Tubifex worms?? Vectors of dis.  – 02/07/08
Hello,
<Hi there>
I have a 40 gallon with a black moor and a red wide bellied goldfish and two apple snails. My mother came over with some worms she wanted to feed my fish.
<Mmm, I would not>
She buys them for her Betta. They were alive and I believe they may be called tubiflex?
<Tubificids at least... Tubifex maybe>
They are a bit pink,
skinny and long. Well, my fish didn't eat it (she only put in one) and every week when I do my water change, I vacuum a few up. The problem is one of my fishes (the moor) is very susceptible to diseases. He has been sick since the day I got him and I finally got rid of his last problem of fin rot, it is healing, now the other GF is starting to show signs of rot as well and starting to hide. When we did this weeks water change a ton of these little worms were vacuumed up and our water reading has spiked in Nitrates (in the red, can't tell which one exactly).
<Mmmm>
Today I stirred up the rock and there are a ton more of these little worms. I do weekly water changes at 10 gal for a 40 gal tank.
<Good>
Water testing is usually always good if not up the changes till back to normal. I want to add a little salt to help heal the fin rot ( don't want to medicate AGAIN :-( over medicate??)
<Easily done>
but not too much to hurt the snails. 1. will this work? and 2. how do I get rid of these worms making my nitrates spike W/O killing my snails (copper)? Thank you so much for your time and have a wonderful day!
<No to the copper... will kill your snails. I would continue with your water changes, gravel vacuuming... and add some more filtration (perhaps an outside power filter) to aid in cycling wastes here... Please read: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwnitrates.htm
and the linked files above. The worms will likely die out in time of their own accord, any pathogens with them losing their danger. Bob Fenner>

Re: Tubifex worms??   2/8/08
Hello Bob,
<Smiley>
Thank you for your quick response. :) I have to tell you guys that this forum has been a great resource for me and helping my lil Bob.. :)
<Ah, and me, Big Bob, as well>
I guess I should have mentioned that I am running two 150 Penguin Bio-wheels and extra carbon. And change those filters once a month with the weekly 10 gal water change.
<Ah, good>
The one worm was feed to my kids about 4 or so months ago. How long will it take for these worms to die out?
<Should be any time now>
:(As mentioned at first I would see a few floating up in the vacuum and didn't even think they were from the worm added to the tank. They kinda looked like constipation poop (so I feed peas) Then just over the last 2-3 weeks they multiplied.. I mean TONS. I hope they die out soon. I really don't think I can keep up with them and daily vacuuming/water changes.
<Actually... "clean" ones are very good for your system... will help keep it viable>
I took the snails out last night and have them in a Betta bowl. Gave the kids a salt dip, another water change and added .01% salt to the tank. I haven't fed them either. Stirring up the rocks and they are both eating the worms when one floats near their mouths. My lil guy (red GF) still goes to hide. Should I do the dip again today? Add back in the snails?? Sorry, I am a big worry wort.
<If it were me, mine, I'd leave all as is>
Thanks again for all that you guys/gals do :)~
<Welcome my friend. BobF>

Livebearer beh. and
hi there,
can you help with a couple of questions?
<Will try.>
firstly can tropical fish eat earthworms from the garden?  2/4/08
<Yes, assuming your garden is "organic" -- any pesticides used, and even some fertilisers, are deadly toxins to fish. If in doubt, don't bother. But earthworms make a great food for mid- to large-sized predators.>
also I have just added 3 silver molly (1 male, 2 female) to my tank of 6 platy, the problem is that one specific platy (he's about 2" long with a huge dorsal fin, so I assume he is mature) well he is quite intent on chasing the mollies around the tank basically all the time, he will chase both the male and the female, is this normal or is he being overly aggressive,
<Absolutely typical. I'm guessing your tank is relatively small (less than 200 litres) in which case males of all livebearer species can be assumed to be more or less aggressive and intolerant of other males and unreceptive females.>
the ratio of the platies is the same as the mollies 2-1 so he is not starved of females.
<While it always helps to have more females, this really only becomes effective when you have big schools of fish in nice roomy aquaria. If you have just half a dozen livebearers in a small aquarium, the males can be troublesome.>
any advice would be great, cheers!
David
<Please send a message with capital letters next time! It's one of the house rules for the benefit of other readers, not all of whom speak English natively, and rely on good grammar to make sense of things. Cheers, Neale.>

Loaches and worms... Logan by any other name... fdg. again     12/5/07
Hi, how do you feed clown loaches worms without other fishes eating it? Thanks for all your help and advice.
<Christopher, don't bother with the worms. Waste of time. Just go with good-quality catfish pellets and algae wafers, in equal amounts, at night. Clowns feed at night, your other fish likely don't. Repeat as required, adding suitable veggies like tinned peas and Sushi Nori and cucumber to the mix periodically. Clowns will thrive on this sort of diet. Cheers, Neale.>

... Hi, which worms are nutritious and cheap? FW fdg....    12/5/07
<Contradiction in terms. Nutritious, safe food by definition is more expensive than useless, disease-risky food. If you're talking about all-round value for money, it's hard to argue with (wet) frozen bloodworms. Most fish love them. All live foods come with some degree of risk, with the possible exception of brine shrimp, but essentially they're a gimmick for 95% of the freshwater fish sold. We use them because it's fun, not because the fish need them. So if money is an issue, skip live food and concentrate on nutritious frozen and prepared foods.>
About how much are they?
<Over here in England, around £2-3 per package.>
Also, how many and how often should I feed my fishes?
<I use one block (about a tablespoon of worms, I guess, when thawed out) for a busy 180 litre community tank PLUS two lightly stocked 30 litre tanks. Per day. In other words, not much food is required. Far less than inexperienced aquarists often suppose.>
I have 5 danios, 2 swordtails, 1 platy, 2 balloon platy, 3 loaches, and 1 Bristlenose Pleco that live in a 50 gallon tank.
<None of these fish *need* bloodworms. Flake plus pellets will do for all of them, and the Platies, Plec, and Loaches will further appreciate (REQUIRE!) algae-based foods for good health, such as Algae wafers.>
Last, how do I take care of the worms and is it easy to breed them without having to buy another 50 gallon or so tank?
<Don't bother.>
Thanks for your advice and tips.
<Cheers, Neale.>