Here's a video I took today of the eels eating a cube of tubifex from my hand. I had a second, longer video, but it was too long to be accepted by Photobucket.

Very cool video, Poohbear!

very cool! i want to see ifi can find a couple of these. they look pretty cool.

Very interesting -- and since you do it by hand it's easier to keep the tubifex away from the Tangs and that gorgeous Peacock. (I was taught way back when not to give them tubifex.)

What kind of Aulonocara is the one who comes in halfway through to check it out?

Thanks for sharing this!

Now this should be good! Great video PB, thanx for sharing. By the way, the A. cobue is awsome looking.

The peacock is an aulonocara hansbaenschi (Photobucket greatly reduced the quality of the video). He is such a pig at feeding time! I had been throwing in some NLS algae wafers for the bristlenose because the flourescent light had not been working for a month or so and the algae was running low. The peacock would grab the wafer as soon as I threw it in and swallow it WHOLE. I was shocked that he could fit the whole thing in his mouth.

Out of curiousity, it's mostly the eels that eat the tubifex, but why is it supposed to be bad for tangs? I know fresh tubifex is supposed to be very dirty, but freeze-drying should've killed any pathogens on the worms, or is there another reason?

Bradley- I think you'll really enjoy the elipsifers when you can find some. They aren't the easiest fish to come by, at least not here in San Diego. They are very fussy eaters for me, only taking frozen mysis, frozen blood worms, and now tubifex. The first few weeks you have one, it may bury itself in the sand a lot, but once it gets used to its surroundings, it will be out almost all the time.

That's a great video Poohbear. Those eels look like they'll soon just lay right in your hand to eat. They aren't spoiled are they? Wiggle it just a little bit!

Spoiled? Whatever gave you that idea? On the Floor Laughing Just because they've trained me to feed them their favorite foods? I wish I could've posted the other longer video. They're swimming through and around my fingers in that one. There's also lots of commentary from the cat who's sitting on the floor meowing because nobody's paying attention to her. I've started hand feeding them their mysis now too. They get liquid vitamins on their mysis, then I hold a pinch of shrimp between my fingers, and let them pull out a little at a time. I draw the line at bloodworms though.....I have to wear gloves to feed them that, or my eyes get all puffy.