Plant Doctor Archive

Water Gardens — Tubifex worms

I HAVE a lot of what appear to be red worms living in the sludge at the bottom of my pond. Are these harmful and, if so, what can I do?

THESE are most likely Tubifex worms. They are actually harmless - in fact, they are very good fish food, as keepers of tropical fish will tell you.

However, as they grow in organic sludge and feed on what you and I would call sewage, they tend to indicate that it is time for a clean out.

Winter is the perfect time for this unpleasant activity and as an added bonus, all the murky sludge you remove is great for the compost heap.

Reproduced with permission from the former Weekend Gardener magazine. The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the RNZIH.