Blackworms as food

[TRUKINGNY]

can someone explain to me about blackworms i never heard of feeding them to your fish and would really think about doing it as there second meal for the day if its really that good for them...basically i wanna know everything there is to know about them.. where to get them? how to feed them to the fish? do they have to be live or can you get frozen? how to store them if they are live?...plus anything else anyone can add in thanks...

 

[JOHANNA]

I feed live blackworms to my fish, they go crazy for them. I only started because it is the only thing my copper butterfly will eat. You can buy them at a lfs that sells freshwater fish. I buy mine at Petco. I store them in a covered tupperware in the fridge. They usually last 3-4 weeks. They do need to be rinsed with fresh water every week. NEVER SALT WATER !!! You dont even want a single drop of salt water in the container or they will die. I only keep enough water in the tupperware to keep them moist. When I feed them to the tank even the shrimp come out for them. I find them to be an excellent supplemental food.

 

[Jbanks]

Johana, I have found that my copperband goes nuts for frozen freshwater bloodworms as well.. try them out, it may work out for you and prove to be a bit less laborious..

 

[TRUKINGNY]

So is it better to go live or frozen??


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[Jbanks]

I can't make a blanket statement that frozen is better. It's just that frozen is less work for you and easier to store.

 

[basiab]

I have the impression that things that grow in fresh water may not provide good nutrition for saltwater fish. My fish go crazy for brine shrimp just because it is alive and moves. But the nutritional value of brine shrimp more than 6 hours old is about zero unless you gut load them. Most of us love junk food but that doesn't mean it is good for us.

 

[Jbanks]

I certainly respect your point of view, but I don't prescribe to it because that would have to apply to all life forms including humans. We don't come from the ocean, but fish is a great source of protein and omega fatty acids. Plus, they're low in fat for those watching their waste line. Brine shrimp are a great way to get finicky eaters to eat, but not a great source of nutrients unless they are filled with selcon... The same really applies to bloodworms, so I soak them as well. However, it is the only food that my powderblue will eat outside of greens and my CBB goes nuts for them and they're noted to be good for coloration from what I've read. No adverse side affects noted.

 

[adamt]

If you are going to use live worms make sure the water you keep them in does not get into your tank. I used to feed them to my cardinals and everyone in the tank went crazy for them... Idk if its coincidence but I noticed my fish were more prone to getting bacterial infections when I feed live worms. frozen ones have way less risk of introducing nasty bacteria into your tank. Hikari makes a number of frozen saltwater foods that use sea worms which are probably better for saltwater fish than bloodworms. Ill give my fish daphnia every once and a while and they love it, even my mandarin will eat it esp when i can find live ones, never noticed any bad side effects from it.

 

[TRIGGERMAN]

I have never used black worms so I have no experience w/ them but personally I always mix up my food. I'll throw some frozen brine ,mysis and flake/marine chips. I feed that to my fish and corals. I feed nori once in a while as well. I have tangs and a clown.

 

[dj ze]

feeding with live worms can and will introduce parasites i try to stay away from live i to have a copperband that loves frozen bloodworms

 

[spacenyc]

blackworm story

many years ago i used to feed live blackworms to my arrowanas. i took the tank down and stored it in my paernts house for a few years. i then met a gf( presently my wife) who wanted a tank so i set up a coomunity tank in her house. few days later i went over to check on the tank while she wasnt home. the blackworm s had left egss in the gravel that had hatched in the gravel and her apt was full of flies. opened all the windowsd and used a fan to get rid of them. never told her about it