frozen blood worms

[lovemybarbs]

You know me, always paranoid....

I started feeding my fish frozen blood worms last week. They love them. I am giving them a half a cube a night. Is that too much for a 29 gallon? I do weekly 20 to 40% water changes, but I don't want to be polluting the water. Also, do you thaw them out completely before you drop them in??? As always, thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Zagz]

I do thaw them out but I can't say on the cubes because I don't use the cubes, sorry. I use the sheets and break them as needed. I'm sure that someone else who uses them will chime in.

 

[lovemybarbs]

You know, I almost bought those. I couldn't decide. Do they break easily? I have to use a pretty sharp knife to get my cube to break in half. I'm worried about my digits.

 

[Devilishturtles]

I cut the cubes in half or quarter and feed them twice a week or so. I feed flake and freeze dried in between those times. My fish make a mess of the frozen stuff, so that is why I don't feed everyday. It is good to offer a variety as well, therefore, I wouldn't feed it every day.

HTH

 

[lovemybarbs]

I'm a bit concerned about the frog starving to death if I don't. He seems to have more energy since I started feeding them the worms. I like the worms because they scatter about and he is more likely to find them when he hunts around. It's like he's blind or something. He isn't touching the pellets much anymore, he steps on them and keeps going.

 

[Zagz]

You can use a turkey baster to put small amounts of bloodworms right by your frog's mouth. Someone else had another suggestion for a hypodermic needle to feed directly to the frog. Also I use a hammer to break the sheets of bloodworms up

 

[lovemybarbs]

well that is better than me cutting off a finger. I'm definitely going to try the turkey baster thing. He's so silly, I'm not sure he'll even know they are there. How he stays alive is beyond me. Right now he soaring through the middle of the tank. I guess he's hungry.

 

[LydiaGreen]

It is really hard to feed ADF's in a community tank. 3 of my mother's 6 starved to death in her 40 community. The other three are now living comfortably in a 5.5 gallon by themselves in my daughter's room. It can be done, but it took way more time and effort than I was willing to put in. With them in their own tank, I just drop in a cube every second night and they are happy. I don't even bother thawing them anymore and it doesn't seem to bother them at all. Based on my experience with these 3... they won't eat anything other than frozen foods... will NOT touch flake or pellet food at all.

I was warned against feeding my goldfish bloodworms on a regular basis because it can cause bloat... I don't know about the fish that you have. My 55 gallon tank might get one cube every two or three weeks but they aren't getting very much each from that cube... there are six goldfish and six loaches in there and all of them LOVE bloodworms. I also started this new frozen food called "emerald entree" which is supposed to be very nutritious for any omnivorous aquatic species and it is also supposed to prevent bloat by cleaning out their GI tract (its a mix of plants and meat). The goldfish, loaches, gobies, and australian rainbows all went nuts for it. Any ever heard of it?

 

[lovemybarbs]

The barbs get most of it. I like them because they sink. The frog loves the krill, but it doesn't sink worth a hoot.

 

[woodsplace1]

I am having the same problem...my fish seem to be eating the blood worms faster than I can get them to the frog. Today, I put the blood worms in with the flakes and I think I confused them, they went for the blood worms but then went for the flakes, they couldn't be 2 places at once. I also today put a pinch in my fingertips (I also have the frozen block type) and I placed them right in front of the frog and dropped them right in front of him today. He gobbled them up like candy...I kept my hand close so the fish couldn't get to the worms before he could get them...I figure I'll be ok doing that in a few days again then he'll get the taste and realize what is all about. HTH, try it, it just might work, the frozen block is a bit heavier, worked well for me. Good luck!

 

[lovemybarbs]

I dropped it right by mine last night and a barb took off with the entire chunk. I'll get a baster. I need one. Anyway....... Tonight I might separate it in two places in the tank and see if the frog has a better chance. I don't like putting my hands in the tank at night because I usually have a lotion on or something that might bother the water.

 

[Johnmc]

In a community tank with small fish, brine or mysis shrimp has a better chance of reaching the ADFs. The shrimp may be too large fish to handle.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I used to cut my cubes in half, but now that my fire eels have grown quite a bit since then, I feed a cube a day. I also put in a cube of brine shrimp on occasion too. Haven't found anything else the eels will eat, just the bloodworms.

 

[lovemybarbs]

In a community tank with small fish, brine or mysis shrimp has a better chance of reaching the ADFs. The shrimp may be too large fish to handle.

Does that sink? Do you buy it frozen or freeze-dried??

I just bought a baster on my lunch.

 

[QTOFFER]

I use the cubed frozen bloodworms too. I thaw the cube completely in a dixie cup of tank water and pour the worms in. Fish go nuts over them. In fact, the prospect of getting bloodworms gives my small tetras courage to snatch them right out from beneath the angelfish' noses!

If you have any fish in the tank, it is unlikely that the ADF will get any bloodworms unless you use the turkey baster as someone suggested.

Also, they are high in protein, so you don't want to overfeed to the fish. Half a cube per day is too much for fish, IMO. I would feed the fish bloodworms 1, maybe 2 times a week max.

I'm not sure about ADF, but I think they tolerate/require high protein diets, so they can get get bloodworms more often.

 

[nikipike]

Recently switched my bettas over to almost all frozen food. Their color has improved greatly & their more active.

They & I both prefer the blood worms over anything else. Easy to feed & easy to spot any fallen ones (vs. brine shrimp.)

I use cubed frozen foods. Since they obiviously don't need a lot, I keep 1/2 cube of blood worms & 1/2 a cube of brine shrimp thawed out in a plastic container in the fridge. Each gets 3 of either 2x a day & no food 1 day a week. If i'm in a rush, they get 2-3 pellets for that feeding.

Need to figure how to feed the ladies when their moved into their tank, but thats a hurdle i'll jump when I get there!

 

[lovemybarbs]

Okay I have half a cube sitting in a little cup of tank water. I have the turkey baster. Cross your fingers. He's dancing around like he knows it's dinner time.

 

[Johnmc]

lovemybarbs

Frozen brine & mysis shrimp sink. Can't speak to whether the freeze dried does.

 

[lovemybarbs]

I have to say, I'm not very experienced with turkey basters. I shot some over towards the frog and managed to scare the holy tar out of my pleco with the suction noise it made. He took off and the frog dried to dig himself a hole in the gravel. He ended up eating a little bit. I'll try again tonight.

 

[Peregrine]

I thaw mine in a shot glass. Let it sit then stir it a bit.
Whenever I feel like treating my fish, I use a full cube in my 55 with about 25 fish in it.
GL w/Senor Frog.