Live BlackWorms: Best Fish and LPS Food Ever?
- Thread starter Ycore
- Start date
This thread has made me look for blackworms.. but I couldn't find any being sold here (Philippines). Would bloodworms be a good replacement?
Has anyone ever tried bloodworms? I tried giving a pinch, but no fish seemed to eat it. I saw my PBT and bicolor anthias slurp a piece, only to spit them out a second later.
Thanks for any input.
Has anyone ever tried bloodworms? I tried giving a pinch, but no fish seemed to eat it. I saw my PBT and bicolor anthias slurp a piece, only to spit them out a second later.
Thanks for any input.
Paul B
Premium Member
I have no knowlege of those red worms, they may be great.
If you feed blackworms, feed them after you feed something else. Many fish like the worms so much that they may refuse other types of food. I have had that problem a few times.
Fish like copperband and long nosed butterflies were designed to live on worms and that is what they should be fed.
If you feed blackworms, feed them after you feed something else. Many fish like the worms so much that they may refuse other types of food. I have had that problem a few times.
Fish like copperband and long nosed butterflies were designed to live on worms and that is what they should be fed.
As mentioned earlier in this thread, "bloodworms" is a misnomer... they are not worms... they are insect larvae.
Robka
New member
Paul thanks again for all your input. It sounds like these red wigglers could possible be a great nutrition source and since my worm farm is completely organic, I shouldn't have any issues with pesticides possible being consumed by the worms. What a great "Green" circle of life this can be; Worm poop fertilizes my garden --> I eat healthy food --> organic food waste get composted in the worm farm --> worms feed on organic waste --> worms multiply & are fed to my fish:spin1:
Thanks again,
Robka
:lol: My bad, I misses those lovely instructions :lol:
Stuart60611
New member
Plus, if you use a worm farm kit, like the one I posted on the earlier pages of this thread, then you should not have this problem. The earthworm breeding kits do not use dirt, but worm beding to keep the worms.
Robka
New member
My worm farm started with the bedding and then grew with organic waste. All the food waste i put into the worm compost farm is organic and thus these red wigglers are healthy & reproduce fast (doubling their #'s every two months) :love2:
All the fish ate them as soon as they hit the water. I can now say that my wife, dogs, and fish all eat organic food
deutsche20V
New member
Hey guys I don't have much experience with blackworms, just fed them a couple times in the past to my FW fish for some variety, but I know several people were interested in the nutritional value they provide. Here's a chart originally posted by beblondie on monsterfishkeepers...
I don't know where she obtained it, but she was a respected authority and I have no reason to doubt its accuracy. Just thought it was worth posting
I don't know where she obtained it, but she was a respected authority and I have no reason to doubt its accuracy. Just thought it was worth posting
Matt_Wandell
New member
That chart (assuming it's accurate) does indicate one important thing--blackworms have a LOT of fat in them, an order of magnitude more fat than things like shrimp/clam/squid/krill. They have fat content closer to what you would see in a goldfish, and we know how well marine fish do on those if fed long term. You can compare it with the fat content of some other foods here:
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/jan2004/invert.htm
I don't think this means that blackworms are not a valuable part of a varied and well balanced diet, but they should not become a staple food IMHO.
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Matt_Wandell
New member
This looks like an informative study if anyone has access to it:
"Aquatic worms grown on biosolids: Biomass composition and potential applications"
http://www.sciencedirect.com/scienc...2259e3adc173bfdef8b0e3466b62e759&searchtype=a
"Aquatic worms grown on biosolids: Biomass composition and potential applications"
http://www.sciencedirect.com/scienc...2259e3adc173bfdef8b0e3466b62e759&searchtype=a
Big E
Premium Member
Yeah, I mentioned fat content in worms earlier & that's why I'm not a big advocate of using worms that often. I think they're great for new fish that won't eat.........your packing a load of protein into a small package short term till you get them eating more proper foods. The fat isn't going to matter for that short period of time. They'd also be good for sick fish that haven't eaten in a while or fish that are woefully thin.
I think they have merit for conditioning breeders, again, short term.
I'd also be more apt to feed the worms to Butterfly fish on a more regular basis as marine worms are part of their natural diet.
I'm intrigued on what affect they would have on LPS corals as far as accelerating growth.
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Paul B
Premium Member
Interesting chart. Thank you for posting it. What it does not tell you is the types of fat.
Worms and fish, including goldfish have no solid fat, only oil, and all oils are not the same. The fat in a mouse is not suitable for a fish food nor is the oil in a goldfish suitable for a salt water fish.
We know even in us humans all fats are not the same. Salt water fish oil is good for our hearts, brains and overall immune system health. (I take it every day) Mammal fat like we would get from cows, pigs and mice for anyone who would like to eat one is not good for us.
Fish should not eat any solid fats from land animals because at the temperatures that our fish live, that fat remains solid and can not be dijested. Fish are cold blooded and those fats remain solid at the 78 degrees (aprox) that our fish have for an internal temperature.
We can eat solid fats because our temp is 96 degrees and the fat melts. That is also why it can travel around in our blood and again solidify in our arteries.
Oil does not do that.
But worms have the type of oils that will keep both salt water and fresh water animals healthy.
It is a large part of my fishes diet and my fish normally live long enough to die from old age while spawning for many of those years. I am quite sure there is no longer study for worms as food than that.
Worms and fish, including goldfish have no solid fat, only oil, and all oils are not the same. The fat in a mouse is not suitable for a fish food nor is the oil in a goldfish suitable for a salt water fish.
We know even in us humans all fats are not the same. Salt water fish oil is good for our hearts, brains and overall immune system health. (I take it every day) Mammal fat like we would get from cows, pigs and mice for anyone who would like to eat one is not good for us.
Fish should not eat any solid fats from land animals because at the temperatures that our fish live, that fat remains solid and can not be dijested. Fish are cold blooded and those fats remain solid at the 78 degrees (aprox) that our fish have for an internal temperature.
We can eat solid fats because our temp is 96 degrees and the fat melts. That is also why it can travel around in our blood and again solidify in our arteries.
Oil does not do that.
But worms have the type of oils that will keep both salt water and fresh water animals healthy.
It is a large part of my fishes diet and my fish normally live long enough to die from old age while spawning for many of those years. I am quite sure there is no longer study for worms as food than that.
This idea really interests me, and is really the main reason I feed LBW. So often I see CBB, for example (even ones that have been in captivity for "years") with sort of squared off bellies... I always though it looked strange, for their belleis to not be rounded and full looking. Maybe they aren't getting enough fat from shrimp, seeing as they are obviously designed to eat worms. Just throwing some thoughts out there...discuss
