Feeding fishes with live worms.

[spen]

Hi, I am feeding my fishes with live worms in my planted tank. Is it advisable to do so? Will it contaminate the water? Pls advice. Thanks

[elmike]

In my 3 yrs of fishkeeping, I only fed my fish live worms once.

The purists would tell you it's necessary to offer fish varied diet and this includes live food as treats once in a while. I don't find it necessary. The fish do alright without live food. The key factor to ensuring good fish health is providing good water conditions by way of weekly water changes.

While live food is ideal, they also mean risking your tank to extraneous contamination/ diseases. I personally find it a hassle to buy live food.

[hirowen]

Do you mean live tubifex worm (gao hun in hokkien)? It is alright to feed that, maybe once in a while. The reason people using this to feed fish is that it encourages growth rate of the fish. But to maintain a balanced diet, you can feed them once a week with live worm, consistently you feed them fish food.

[elmike]

If you must feed worms, blood worms is a better choice. I understand they pose less hygiene problems than tubiflex.

[spen]

Oh yes, is tubifex worm. So is once a while will be OK. Thanks all.

[|squee|]

Alternatively you can buy frozen blood worms, either of the Hikari or Ocean Free brand. It's $1.50 for a pack of like... 30 cubes? Really worth your money this way imho since the chance of dieseases is greatly reduced, and you don't get bad smells.

[jonawm]

Hikari frozen blood worms smells bad in my opinion, their frozen brine shrimp smells nicer.

Have not tried other brands so do not know if they smell the same.

[|squee|]

I didn't know they smell! seems to me they are virtually smell-less compared to live worms in a dish.

[AkionLCG]

Frozen blood worm may not be 100% sterilized although the package said that it has be UV treated... There is one incident that when defrozing the blood worm to feed my fish, two blood worm actually came back alive.. then what about the micro pathogens which is harmful to the fishes.. I hear by adding garlic juice can eliminate bacteria and increase fishes appetite..

[JT]

The main problems with live worms are basically - bacteria, dirty. Pro and Cons.

Tubiflex worms - dirty,can cause infections to the fishes, takes up alot of Oxygen. If yr tank(2ft) goes without air pump with the worms, tendancy that the fishes might die without oxygen,least u see them gasping for air. Some of it however is good for the plants - in the soil, it irrigates the soil for the roots.

Live blood worms - never! - the remains will form cocoons and eventually grow into a mosquito like fly.

Frozen - ok, but as it says not fully bacteria free.

Summary, in all my fish tanks, I add some tubiflex worms for the soil, not for the feed rather. If anything live food - I go for 'daphana' (abt once a month only - Live)

[discusAmatuer]

I would suggest you guys go for hikari frozen bllodworms. Been feeding them for discus and as JT pointed out, live worms have bacteria that will affect the fish and they are dirty of course.

By right, there should not be any bad smell. But do note that some LFS left their excess supplies out in the open without putting them in the freezer immediately, thus the bloodworm tends to melt a little and when they do that, there is a smell.

If LFS shops do put them into the freezer immediately, there should not be any bad smell and the color of the bloodworms should look bright red rather than blackish red.

btw AkionLCG

how can bloodworms be "alive" again? Frozen bloodworms like hikari brand are cultivated thru proteins and minerals and they are not alive in the first place. They are made to look like worms. Just curious.

[juggler]

[quote:e65c0debf7="spen"]Oh yes, is tubifex worm. So is once a while will be OK. Thanks all.[/quote:e65c0debf7]

I have experience with escaped Tubifex worms that burrowed into the substrate. Some weeks later I saw that it had grew to about 5 times its original size - in length and girth.

[AkionLCG]

[quote:86876885cb="discusAmatuer"]I would suggest you guys go for hikari frozen bllodworms. Been feeding them for discus and as JT pointed out, live worms have bacteria that will affect the fish and they are dirty of course.

By right, there should not be any bad smell. But do note that some LFS left their excess supplies out in the open without putting them in the freezer immediately, thus the bloodworm tends to melt a little and when they do that, there is a smell.

If LFS shops do put them into the freezer immediately, there should not be any bad smell and the color of the bloodworms should look bright red rather than blackish red.

btw AkionLCG

how can bloodworms be "alive" again? Frozen bloodworms like hikari brand are cultivated thru proteins and minerals and they are not alive in the first place.
They are made to look like worms. Just curious.[/quote:86876885cb]

Believe or not, it did come back alive but i must say it occur only once...

Btw, bro discusAmatuer, what to do mean by frozen bloodworms are cultivated thru proteins and minerals and they are not alive in the first place... I dun know how the cultivating process is but they surely need to be alive if not, how do they grow?? Bloodworm are made of flesh and "blood" la... also, they are insert larvae like the mosquito's as said by bro JT.. still couldn't picture how it is cultivated... could it be another case like cloning... bro, no offend ah, just discussing...

[woodduck]

[quote:a6d4eb2bd3="discusAmatuer"]
how can bloodworms be "alive" again? Frozen bloodworms like hikari brand are cultivated thru proteins and minerals and they are not alive in the first place. They are made to look like worms. Just curious.[/quote:a6d4eb2bd3]

Are you suggesting they are actually something else except worms?
Do you have any fact to backup your theroy?

[budak]

Maybe they are "mock worms" made from hydrolysed vegetable protein (i.e. tau pok) with lot of added vitamins, minerals, calcium and dietary fibre and lovingly moulded and shaped into segmented insect larva for our fish's culinary delight! Just like how the wings, drumsticks, dogs, nuggets and patties consumed by juvenile humans are actually composed of an assortment of proteins, prions and pulverised brainmatter recombined and bound into a palatable form by hydrocolloids, high heat and hairy hands.