Re: [Killietalk] Re: Tubifex

[Wright Huntley <whuntley at verizon_net>]

Ron @ FAR EAST wrote:


> However, many local hobbyists avoid tubifex, citing pathogen (sp?),
> diseases and a suspected 'carrier' of callamanus.  Is it truth or myth??

Since tubifex normally survive warmer conditions than blackworms, there 
is a corresponding higher likelihood they will have fellow-travelers 
that are able to survive our tanks. They may not be a vector, but their 
water may contain stuff we don't need. Flush thoroughly and frequently.

That said, 99% of the rumors about worms carrying diseases are just that 
-- rumors. They don't spread *Camallanus*, AFAIK, or Velvet or a host of 
other diseases. The Asian species of *Camallanus* have free-swimming 
larvae and need no vector. Daphnia, Cyclops and insect larvae are more 
likely hosts for those species that do need an intermediate host.

[The *Camallanus* rumors are reinforced, because those things dangling 
from the fish look so much like tubifex!]

What they often do is greatly enrich the diet and amounts of ammonium 
produced in the fish waste. That quickly degrades water quality. The 
opportunistic diseases that result are never blamed on the husbandry 
practices of the fishkeeper. It is easier to curse the store and say the 
worms brought in the [insert favorite opportunistic disease here].

> Would it be worth the trouble in rigging up a UV unit for a tubifex
> recirculating tank, or is UV not effective against 'whatever' that comes
> with the worms?

No answer possible, unless you can define that "whatever." :-)

> > I used to put a few ounces of tubifex in a quart jar standing in the
> > toilet tank, and they lasted as long as I needed them. They even got
> > water changes...
>
> How long did the worms manage to survive? If you started off with worms
> in good condition, they can last up to a week in a unaerated shallow
> tray of detritus and mulm.  A bad batch will muck up the water real
> fast, be it in tray or toilet cistern.

Probably not in the toilet tank, as every flush replaces the fouled 
water and debris, and gives surviving worms a decent chance to go on. 
Mine, as I recall from almost 50 years ago, used to last a month or more 
(until all were fed to the fish, basically). I never got any in bad 
condition, so can't speak to that part.

BTW, deep water isn't as bad on tubifex as on blackworms, but they need 
cool oxygenated water for long-term survival. A small ball of them in a 
deep toilet tank worked because they were cool (<60F probably) and had 
few worms to several gallons of fresh water, changed often. Chlorine 
didn't bother them in the slightest.

Wright

--
Wright Huntley -- 760 872-3995 -- Rt. 001 Box K36, Bishop CA 93514

"If the majority of Americans didn’t receive their educations at the 
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fraternity election"  Neal Boortz



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