Keeping tubifex worms alive

[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

[AroDan]

Thanks for sharing bro. Just wondering if u put air bubbles into the container with the worms?

thanks John

Very interesting discovery bro John.

[Johnc]

Originally Posted by AroDan

Thanks for sharing bro. Just wondering if u put air bubbles into the container with the worms?

No, not at all. Just a flat tray. In fact, I do not even use aeration for most of my tanks... only in my heavily planted main tank when the light goes off.

/John

[AroDan]

Originally Posted by Johnc

No, not at all. Just a flat tray. In fact, I do not even use aeration for most of my tanks... only in my heavily planted main tank when the light goes off.

/John

Hmm interesting. Will try out ur way and see how it goes.

[superlamon]

from wat i know ktp is like a natural filter..maybe thats why the water doesnt foul?



just my 2 cents

Personally, i've tried storing in in cold water, the tubi tend to last longer and take longer to foul up. IMO, i think the cold water lowers the metabolism of the worms..

[johannes]

thanks for the info, so just keep the ketapang water level ard 2mm and put clean worm in the tray, thats all?

[Johnc]

Homosapiens: Yes, cold water does prolong the life of the worms too. But I have long ruled out the option as I don't fancy an open tray of worms in my fridge.

Superlamon: Ketapang is antibacterial and antifungal. This could be the reason. I've heard of hobbyists using antibiotics to keep the tubifex worms water from fouling up. But there are dangers involved in using antibiotics apart from the danger to the pocket.

Johannes: I used tap water treated with the blackwater++ that my wife prepared. But I suspect that ketapang water will do the same trick.

/John