How can I feed Tubifex worms to my Discus? How to dis infect? Is it effect bad?

[tirthabratapanja]

all my simply discus friends I am tirtha brata from Calcutta. India. i am in discus hobby for a long time. When I started my hobby I feed my discus Live Tubifex. Tetra Bits. Freeze Blood worms growth rate and health was awesome. But when I heard Tubifex bring diseases i stopped but with dryfood. egg+spirulina+dryfood+decapsulated brine shrimp I never get auch kind of good growth and color and health.
So I wish to start feeding Tubifex agaun. As I live at bank of Ganges River it very easy to get Tubifex. And as I read at a web artical Tubifex contain huge fatty acid thats why color can be dull. Can any body please suggest me with Tubifex what Dryfood I should use to get thw best result?

[LizStreithorst]

This is a hard one. I've been thinking about it all day.

The problem with Tubifex is that they are happy living in polluted water. I don't know what the Ganges river is like. I've been told that the Asian fish stores all sell them. Apparently they know how to clean them up without killing them.

You need to talk to a Discus keeper who is by the Ganges if there is one. Sorry I'm not of more help.

[Moon]

Tubifex is a very nutritious food source. Unfortunately, there is a likelyhood of them carrying some nasties with them. So you take a chance when you feed discus tubifex. Why not try freeze dried tubifex?

[LizStreithorst]

I wouldn't trust freeze dried unless I knew that they had been irraidted.

[tirthabratapanja]

My friends Ganges is too much poluted for the industries. here huge Industries at the bank of Ganges. I find out a way to clean the tubifex bacteria. parasite with Listerin Mouth wash (As per Taiwan Discus Article) Another way wash with Alcohol my own process wash properly with Alcohol and wash again and again with clean water.

Formalin + Malacheat Green solution to kill the parasite. this is also my own theory.

After this kind of treatment if i keep the Live and almost clean Red Tubifex in cointainer with huge Airation and continious water changing.....................

There is any way or chance to come any problem?

[LizStreithorst]

I don't think that anyone here can answer that because none of us has ever done it.

[TURQ64]

I fed Tubifex exclusively way back in the eighties; almost two years with no trouble and large fish. I was getting my worms from the same source, and all of a sudden...Lost all my fish rapidly in about three weeks time. The person who supplied me also lost most of his fish. I wish you the best, but all the people whom I know who had a Tubifex feeding regimen eventually lost all their fish..I wish you the best of luck, but do start weaning them towards flakes or freeze dried foods in the event of a looming trajedy..Gary

[Moon]

My friends Ganges is too much poluted for the industries. here huge Industries at the bank of Ganges. I find out a way to clean the tubifex bacteria. parasite with Listerin Mouth wash (As per Taiwan Discus Article) Another way wash with Alcohol my own process wash properly with Alcohol and wash again and again with clean water.

Formalin + Malacheat Green solution to kill the parasite. this is also my own theory.

After this kind of treatment if i keep the Live and almost clean Red Tubifex in cointainer with huge Airation and continious water changing.....................

There is any way or chance to come any problem?

I am surprised that the worms are still alive after all that treatment. Are you sure the worms were not drunk? lol

[LizStreithorst]

I fed Tubifex exclusively way back in the eighties; almost two years with no trouble and large fish. I was getting my worms from the same source, and all of a sudden...Lost all my fish rapidly in about three weeks time. The person who supplied me also lost most of his fish. I wish you the best, but all the people whom I know who had a Tubifex feeding regimen eventually lost all their fish..I wish you the best of luck, but do start weaning them towards flakes or freeze dried foods in the event of a looming trajedy..Gary

Gary, what we do here in the States is different from what they do in other parts of the world. The entire situation is different. I've been told that there is a way to clean Tubifex so they're safe to feed. I don't know. I'm a hick from Mississippi. What would I know about Calcutta?

The truth is that we here in the States don't know. We have access to safer foods. The OP has a method of cleaning them up. None of us know if it will work. We've never done it. He will have to find out for himself.

If I had access to Tubifex and knew that I could make it clean myself, I would feed it in a heartbeat.

[Eddie]

You don't.

[brewmaster15]

The problem with Tubifex is not just parasites on the outside, but also bacterias and the potential for heavy metals and many other toxins they are known to absorb. I would not risk it myself as I'm not sure any technique can remove these all and using various chemicals externally probably wont affect the internal parasites and bacteria....and it will definetly not affect the toxins.

Theres many other options as a food.

-al

[LizStreithorst]

I was at a loss here. I wanted to help the guy 'cause nobody else would. I didn't have the knowledge nor the experience to do it. Eddie has the experience having lived in Asia for many years. Brew knows the nuts and bolts of it. Thanks for coming to my rescue, guys.

[illumnae]

Being in Singapore, I can assure you that even in the East, tubifex worms are still dirty and filled with pathogens. People still feed their fish with tubifex due to its amazing growth properties, but they do so at their own risk. Some will keep the tubifex under a slow drip for 24 hours to wash them out, some will rinse in antibiotics. However, everyone acknowledges the risk that they may end up losing their fish.

[tirthabratapanja]

Thax all for their informative info. many many thsnx. wish to.see more and more info on that

[Moon]

The problem with Tubifex is not just parasites on the outside, but also bacterias and the potential for heavy metals and many other toxins they are known to absorb. I would not risk it myself as I'm not sure any technique can remove these all and using various chemicals externally probably wont affect the internal parasites and bacteria....and it will definetly not affect the toxins.

Theres many other options as a food.

-al

I recall when I was living in Sri Lanka as a young lad of 10 many, many, many moons ago, tubifex was a food of choice for fish. The worms were soaked in milk for a few hours prior to feeding. The premise was that milk will remove most of the toxins from the worm. I am not sure if this is practiced today or for that matter if it worked. It was an interesting concept.