tubifex worm

noun

tu·​bi·​fex worm ˈtü-bə-ˌfeks- 

ˈtyü-

: any of a genus (Tubifex) of slender reddish tubificid worms that live in tubes in fresh or brackish water, are widely used as food for aquarium fish, and serve as a host for the protozoan causing whirling disease in fish

called also tubifex

Word History

Etymology

New Latin Tubific-, Tubifex, from Latin tubus tube + facere to make — more at do

First Known Use

1948, in the meaning defined above