Tubifex worms --plant health

Hi, im Don, with a 10 gallon tank of 3 C. Orientalis. im just wondering, when i placed tubifex worms in my tank, some of them anchored at the base of my plants. after 1-2 days, i noticed that the plants with tubifex worms anchored became torn near the roots.
is it because of the tubifex worms?

Hi Don, sounds like the tubifex are eating the plants around the base, you may need to carefully remove the affected plants before they decide to move on to other plants in your tank x

Tubifex worms eat bacteria on sediment particles so I doubt they are feeding directly on the plants. If the plants are already decaying they may be removing loose particles, creating the torn appearance. I don't think they have the mouth parts to attack healthy plant material.

thanks! i just added more plants in my newt tank

These are plants in the newt tank?

Its more then likely caused by the newts trying to feed on the anchored worms

That's the reason why I have to put huge boulders around my plants to protect them from my T.verrucosus.

stupid question, but once they are frozen they can't become alive again can they?

Not a stupid question an the answer is "no". If you don't want live tubifex within your substrate you can use a feeding jar (an empty jar which you put in a slight angle within your substrate). This way you can offer tubifex without them burrowing and hiding as soon at they're placed in your tank. You can also place a "feeding strip" in your tank.

Take a strip with the same length of your tank and 2 cm high and place this in the length of your tank 2 cm from the front to create a ridge. The strip can be made out of glass, plexyglass or other thin water resistant material. Use the bottem area "behind" the strip for your substrate but keep the are in front of the strip bare bottom. Use this area to place tubifex or blood worms on. They can't burrow anymore, because they're on a bare bottom area, and your animals can easily see them.

If you have a shorter strip, you can use this to keep one of the corners of your tank free from substrate so you have a feeding corner.

Good idea Niels, but as far as i know newts can smell and dig up tubifex and thats fun to watch as well, or will they spoil the water / substrate?