36 



THE AQUARIUM BULLETIN 



This worm can be found in large 

 quantities in certain waters and can 

 easily be dug out and taken home at 

 any season of the year, therefore 

 making it possible for the fancier to 

 collect this food himself or have 

 delivered to him at a small cost. The 

 only difficulty presented is in keeping 

 it for any length of time. Even in 

 large vessels well filled with water it 

 has been noticed that after a few days 

 the water turns red, a few of the 

 worms have died and the rest are sure 

 to follow. By changing the water, 

 which should be done every other day, 

 it is possible to keep the worms alive 

 for a while but it is necessary to stir 

 the water thoroughly before changing 

 so that all dead worms are carried off 

 with the old water. 



Even this method has disadvantages 

 because the cold fresh water is none 

 too good for the worms that have been 

 used to the muddy, slimy water of 

 the ponds. It has only been possible 

 to keep the Tubifex alive for several 

 months by placing a large lump of 

 them in a shallow dish just large 

 enough to hold the lump together and 

 putting this into a half barrel or other 

 large tank or tub filled with water. 

 The dish will prevent the lump of 

 worms from spreading apart and they 

 are surrounded by a large body of 

 water, thereby causing with their 

 wriggly movements a constant chang- 

 ing of water and also carrying off 

 the excrement. 



To separate the worms from the 

 mud is a simple process. Take a 

 lump of them and drop into a small 

 daphnia net, hold this under a 

 hydrant, let the water run full force 

 until all the mud is washed out. 

 Particles of stones, etc., that will not 

 wash through can easily be picked out 

 by hand. The feeding of Tubifex has 



the disadvantage that when using 

 liberally many of them disappear in 

 the gravel at the bottom of the tank. 

 This can do no serious harm, especial- 

 ly if the tank contains fishes or newts 

 that have a habit of picking food off 

 the bottom. The worms stays buried 

 in the gravel as though afraid to show 

 themselves. Should the fishes be 

 removed at any time it has been 

 observed that the worms wriggle their 

 heads among the sand or gravel. In 

 a family tank containing wild fishes 

 who are very aggressive in catching 

 food the worms have little chance to 

 crawl into the gravel. 



It is desirable to place the worms 

 in a floating sieve of a mesh just 

 large enough for them to crawl 

 through when it will be quickly 

 gobbled up. In this case none of the 

 worms will ever reach bottom. For 

 less aggressive fish the Tubifex can be 

 cut in pieces or still better, slightly 

 scalded ; this will in no way interfere 

 with the nourishing qualities. This 

 method recommends itself in feeding 

 weak fishes where sometimes the 

 Tubifex have crawled out of the 

 anus undigested. 



That Tubifex is a most substantial 

 food is verified in the following 

 experiences of a goldfish fancier who 

 had a large pool in his garden in which 

 was placed a dish about 8 inches in 

 diameter filled with a lump of the 

 Tubifex, thereby making a sort of per- 

 manent feeding ground. Two months 

 old goldfishes that had been placed in 

 this pool soon discovered this feeding 

 spot and he only found it necessary 

 to replace the lump at intervals. 



As soon as he aproached the pool 

 the fishes swam away as though with 

 a guilty conscience but nevertheless 

 spent most of their time at the dish 

 with the worms. Naturally this food 



