Keeping tubifex worms alive

[Johnc]

Originally Posted by cwtan12

3 years ago, I had a discussion with Uncle Foong on this. I also used ketapang with aged water while uncle foong used rain water with the same result. I think it the chlorine and high pH that kills

Originally Posted by SilverStallion

Mmm.... probably is the chemicals in tap water that's killing the worms. plus rotting Ketapang leaves means food for the worms.

(1) Chlorine + (2) PH + (3) Food. I think this might be it.

I will add that KTP has antibacterial properties, which is probably why the water does not foul up.

I used aged water and water with chlorine and chloromine filtered out too, but the result was no where near what I got with KTP water.

The KTP extract that my wife prepares has anti-chlorine mixed in. KTP does lower PH. And yes, I had suspected too that there must be some food in the water for the worms in the extract.

/John

its been 3 days and my worms are still very fresh and not that smelly i guess. hope that my experiment can help some brothers out here.
The way i maintain my tubis:
whenever water changing/siphoning the debris pass the water thru a small net or anything that can trap the poopoo and particles inside the net. keep some of the water for wc of the tubis. use this water and wc for the tubis twice a day. when wc for the tubi, i always pour the water abit higher so that it cause a stir in the tubi. The alive tubi will tend to curl up and they will sink to the bottom faster than the dead and decomposing tubis. when all this is happening, do start to pour away the water slowly so that other "things" except the curling tubis will be flushed away. repeat this step until the water looks clear and it doesnt stink alot. (usually about 2 times will do). have been using this method for more than a week and my tubi lasted me for more than 3 days until i use till none are left. this method helps you to reuse water and for those that are not very accessible to obtain ketapan leaves myabe this will help you out.

definitely the ketapan method is better.. but this is another simple way for me as its not very convenient for me to obtain ketapan leaves

my 2 cent experiment and sharing. hope you guys find it useful

[zyblack]

I have separated a small clump of tubi and place them in a container with a 1 inch square of ketapang leaf along with declorinated water about half an inch. 6 days have pass and the tubi is still alive without any aeration.

Best...no smell...

[melwave]

Database corruption =\

The shallow method + ktp water method works really great, what a life saver. No smell, no wc, minimum hassle.
The steps again :
1. Pour freshly bought and bagged tubifex worms into a small plastic cup.
2. Get ready a 1-2 litre jug of aged water.
3. Pour and rinse them thoroughly, all the gunks, white worms decomposed matters etc etc will float out. Pour immediately away.
4. Repeat this pour and rinse couple times till u feel comfortable with the "cleanliness."

5. Prepare small plastic rectangular tuayhuay containers. Each container est last me for a day's feeding. So can prepare a weekly supply.
6. Add aged water + ktp concentrate, worms tail ends must be able to stick out of water. Put tubi worms sparingly per container. Too much will foul..
7. Shake the container and make the worms scatter everywhere inside.
8. They will clump back very quickly. Usually there will be some debris which you can siphon out with a minidropper.
9. Worms metabolism will slow down over the days, not necessary dead.
10. Congrats, no wc or feeding required.

"Later part of the week observations" Day 4 onwards
11. For more precaution, on later days, it is apparent and common to have few dead worms or occasional gunks, just siphon, remove out.
12. Because the water is quite shallow, evaporation does take place, worms also asorb abit of the water, so topup what was lost for days 4 onwards.
12. Before feeding especially on later days of the week, can rinse the worms with tap water one last time. Feed immediately.

Originally Posted by SilverStallion

Mmm.... probably is the chemicals in tap water that's killing the worms. plus rotting Ketapang leaves means food for the worms.

but the weird thing is the source of oxygen needed for respiration by the worms.. seems complex to me

Originally Posted by xyilongx

the ketapan method is better.. but this is another simple way for me as its not very convenient for me to obtain ketapan leaves

i can pass u some ? pm mi

to the bro who kept tubi in a blue tub with aeration.. how often did u have to change water?

Originally Posted by [Ranchu]

to the bro who kept tubi in a blue tub with aeration.. how often did u have to change water?

mine i change evy 2days interval,best is tat u can hav fresh supply evy day

[ak151177]

Originally Posted by Johnc

Hi folks,

I just discovered something, which I thought to share with you.

Ever since I started spawning bettas, I have been buying tubifex worms every few days to feed the fish.

As those of you who do the same will know -- it is quite a challenge to keep the worms alive and fresh.

The worst way to keep the worms is to use water straight from the tap. The worms will experience necrosis (i.e. part of each worm will die) in a day and by the next day the water will stink.

I can extend the life of the worms by an additional day by using filtered or matured water. The water will foul up after 24-36 hours and need to be changed. Some of the worms will die and the water will eventually stink

Last week, i decided to use tap water treated with the Ketapang extract++ that my wife prepared, and presto! The worms survived almost 3 days without water change! And as far as I can see they are all still fresh and alive by the time I fed off the last worm. I repeated the same experiment again beginning of this week, and the result was the same.

I wanted to take some photos to show the difference, but my camera is unfortunately needing major repairs.

I am not sure if it is the Ketapang, or the nutrafin or the salt or all three in combination (in the blackwater++) that did the trick. Those of you who bought the blackwater++ might want to try it out to verify my experience. Those who have your own ketapang extract might want to try it too. Keep the water level low, about 2 mm.

Hope this information is useful for some of us.

/John

thanks for sharing

[totsboy]

Good pointers shared here, my tubifex also die so easily.