# Other Aquarium Forums > Fish Care, Nutrition and Water Management >  How to keep leftover live tubifex worms?

## specky7

i feed my fish with tubifex worm(live)but there is still a lot left how should i keep them prolong their life or something

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## kaym

keep the water holding them clean and add a pump to provide oxygen. Keep water level low so the worms can have easy access to surface of water for oxygen. Just observed the LFS keeping them in those conditions.

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## StanChung

Or use a drip system. Drip dechlorinated water via airline into wide base [depending on how much tubifex you wanna keep] plastic container that has a hole 1-2 cm above water line. The hole has to be about 1/2 inch so that it can overflow properly. silicone tubing to outlet to let it run off into a drain. Use standard size tubing/hose so that you can DIY easily this.

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## blackghost

there are some who swear by using ketapang extract to condition the water :Razz:

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## CK Yeo

Keep them in cool, well-aerated water and change often. Dead worms stink up the water fast and rob the water of O2 and more worms will die. Vicious cycle.

I keep them in the fridge (NOT freezer) and change water before I feed them to fish. But that will be a concern if you use the fridge to store human food.  :Smile: 

ck

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## richietay

Tried using the air pump method, water change daily still needed. 

Ketapang extract, http://www.arofanatics.com/forums/sh...t=tubifex+worm. Have not tried before, maybe you can consider and give us some feedback.  :Smile:

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## koolman

Hi

Out of curiosity, why dont you buy frozen blood worm and you could keep it in your fridge. 


Thanks and regards


Koolman

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## bryan

Some fish have an attitude and will only eat something that moves.

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## CK Yeo

I second that. And if you wanna breed fish, live food is indispensable. Frozen ones are just not the same.

ck

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## koolman

Hi all

Well, kind of think of that, perhaps I should try some live worms for my fishes. The only thing that stop me from feeding them live things is that I don't want to spoilt them and they will not eat the frozen worms again.


Thank and regards

Koolman  :Jump for joy:

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## specky7

oh ya btw does anyone of you breed tubifex before

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## cairocks

I have read some people put it in a cloth bag and hang it inside the toilet flush reservior. So each time youflush, new water washes the worm. I have not tried this method yet. Maybe will try it next time I feel like getting live worms. Hopefully the chlorine would not kill off the worms before I can use them.

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## taygu

> I have read some people put it in a cloth bag and hang it inside the toilet flush reservior. So each time youflush, new water washes the worm. I have not tried this method yet. Maybe will try it next time I feel like getting live worms. Hopefully the chlorine would not kill off the worms before I can use them.


This sound interesting. Will try this out when I buy the worms again.

What I did was to position the tub containing the worms under one hole of the the rain bar. The worm can last almost a week but there will still be died worms.

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## CK Yeo

I have heard feeding the worms using pieces of potatoes. But again, the recurring problem is to keep the water clean. i.e. filter, water changes, larger space.

In the end day, is it worth the effort? The effort and material will probably cost more than the worms themselves. 

ck




> oh ya btw does anyone of you breed tubifex before

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## David Moses Heng

What i did for my angels when i was keeping them when i was single is that i will empty the worms into a big ice cream tub with a few holes created on top for water to flow in and out. The ice cream tub will be floating in the tank with the worms inside. Manage to keep the worms for up to a week. In those days(late 1990s), 50 cents of tubifex worms can last you easily 1 to 2 weeks if you know how to take care of them.

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## StanChung

The tubifex in WC is really interesting!

I have actually seen a tubifex farm, and it's actually very disgusting. You can smell it a mile away. ok Enough said.  :Grin:  What I noticed is there's a slow constant stream of water flowing into a shallow pool.

It just needs a constant stream of clean water to reduce build up of waste. How you do it will need a bit of imagination and ingenuity.  :Laughing:

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## apollo

Hi StanChung

Is the farm in Singapore? School holiday is here. Dont mind touring some farms here.

Stephen

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## blackBRUSHalgae

tubifex farms are usually situated beside or near an animal farm (usually pigs.) Poop from the animals would be naturally fed to the worm cultures, which explains the foul smell. There are no cleaning process during the harvesting untill they reaches the LFS, where it depends on how well those LFS would clean them before they reach the customers. If you know how to really clean your tubifex worms before you feed them to your fishes, otherwise it is better to avoid them as they are host to many many parasites and pathogens.

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## StanChung

Hi Stephen,

The one I've been to is in Perak and it's as BBA says. Smell is over powering.  :Razz:

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## kylin

I keep them in the fridge. The cold slows down their metabolism and increases the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water. So it takes much longer for the worms to pollute the water.

Unfortunately this only works if you are living alone. If not, your wives / mothers will kill you if they find out !!!!

K

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## crystalreds

I believe clean and cool water is the key. Whether to use an air pump or not depends on the depth of water used. Quite troublesome bro. In the end, I gave up and use frozen worms...  :Smile:

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## StanChung

Right on.

Just keep it simple. If you can't keep them alive [too much effort and space] just rinse the fellas in fine net under tap water and freeze them in plasticbag, pressed thin.

Break off, feed as frozen food.

For me it doesn't last 4 days and it's gone. My Discus will eat it like delicacy but I also have prazi and metro on standby for treatment every month.
I will only take the risk of live food if my fish are healthy and able to resist disease but crap happens so you need medication on standby.

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## bridge

When I reared betta, I often used tubifex worms for them.

Of course there will be leftovers for tomorrow feeding session. :Smile:  

For me to keep the tubifex worms for future usage:

Note: Pump not required, Tap water will do, Amount of water to contain the tubifax worms, do not place the container direct or indirect to the sunlight.

1st. Place the tubifex worms into a container. The amount of water is be least least >100 times more than the worms. Take example tubifex worms=9 volt Engergizer battery, the water amount must be 500ml.

2nd. Maintanance water change is a must for everyday. First slowly pour away all the water, leave a minute or none.

3rd. Place the container under the tap, let water splash on the tubifax worms directly. The larger the splash from the tap the better.

4th. Wait for a while, and you will see the tubifex grouping together. Don't wait until it group nicely, in the meanwhile the debris are floating and you can pour away the debris.

5th. Repeat step 2nd to 4th until you are happy with the worm's cleanliness.

Thanks. :Smile:

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## robin

i wonder if this applies to blood worms also

robin

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## David Moses Heng

> i wonder if this applies to blood worms also
> 
> robin


no. i don't think so. :Smile:

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## blackBRUSHalgae

Hi bridge!

I'm wondering whether the chlorine and chloromine from the tap water would do any harm to the worms other than sterilizing them?

Hi Robin,
Blood worms and tubifex worms are two different worms all together. One will remains forever as a worm  :Very Happy:  while the other would evolved to become a crane fly. So their behaviour and characteristic are totally unique to each own self.

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## specky7

how long you all manage to keep the tubifex worm alive.i manage to keep them for a week :Smile:  and now they are still alive and there is very few dead one.

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## CK Yeo

The average seems to be 3-4days to a week. It is easier to keep them alive if the quantity is small. If you buy milk-cans-worth of it, it will be more difficult. 

I have no luck keeping Bloodworm alive in the fridge. The cold seems to kill them. 

ck

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## David Moses Heng

> Hi bridge!
> 
> I'm wondering whether the chlorine and chloromine from the tap water would do any harm to the worms other than sterilizing them?


 
not that i know of. I ususally don't encountr problems when i wash my worms like what bridge mentioned. just rememmber to add in water from the tank into the tub later. :Smile:

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## bridge

Hi Robin,

Red blood worms very hard to wash, as they do not group together after the flushing. :Smile:  


Hi Blackbrushalage,

I am not sure whether the chlorine or chlorime affect the tubiflex worms.
But still I managed to keep them clean and alive. :Smile:  



Thanks.

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## trident

Interesting thread on tubifex worms.
For me, I change the water at least twice a day and
add a few drops of Acriflavin into the water. This will help
kill off the parasite.

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## Cherries Lover

> i feed my fish with tubifex worm(live)but there is still a lot left how should i keep them prolong their life or something


 
Bro,

Pour them in all into the tank if your tank is a planted tank. In that way it will be easier for you & the fishes.

If over night then remember to rinse them first... if not the water will fold your tank water if pour in... important to note.

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