Saltwater & Reef

evil Nick · 09-06-2023, 10:39 PM

So I have a 6 gallon reef with shrimp, snails, serpent star, and a ruby dragon.

There are pods in the tank and I feed him frozen which he also takes fine but today while feeding worms to my freshwater fish I went to the reef. I will occasionally give my shrimp and some coral live worms. Didn't think the fish would be interested but boy was he. He even chased them down. When he was done with the small pile I gave him he still sat there in the spot waiting for more.

Anyone else ever try live worms with dragonette or even Mandarin? Maybe I got lucky? Was just neat.

Also a side tip. Those leeches that come in most worms. My fresh water guys won't touch them. Salt water shrimp and crabs LOVE then apparently.

Andy Sager · 09-06-2023, 11:14 PM

There are many saltwater worms that fish eat so it's not really unusual to see marine fish eating them. Case in point, the fish with long snouts such as Long nose Butterflyfish or Copperbanded Butterfly fish have those long snouts for the purpose of getting into crevices to get the worms that typically live in them. It's great that your fish ate them but be careful not to over feed freshwater worms in a marine tank as they will die and potentially foul the tank if not removed before decaying.

evil Nick · 09-08-2023, 04:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy Sager

There are many saltwater worms that fish eat so it's not really unusual to see marine fish eating them. Case in point, the fish with long snouts such as Long nose Butterflyfish or Copperbanded Butterfly fish have those long snouts for the purpose of getting into crevices to get the worms that typically live in them. It's great that your fish ate them but be careful not to over feed freshwater worms in a marine tank as they will die and potentially foul the tank if not removed before decaying.

i just thought it was interesting because so many people say they have trouble getting them to eat anything but copes. I just decided to give it a shot and he looked confused then ate one and dove into the rest.

I always direct feed with tweezers into the corals and to the shrimp when I do it. For the ruby I placed a couple in a corner with near 0 flow so he can get them. I dont drop them in in bulk. i figure if one or 2 flow away the crabs and snails will get it.

was curious to see if anyone with a mandarin was willing to try feeding it some live blackworms.

Andy Sager · 09-08-2023, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by evil Nick

i just thought it was interesting because so many people say they have trouble getting them to eat anything but copes. I just decided to give it a shot and he looked confused then ate one and dove into the rest.

I always direct feed with tweezers into the corals and to the shrimp when I do it. For the ruby I placed a couple in a corner with near 0 flow so he can get them. I dont drop them in in bulk. i figure if one or 2 flow away the crabs and snails will get it.

was curious to see if anyone with a mandarin was willing to try feeding it some live blackworms.

I don't see why they wouldn't eat your type of worms since they do eat a varied diet including flatworms.