Re: [Killietalk] Disinfection Questions

[Scott Davis <unclescott at prodigy_net>]

If you wish to be really draconian Frank, pick what
worms you can find, out of them, and boil the mops.
Obviously rinse those mops well.

Years ago my bride purchased a porcelain soup pot for
me to boil peat, gravel, mops and what-have-you. That
way fish goop didn't get into the cooking accessories.
And soap and possible metal residuals didn't get into
the fish stuff.

Blackworms seem to be able to climb most anything
except glass. Just about any glass container from
those old turtle bowls and drum bowls (for really big
killies) to an assortment of pickle, relish, mustard
and salsa jars for smaller fish can be used, scaled to
the size of the fish. I have also used glass candy
and/or cereal bowls (from Dollar Stores or garage
sales) for those fish which are not very quick to
figure out how to get into the jars. (Their initials
are Nothobranchius and Apistogramma.)

Since bullies tend to attack other killies from the
side and below, I have been surprised to find some
killies, especially females, sheltering in those worm
jars. Have actually put several small (obviously
washed, rinsed, bleached, "sodium-thiosulfated" and
rinsed again) jars into combative tanks. (Al
Anderson's trick of lowering aquarium levels to about
4"/10 cm also helps cut down on those "sucker-punches"
from below.)

The killies (livebearers, dwarf and pygmy sunfish,
peacock gobies and the like) will forage on the extra
worms in preference to fry. Indeed I would like to
think that they will also eat fewer eggs (and/or
produce more of them) that in set-ups without a worm
jar.

It would be neat if someone would run parallel
aquariums, one set with worm bowls and one set without
and keep score of surviving fry. (Perhaps a science
fair project?)

I was really impressed with how some of my killies
would swarm into the cereal bowls for worms.
Unfortunately a few worms do get washed over the sides
of the food bowls, something that doesn't happen
easily with the jars. Still, those feeding frenzies
are impressive. I suppose those are my first "cereal
killers."

All the best!
Scott

See you in Milwaukee. Gonna miss watching all those
dads and sons at the Cub Scout Bowlathon. Will try to
e-mail my entries and auction items in tomorrow.

--- David Lains <david at zfin_org> wrote:

> Hi Frank 
> 
> If you put the mops in a brine solution I bet most
> of the worms would drop out.
> 
> Best fishes
> David 
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