually a vital part of your tank’s ecosystem! In this video, we’ll break down exactly what mulm is, why it’s important, the good and bad sides of having it, and how to manage it properly to keep your shrimp, fish, and plants thriving. You’ll learn how mulm acts as a natural fertilizer, how it behaves in sand vs. gravel substrates, and why it can be both a friend and foe depending on how much builds up. Whether you’re a beginner aquarist or a seasoned shrimp keeper, understanding mulm is the key to maintaining a balanced, healthy aquarium.
*TIMESTAMPS*
0:00 Intro
0:28 What Is Mulm?
1:31 Natural Fertilizer For Plants
2:21 Mulm & Your Substrate
3:06 Pros & Cons Of Mulm
4:18 How To Manage Mulm
4:58 How To Grow Mulm
5:37 Outro
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#shrimp #aquarium #shrimplycanadian #plantedaquarium #aquariumhobby #fishtank #shrimptank #fish #aquarist #aquascape #aquascaping #fishkeeping #shrimpkeeping
28 Comments
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Hello ! Thank for your great video!
Please, I don't know if you'll see and answer, but I need advices so I comment here.
I just set a new aquarium with sand of an old aquarium I just shut down, and I had the terrible idea to plant my tank after putting water. Results : when I made holes for the plants, mulm got out of the sand and stays in suspension or falls back on the ground or the plants. I find it very ugly and inconvenient, bcz every movement above the sand adds fog in the water. I am desperate. Should I just vaccum everything ?
Personally I like using Under gravel filters. Can gravel vacuum so the tank looks clean, but all the mulm under and around the plate stays untouched. Too much can cause a crash, I tend to only do that after the fish have died of old age. So like once every 5ish years lol
What is that orange fish with the blue highlighted pectoral fins? Is it a Ram?
So this is probably what I have. My tank had a lot of algae so I had the bright idea to just shut my lights off for a couple months. Everything died, even the plants except for subwassertang. Then they became this dark layer on top of my sand that I tried to get out. I gave up eventually but replanted my tank with dwarf sag.
I certainly used to feel a lot worse about it because I came into the hobby learning from a bunch of old school people and it was all filtering and cleaning and filtering and cleaning. And of course I've had people look at it and say that eww my tank was filthy. But looking back, my plants were healthiest when I had a tank with a bit of it. It didn't stink. I wasn't having algae blooms. My nitrates were reasonable according to the test strips I used back then. And my Ramirez dwarf cichlids always had their colours on full so I must've been doing something okay.
My next tank is going to be a low-tech eco tank with shrimp, so I'm counting on having some. I'm just worrying much more about the substrate that I am putting under it.
I get mulm very quickly, which means i should he happy its a sustainable ecosystem…..
Problem is I'm trying to grow carpet plants so now i have to clean my low maintenance aquarium often 🙃
Almost 10 years experience, i couldn't agree more, mulm & algae are friends 🤣
Do not take the mole out just add large substrate for it to fall through if you care about your tank and not just yourself
What are the orange and blue fish in the video?
I’m the kind of aquarist who actually saves the Mulm for reuse. Yes I do have multiple tank syndrome. 😂
My mystery snails actively eats most of the mulm love to watch their little lots scoff it up. When it becomes a large particle of it
I don't use any substrate in my tank. just the glass bottom. That said, i do have a bunch of driftwood on the bottom. The mulm builds up nice on the bottom and between the driftwood. My tank is doing awesome! Leave the mulm. Remove any over 1/2 inch high.
But isn't that the point of filter media????
IF excess nutrients collect, mulms may form, and IF they're left be, they should collect mostly in the filter media.
If that weren't the case, then it means the filter media is pointless. I think you're also leaving behind a HUGE aspect of the mulm- nonbeneficial and pathogenic bacteria and parasites.
I do not think, for example, that one could keep 30 year old clown loach in a tank full of mulm.
I like having mulm because of it fertilizes my plants. If it builds up too much in the corners, I will vacuum it out. I don't like when it collects on java moss that I am trying to grow.
I really like this video and even though I knew mulm was beneficial, I learned a good amount of information.
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I woukd like to ask about ahimp. When we last had a tank we added shimp which went a lhead and ate the fish. It was a bit distressing. How do you prevent this.
I left it and seem like it can develop some white fungus like materials that can spread and kill the plants
I went through a deep depression and stopped maintaining my tanks, including regular gravel vacuuming . I assumed everything was dead, which added to my depression. Imagine my surprise when I found that my tanks were healthier than they’d ever been!!!
Leider KI 😢
Mulm is pretty great in my humble opinion. Helps feed tiny fry, shrimp and many adult fish feed on the microorganisms too. It’s good stuff!!
Some is OK and very helpful. Too much of it flying around not good.
Those Scarlet Badis look so nice with the blue shrimp!!!
Exactly this. The shrimp like it, the Corydoras babies feed from it in their early days… And if you use something like simple pool filter sand instead of gravel there won't be any rotting in the soil.
Depends what kind of mulm. If the biome is working properly there is no mulm left. You can dump good mulm in the tank and in 24 hours there will be nothing left. Just ultra clear water.
If you syphon some area where the flow is slow you will get some mulm but it settles within 5 minutes if the mulm is good. Time to settle is a good indicator or good/bad mulm.
If your mulm is visible, lingers, and it does not settle in 5-10 min then it's no good.
Good mulm does magic. The video below shows a really bad algae infestation handled only with one addition of good mulm. No water changes. See what happened in about 25 or so days of just waiting.
You can not replicate that with just any mulm.
https://youtu.be/FXguKMNZYqg
well done. no BS thank you and ya gotta sub.
1:34 do the shrimps have white spot??
Plants love it