Disinfecting Tubifex worms with anti-septic mouthwash

(article contributed by Alex Tay)

I learnt this method while caring for Bettas.

Here are the steps.

1) Wash the worms thoroughly.

2) Place the worms in a container with about 250 ML of water.

3) Use a McDonald's straw. Dip one end of the straw in listerine and close the other end with your thumb. Use only about 2 cm of listerine, measured from the listerine end of the straw. Then transfer the listerine into the worm container.

4) You will see the worms wriggling really frantically. Stir the worms so that the listerine is diffused into the whole worm mass. Leave to stand for 10 minutes.

5) Stir and wash the worms, each time removing the scum that the worms secrete. I wash about 4 times.

6) You should not be able to smell any listerine in the worm mass after 5 washes. If you do, you probably used too much listerine. All my fishes have done well with this method. No Velvet problems. I noticed that sometimes when I use too much listerine due to "lazy pouring" instead of the straw method, my worms die after a day. However with the method described above, my culture can last for 3 days.

Hope it works for you folks.