Problem with worms

[jerseyjay]

I am having problem with live blackworms. I feed them to all my fish in fishroom (apistos, killies, african cichlids etc). One 2.5 tank with killies has some interesting reaction going on when worms are introduced. Looks like fungus but not sure.

Here is picture of worms introduced to another tank sitting right next to the "ONE".
http://www.greenstouch.com/various/worms2.jpg

Here is picture of worms in "problem tank" (10 minutes after introduction). Notice whitish "slime".
http://www.greenstouch.com/various/worms.jpg

Here is picture 30 minutes later
http://www.greenstouch.com/various/worms3.jpg

Both tanks are identical. 2.5 G with sponge filter, pair of killies, same water, same mop. PH ~7

I am getting successful spawns from my P.taeniatus moliwe, pulchers, L. curviceps etc. so its not worms.

Any ideas ?

 

[farm41]

Those worms don't look like any I have ever used, and I have been feeding blackworms for a couple years. California Blackworms, when dropped into a tank will form a writhing ball, if there is more than the fish can consume in a couple minutes. I think you have something else.

 

[jerseyjay]

Matt,

I will take picture of those worms in worm container. Those are blackworms, I'm 100% sure. They do form a writhing ball in the container but I chop them into small pieces so they look differently on the picture. Plus white balance is not the best so picture is little off color.

 

[farm41]

Is this a new source for your worms?

Maybe they could not have been under the best of care before you got them.

 

[jerseyjay]

Is this a new source for your worms?

Maybe they could not have been under the best of care before you got them.

Matt,
Many well advanced breeders from NorthJerseyAquariumSociety buy worms from this place on weekly basis. Great success so far. I feed all my other fish without any problems and I get successful spawns. Again, I don't get this reaction in any other tank but this one. :roll:

 

[Blackshark667766]

Live Blackworms

Sorry Jay, but these sure as Hell, don't look like black worms to me.[Pumped full of (rotting) protein perhaps? Try mixing in some pulped raw garlic into your "home - cooked" food in order to enhance your daily feeds. This will almost certainly alienate those who do not like garlic for weeks (so warn them not to attend). On the other hand, you should see evidence pretty quickly of intestinal parasitisation within your fish. If in doubt consult a vet, but I've used garlic for years as both a prophylactic and a treatment for some very sick fish with varying degrees of success. :x :cry:


Many years ago I used to "go out" with a Welsh lady with an Italian background, who used feed her 18 cats a dailly treat of chicken flavoured with rosemary and garlic. Not one of those cats wore a "flea collar", and I was never bitten by fleas in all the 5 years that I lived with her. I will take a Holy Oath on that statement.


The question remains: how safe is garlic for fish :?:
My answer is this: Either introduce it gradually, or not at all: if you kill all the parasites within a host, then you will kill the host too. There is great contradictory evidence to support the "allegation" that certain internal parasites have become "symbiotic", and indeed protect us from certain illnesses and diseases, a la macrophages and leucocytes, but this is hardly the place to discuss such things. Then again, I'm not your average Brit.



C.U. Here or at britishcichlid.co.uk


All the very best.


Nick

 

[fishgeek]

garlic has no proven efficacy against intestinal nematodes/protozoan nor does it help repell blood sucking paraites of the external variety(except in dracula movies)
there is ancedtal reports of effects on tapeworms

what is proven is that 2 compounds found in fresh garlic cloves when crushed and mixed will react to release alicin? (i think) and this does have prove antibacterial effects

garlic has been used for a long time as a health tonic and maybe there is something more that we will understand in the future

pumpkin seeds also have been used in the aquarium for intestinal worming, these are usually ground into homemade foods - i believe i saw this on a discus site and perhaps some of the discus keepers may know more about this

andrew

ps the term parasite and symbiots are dipolar and the statment that killing all the parasites within a host being detrimental to the host is nonsensical to the extreme
no offence meant to anyone

 

[apistodave]

Garlic

This has got to be one of the strangest threads I've seen! My grandmother was Italian and used to feed her chihuahua garlic-it lived a long time, she did too!