Re: [Killietalk] Tubifex

[LeeH920226 at aol_com]

In a message dated 1/25/04 10:50:07 PM, whuntley at verizon_net writes:

<< 

The above is mostly my conjecture, but I think it's worth an effort to 

reestablish an economical source of safe tubifex to the hobby. If those 

who know more than I will please correct any misstatements I made above, 

or supplement with other info, I'll do what I can to check into the 

legal problems of using tubifex.

 >>

This is my experience with tubifex. Many years ago I could get them regularly 
through a distributor at about $5/lb. I got a pound every other week. Then 
that source disappeared and I went for a few years without them. Then about 5 
years ago, I got involved with a few friends in a special order that one LFS 
could get them from his distributor of blackworms and live brine shrimp. That 
continued as a pound a week we split 2-3 ways and I drove 100 miles each week to 
that LFS to pick them at $20/lb. It was a good deal because this was a great 
LFS to visit because they always had interesting high quality fish and supplies 
you could not get elsewhere. However, like many LFS, they went out of 
business. Another store tried to get the tubifex from the same distributor, but he 
did not want to do it because tubifex were so much more fragile than blackworms. 
So we are still trying to reestablish a source. I never had trouble keeping 
them if I got them in good condition. All it takes is a refrigerator or cool 
garage and daily water changes. It is even easier with worm keepers, like the 
blue ones made for blackworms but with holes half the size in the screen. As 
long as they are kept cool in transit and they are washed when received they are 
easy to keep. In my experience they are a much better food for killies than 
blackworms. I now am trying to get sufficient cultures of Grindal worms going to 
fill that need.

Lee Harper
Media, PA

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