Live BLACK WORMS?

[mgkaelen]

does anyone have any experience feeding their tank live black worms? i currently have 4 loaches and an african frog that i think would be interested in t hem... however i'm only feeding them frozen bloodworms right now via turkey baster. i just read something that african frogs need to eat LIVE food at least twice a week, so i'm getting nervous i'm not doing a good job at keeping him healthy! however, i've never heard of black worms, and i have NO idea WHERE to get them, and if it would be a good idea to use with my tank, or if the bloodworms are good enough. i was laso considering getting an elephant nose fish (now am reconsidering because madasafish-among others- have said they are so finnicky and will be hard to keep alive) so i was considering purchasing a live brine shrimp hatchery to keep him happy. would that be a good idea for the loaches and frogs, even if i didn't get the EN? any suggestions would be helpful! also, any suggestions as to pretty, exotic looking, "WOW" FW fish that would be compatible with my tankmates are always accepted! along with the loaches and african frog, i have 10 small silver tipped (i think) tetras, and 3 danios..... i'm looking into getting rid of the tetras and getting 2-3 danios to make a proper school... thanks guys!

oh! ps it's a 29g tank. (loaches are still babies.. no overcrowding yet!)

 

[Guppyman]

Live Black Worms

Hi mgkaelen,

I feed live black worms on a regular basis and also frozen bloodworms via a turkey baster. Honestly, there's not much difference between the two and I think your frog will be fine with the frozen bloodworms. I only use the live ones if I'm in my lfs and they have some fresh clean ones on hand. Your much safer going with the frozen, although not as bad as tubifex - live black worms can carry parasites and bacteria. I rinse mine extra thorough and only feed them to certain fish.

As far as hatching lbbs, that's that's the easy part. Growing them to adult size is a real pain in the butt and in my estimation - just not worth the hassle. Most lfs have live adult shrimp at least once a week - especially on the left coast. I'm sure if you make a few calls you'll find a dealer to supply you.

As far as tankmate suggestions - there I cannot help you. - Guppyman

 

[madasafish]

Hehe. As I said to you in the PM, I can't be of much help here, but I would like to add that your avatar is a little seizure-inducing (like the "Battling Seizure Robots" in "The Simpsons go to Japan.")

That's not a *bad* thing per se!

 

[BrianNY]

Personally, I feed CBW on a regular basis. They are very high in protein as are frozen blood worms. I think a varied diet for your tank is a good thing.

 

[mgkaelen]

cbw

Personally, I feed CBW on a regular basis. They are very high in protein as are frozen blood worms. I think a varied diet for your tank is a good thing.

what is the C in CBW ? ha ha. and are you referring to blood? black worms? haha. blame my lack of lingo on my newbie status .

 

[BrianNY]

Sorry, LOL.....California Black Worms

 

[TankGirl]

I feed live black worms too (occasionally), because it is something to see when the fish spot them - they really, really adore live food. As Guppyman said, rinse them very well.

I also agree that brine shrimp are extremely difficult to grow to any decent size, so I get the adults from my LFS about once a week or so. The BBS that you can hatch yourself are best for fry. Shrimp are not all that nutritious, and are more like a treat. Many fish do not do well with a lot of protein in their diet, though.

 

[Gunnie]

Here is a site for blackworms if you want to try them. I was looking into getting some also.

http://www.aquaticfoods.com/worms.html