Live food how to ...

[tony]

Hey all,

I am write a series of articles on keeping and producing live foods, including plants. Hints, tips, techniques, etc.

I would like to include the expertise and experiences of as many people as possible so the articles can be as complete and accurate as possible.

If you have any subjects you’d like me to address, any hints, tips, recipes, scientific information, etc, please emails me.

For the list of articles go to http://www.gelf.com.au/fish/production_articles_index.html

Cheers
Tony

 

[tony]

Black Worms (Lumbriculus variegatus) how to...

*** This article is ready for your review and comment ***

To view it click: http://www.gelf.com.au/fish/production_articles/black_worms.pdf]

[/URL] <- Comments, sugestions, additional information more than welcome.
For the full listing of 'how to' files click: http://www.gelf.com.au/fish/production_articles_index.html]

[/URL] <- I have a heap of articles on all sorts of plants and animals, prepared and under development.

I hope this is useful.
Cheers.
Tony

 

[jennifer]

Hi Tony, I am always happy to find new information on live foods and other aquatic stuff. Your site appears very ambitious.

However, I have some serious problems with the information in your blackworm article:

1. The first photo on the page about blackworms says "Photo by the author". However, I can see that this photo was taken from the Aquatic Foods website:
http://aquaticfoods.com/blackwormcare.html
Your site states "This article can be freely reproduced for personal or educational purposes as long as the complete 'contributors and references' section remains..." I applaud your giving blanket permission for the articles to be reproduced for educational purposes. But in terms of acknowledging the source of content, it seems to me that you should extend the same courtesy to others that you ask (i.e., acknowledge where the photo came from!).

2. Your article claims to be about blackworm culture, BUT if you read it carefully, you realize that the methods described are intended for locally-caught aquatic worms. These locally caught worms are almost certainly NOT Lumbriculus variegatus! The 3rd photo on the page shows some lovely orange-pink worms, which to me look like some kind of Tubifex, not blackworms. Surprisingly, Tubifex and blackworms, though similar in some ways, are very distant relatives. Blackworms are close relatives of earthworms, but not of Tubifex. I think it is very misleading to keep calling them "blackworms" throughout the article.

3. A couple of sentences under "Production" were lifted, basically word-for-word, from the Carolina Biological reference that you site.
http://www.carolina.com/STC/PDF/Livingmatcareguide.pdf
I'm sure your English teacher taught you to use text from a source by either paraphrasing the information, or putting it in quotes.

I also have a few other minor issues about the nitty gritty of what's in this article, but I'm not really volunteering to review it. I wish you the best of luck as you continue to build your site. The valuable part about your blackworm article is that you have done a good job of recording your own procedures and experience. However, you really need to be more careful about correctly identifying species, and about using information from other sources.

 

[tony]

Jennifer,
Thanks for the comments.
You're so right about that photo, though the web site is wrong as I've never even heard of that site. It was an oversight of mine from the proforma I set up. I've changed it now to the site you referenced.
As for the content, I'm no scientist, but I'm pretty sure they are Black Worms (they are definitely not tubifex). The colour is what I feed them (when I feed rotting organic matter in a cold environ they go black, clean food in warm water they go orange). I may be wrong, but I though I was right with the ID both at the time of writing, and to this day.
The paraphrasing comment is a very fair one, and I will work on that for the next update.
Thanks for your comments.
Cheers
Tony

 

[jennifer]

You may be correct that the worms you grow aren't tubifex, but I'm quite certain that they are NOT blackworms. And yes, I am a scientist. It's misleading to call the article blackworm culture, as the methods you describe will not work with actual blackworms (L. variegatus).

I have looked again at your site, and you are still claiming credit for that blackworm photo, and I consider that a transgression of Internet ethics. You may have gotten it elsewhere than the link I gave, but it's still not your photo.

You asked for input, but you don't appear to be taking it.

 

[edward]

They still maybe Tubifex just not T. tubifex. Tubifex is made up of at least several different species which usually cannot be keyed out via visual inspection (so how do you know they are not Tubifex) in addition the Tubificidae contains many species.
It is also possible that they are a different Lumbriculus but as Jen pointed out not L. variegatus so it should not be called the culture of blackworms.
If you do not know what species of worm you are culturing then you should not be linking to or referring to other types of worms as you do not know if the information is relevent.

If you are using information and/or pictures that are not yours without permission then you are potentially violating international copyright laws.

Ed

 

[tony]

Man, it's been a long time since I was at uni, I forgot how urgently lecturers expect their sugestions to be implemented.
I do these articles to assist fellow hobbiests, and I do them in my spare time. Between 2 bubs, my fish, and my work, spare time is a bit of a luxury.
Also, I'm on a dialup network, and it takes forever to upload files. I was going to upload the changes once I rewrote the article to reflect the comments above (and I do appreciate the comments).
I've uploaded tonight a copy with the photo referenced to Jens sugested site, but I havn't reworded anything else.
I'd love to find info for identifying species accurately, but to date have not been able to find anything with the resources available to me.
It sounds like you are right, my worms are probably not the species I stated. All I know is to the naked eye they look identicle to the black worms I can get from our local fish shop (though their worms may be mislabled as well).
Anyway, give me time and I'll do my best to get the articles as accurate as possible.
Cheers
Tony