Black Worms

[Barrie]

What's the current thoughts on using Black Worms - still safe if cleaned/purged and stored correctly?

[Hollowman]

Try the freeze dried ones that Mal produces (sponsor) they are great!!

[boydvd]

i prefer the dried worms... fish love them. i dont trust blackworms. my fish die randomly wen i feed the live ones

[sf108]

I really haven't had any issues with live ones, however I'd suggest offering them in moderation eg. once every month or so.

As long as you bought them fresh, and keep them in clean cool water, then they'll keep for a couple of days. But I'll advise not feeding the fish in consecutive feeds as there may be too strong a bacterial buildup during consumption.

Once they start turning gooey/slushy, or smell, it's already time to throw them away.

[lpiasente]

The dried ones from Mal in the cube form +++++++1 :D .

[Barrie]

Thanks for the replies. If using the dried ones, do the fish "condition up" as well when compared to live?

[MalcolmC]

Live worms are great provided you get them when they are in really good condition. Live worms are purged for up to one week before I sell them to the wholesaler who then sells them to your local shop.
You will get problems with your fish if you feed them worms that are dying or are already dead, but at this time of the year you should have no problems with them.Be very careful if you buy them when packed in a small plastic container, make sure that they haven't been in the shop for a while and are not in a good condition.
Cheers, Mal

[sf108]

Thanks for the replies. If using the dried ones, do the fish "condition up" as well when compared to live?

Nothing beats conditioning than live foods, since it's the natural food source fish eat in the wild.

However, the technology that is used to freeze dry foods are very advanced nowadays so the nutritional value of the dried foods are now nearly as good as the live product...minus the wiggling.

Other live foods you may want to consider: brine shrimp, daphnia, micro-worms, tubifex (beware), cyclops. Not all of them you can buy from a LFS, but you can probably culture them or find them in local streams/ponds.

[Barrie]

Thanks everyone for the info. Has anyone tried adding the freeze dried BW to a beef heart mix and then freezing the mixture? Would that be OK

[Hassles]

I feed Live Blackworms regularly to my Discus and Apistogramma (and apistogramma fry) & both species love them. I feed freeze dried blackworms also to those Apistos willing to rise to the surface. I feed extra live blackworms to growing juvernile Apistos.

The live worms are rinsed with fresh water every day (or at every feed) and I never keep them longer than a week.