TUBIFEX... is possible to breed them?

[PIGGI]

Hiiii there!!

Okay, I've another basic-question for you, who are expert in Cory's world
I always read about TUBIFEX worms as one of the most important and good-nourishment-propieties food for our loved south-american (and not only!) little catfishes...so, I wonder if ...
1) Is possible to purchase them at the acquarium shops (because here I didn't find them, although I've asked for them) OR do the funs (=all of you) EVEN go and catch it anywhere, through the rivers banks? OR, said in other words:... WHERE CAN I FIND THEM? ;
2) (In second place and MOST IMPORTANT) ... Does exist any special tecnique to breed and let these tiny worms proliferate? (to avoid to go EVERYTIME we need to feed our Coryes to the shop)
3) What about the brine shrimps?

Thanks for the useful help!
UN GRANDE CIAO dall'Italia!
Pierluigi

[MatsP]

Tubifes live in "detritous" in slow-living rivers, and I whilst it's probably possible to grow your own, it's very unlikely to be a pleasant experience (quite smelly, I would think - unless you already live next to a waste-water processing [and I mean "human waste" - not rainwater drainage) plant, in which case you already have the smell!)

They are available in most fish-shopes as frozen, freeze-dried or live.

An alternative, that has similar nutritional value would be blood-worms, which is a form of midge-larvae [Midges are similar to mosquitos], they are often sold as "red mosquito larvae". They usually live in equally unpleasant places as Tubifex, but I find them to be more easily available in local shops, frozen or alive.

A third option is earthworms, which you should be able to get by digging in the garden or from a fishing-shop (not a FISH-shop, but a place where people who use rods with string and hooks to catch fish - they use earthworms as bait). Froozen and sliced thin, they are a good food for Corydoras and other "meat-eaters".

Baby brine-shrimps is a good food, but once they start getting bigger, they aren't very good nutritional value, as I've read it...

There's also plenty of excellent prepared food, such as Tetra bits. But supplementeding with some other types of food is a good idea.


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Mats

[Coryman]

It is possible to culture most live foods and tubifex is no exception. Whether it is worth all the effort is debatable, but here is a link to how it's done. Tubifex


Ian