Tubifex Tubifex

Tubifex tubifex is a species of tubificid segmented worm, commonly called the sludge worm, sewage worm, or tubifex worm. It is a slender annelid that can reach lengths of up to about 20 centimeters. It typically lives in the bottom sediments of lakes and rivers, and occasionally in sewer lines and outlets, thriving in oxygen-depleted and heavily polluted environments where few other organisms survive; it has been recorded on several continents, including in France's Aa River. Tubifex tubifex feeds as a detritivore, ingesting sediment and selectively digesting the bacteria within it, and it can also act as a vector for microplastic biomagnification in aquatic food webs, raising concerns about the transfer of microplastics to organisms higher in the food chain.