Date: 27 Jan 1998
From: Mike Booy <mbooy@suckercreek.on.ca>
To: AQUA-L@killick.ifmt.nf.ca
QUESTION:
Does anyone know where I can get some bulk live Tubifex worms?
Also, are some fish diseases related to the consumption of the worms?
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COMMENTS 1:
I'm nor sure where to buy the worms, probably most aquarium shops have them.
They do carry disease, most definitely.
Shawn Prescott
Fish-Vet Inc.
12620 Ivy Mill Rd.
Reisterstown
MD 21136 USA
Tel 410.526.0573
Fax 410.526.0574
E Mail fishvet@ jagunet.com
Internet pages. http://www.jagunet.com/~fishvet
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COMMENTS 2:
Some fish diseases are related to the consumption of those worms and some human diseases as well. They are often grown in sewage of
some sort. They are very fatty, and fish who consume them over the long term may develop problems because of that.
Some people in the ornamental world use them as a short-term,
intermediate food in the process of converting the fish to another food.
In that role, they may have some value. I would avoid their use as a
long-term food, even if they were free.
Craig Bingman, cbingman@netcom.com
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COMMENTS 3:
Tubieix worms are as I understand it, a potential carrier of whirling disease spores. Aside from rainbow trout (most sensitive) and brook trout (less sensitive), I know nothing of the extent to which this parasite can cause disease in other species.
ShastaRBT, ShastaRBT@aol.com
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COMMENTS 4:
In literature one will find that they are potential intermediaries in several diseases of concern in aquacultured organisms. Moreover, since they are organisms that live in waste streams, they potentially accumulate a number of undesirable substances, heavy metals among them. They have also been implicated in the developmental abnormalities in organisms that are fed diets including Tubifex tubifex. There are suggestions in the ornamental literature that feeding these organisms can lead to a number of undesirable states.
Craig Bingman, cbingman@netcom.com
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COMMENTS 5:
Tianjin, China has a big population of Tubifex, which are used to feed to local ornamental fishes. However, the Tubifex can only shipped overseas frozen.
Liu Fengqi, wtctj@mail.zlnet.com.cn
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COMMENTS 6:
Tubifex worms are produced by several Californian aquaculturists. They are all grown in "clean" effluent waters of finfish production facilities and thus do not have problems regarding human health. Tubifex worms are, however, an intermediate host for whirling disease.
Robert Hulbrock, RHULBROC@hq.dfg.ca.gov
California Aquaculture Coordinator
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COMMENTS 7:
Tubifex worms are also utilised by Japanese eel farmers for the gradual acclimation of young eels (elvers) to artificial feed. Tubifex worms are collected from the bottom-mud of polluted and slow running rivers or creeks, using sieves of less than 1mm mesh size.
Before being fed to elvers they are kept, for at least 3-4 days, in trays or shallow bassins (of no more than 10 cm depth), where they are treated with antibiotics. An exchange of clean running-out water (200-300% exchange a day) is also advisable.
This feeding practice, in connection with the high water temperatures applied for the culture of the young Japanese eels, provides some excellent results in terms of survival, acclimation rates and growth.
I guess that a similar procedure, using proper antibiotics in small quantities and running water, can be also used in other situations for the "safe" feeding of young stages of fishfry.
Andreas.LAGGIS@DG8.cec.be