Tubifex worms for Mandarines

[DEAD_BY_DAWN]

Just thought i should share that if you are haveing problems with a mandarine not eating or not having anything to eat you might want to try feeding them some live tubifex worms,due to the fact that the worms die very quickly in saltwater a feeding dish should be used and the worms removed once there dead,from what iv'e seen at work the fish respond very well and put the weight back on they might have lost..john

[tbone]

good info!

[Matt]

I've read some material that feeding FW foods may stress a fishy osmotic balance. I think it was in Coral magazine, talking about the mortality of lionfishes being fed goldfish, and suggesting acclimating guppies to SW and feeding those instead. I wonder if the same applies to foods like tubifex worms or mysis?

[OCDP]

I would assume it wouldn't be that great for them. I mean, in reality.. they are used to eating SW stuff haha, and I know I am oh so blunt about it. But it kind of makes sense in the end don't you think?

[Delphinus]

I used to feed my scooters bloodworms .. they loved it (just the right size food for their tiny mouths I guess). But I don't think it's a good enough staple food. I'm not so concerned about the FW vs SW, but more important (IMO), to look at things like carbohydrates vs. protein levels vs. moisture content and etc. and unfortunately I think the bloodworms aren't good enough for long-term. I don't know what the #'s would look like for tubifex, but I think if you can use it to train them onto other foods (e.g. mysis), that's gotta be a good thing..