Blackworms banned

[sundog101]

I also read somewhere to use burlap instead of paper towels. The worms feed off the jute and it doesn't foul the water.

 

[Johnseye]

Is there any risk of bacterial infections in aquarium fish from blackworms?

 

[Paul B]

Is there any risk of bacterial infections in aquarium fish from blackworms?

I don't really know as I am only using them every day since the 60s. Maybe after 70 years there is a problem.

 

[Chrisfish]

I don't really know as I am only using them every day since the 60s. Maybe after 70 years there is a problem.

Thank you Paul, for that link to your article I have been feeding my SW fish LBW's for almost a year now and it started out as ... I was feeding my FW dwarf puffer the lbw's and said what the heck I'm going to see if my SW fish like them( feed them with a turkey baster) and they went crazy!! Even my mandarin loves them and she's right up there for her turn. But I do keep mine in the fridge in minimum distilled water and they live ( if they haven't all been eaten) for about 10 days. Actually my emerald crab, fire shrimp come out of hiding when it's feeding time. I do change up time to time but if that is their main diet is that ok? Oh and I do feed and have massive amounts of pods for my Mandy as well.

 

[meir]

I have been using them since the 70s and never keep them in the fridge.
I wrote this about them http://www.saltwatersmarts.com/feeding-blackworms-healthy-marine-fish-whiteworms-3124/

Isn't fw foods bad for sw fish?

 

[Paul B]

Isn't fw foods bad for sw fish?

It is not a good idea to feed salt water fish fresh water fish like goldfish as they lack the proper oils. But I don't only feed the worms for their nutrition, I also feed them for the live bacteria which would also be beneficial if you feed goldfish. I am not sure of the thing with worms because I have used them for so many years. Actually I have been using them from the time this hobby started in 1971 and virtually all of my paired fish are spawning, I don't have to quarantine and my fish basically die of old age so how bad could they be.
My fish also never get sick, I mean never so it "may" have something to do with worms but I really don't know.

 

[jd371]

Paul, I read on another thread that you started soaking your Blackworms in fish oil before feeding them to the fish. Are you talking about the fish oil like the kind you get in omega 3 capsules and the like.

 

[Paul B]

I was talking about the same oil you can take yourself. It was just an experiment, I don't do that all the time.

 

[Cleverbs]

I kept mine in the mini fridge in the bar

 

[jd371]

I was talking about the same oil you can take yourself. It was just an experiment, I don't do that all the time.

Gotcha. I add a few drops of Selcon to the water after they get rinsed.

 

[Paul B]

You can do that, but you are wasting your Selcon as it will not stick to the worms and just ends up in your water

 

[klp]

I have been using them since the 70s and never keep them in the fridge.
I wrote this about them http://www.saltwatersmarts.com/feeding-blackworms-healthy-marine-fish-whiteworms-3124/

I don't know if you ever kept Mandarins or Pipefish but was wondering how they would do with white worms, vinegar eels or micro worms.

 

[RMS18]

Mine are in the fridge but they are in a tight container. If you change the water out daily they last a few weeks. I buy them once every 3 weeks.

 

[Paul B]

I don't know if you ever kept Mandarins or Pipefish but was wondering how they would do with white worms, vinegar eels or micro worms.

I have been keeping mandarins and pipefish for decades. Pipefish don't eat worms but mandarins love them.
They will eat whiteworms and blackworms, I never tied vinegar or micro worms.
Here my mandarins are spawning.