So there I was outside with our dog who was digging a hole and a ton of worms were coming out... That got me thinking... Can I chop them up and feed them? I know that sounds cruel and brutal but hey, free fish food.
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Can earth worms be fed to aquarium fish?
- Thread starter Rocky998
- Start date
I tried feeding a earth worm to my Fathead minnows and they completely. rejected it. Chopping them up is very cruel(to me at least)
OP
OP
Yah... I really don't like the thought of chopping them up.
Fish eat earthworms. the worms are gross and slimy when you cut them up. You can culture white, grindal and microworms that don't need to be cut up, or get a worm farm and grow small species of earthworm.
OP
OP
Hmm... I'll have a look at that! Thanks
Evry put a live earthworm on a hook? There's a bunch of slimy white liquid that comes out. Imagine that x15
Well I do use them, or did until I got a very active whiteworm culture going. I only ever caught the small newly developed worms up to an inch long and fed them whole to the likes of my firemouths and other larger fish. They loved them. No white stuff oozed out of them, and being a fisherman I can't say I've ever seen "white stuff" come off worms. Chopped or whole, as long as the sizes are OK for the fish just go with it. There's a small potential that they have some sort of earthly bacteria on them but just drop them in a bucket of water for a while and that'll clear their insides of whatever they were feeding on.
If you do start a worm farm go for something like brandlings. They are one of the most nutritious and small enough for most fish, but keeping a worm farm isn't as easy as a whiteworm culture.
If you do start a worm farm go for something like brandlings. They are one of the most nutritious and small enough for most fish, but keeping a worm farm isn't as easy as a whiteworm culture.
OP
OP
Thank you for your reply! Very helpful! I may have a look into a few worm cultures and see if I can experiment with them at all... Thanks again!
I feed them to my fish all the time. I also have Work flakes from Kens that I feed. They much prefer live night crawlers.
If you add some Potassium Permanganate to a bucket of water and throw it on your lawn the earth worms will come out of the ground clean.
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Many types of fish love earth worms and I've used them in the past to feed. If worms are used a little common sense needs to be used. Don't throw in a 10 inch night crawler in a tank that has 4 inch cichlids as the worm would be too large for the fish. It is the same as with any other type of food; it has to fit the fish.
One thing that is VERY important is where you get the worms. Only get the worms from a natural environment, not a lawn that has been treated with fertilizers or week killers as such could very easily contain poisons that could kill your fish.
One thing that is VERY important is where you get the worms. Only get the worms from a natural environment, not a lawn that has been treated with fertilizers or week killers as such could very easily contain poisons that could kill your fish.
OP
OP
Oh I didn't think about that. My dad uses weed killers in the yard... Thank you for bringing that up!
Earthworms are quite sensitive to chemicals so if you have them, the area is pretty clean. If your dad uses herbicide, there might not be many worms where he sprays.
Regarding herbicides. If your dad is using Glyphosate (aka Roundup, Weed Killer, etc), it is a class one carcinogen and no amount of exposure is deemed safe. It should have been outlawed 40 years ago but hasn't because Monsanto (the company that made it) has a very good advertising department. But Glyphosate is extremely dangerous and leaves a carcinogenic residue behind that kills anything that inhales or ingests the wet liquid or dry residue.
That information is from the WA Health department who did their own tests on it years ago and have been telling governments to ban the stuff because it is dangerous.
There's also a link between Glyphosate and the Chytrid fungus that kills frogs, as well as a major decline in flora and fauna biodiversity in areas where the chemical is regularly applied.
If your dad has to use it, make sure he wears rubber gloves, safety glass, a respirator for chemical aerosols/ poisons, and protective clothing.
Keep all pets and animals away from the sprayed areas for at least 6 months.
Regarding herbicides. If your dad is using Glyphosate (aka Roundup, Weed Killer, etc), it is a class one carcinogen and no amount of exposure is deemed safe. It should have been outlawed 40 years ago but hasn't because Monsanto (the company that made it) has a very good advertising department. But Glyphosate is extremely dangerous and leaves a carcinogenic residue behind that kills anything that inhales or ingests the wet liquid or dry residue.
That information is from the WA Health department who did their own tests on it years ago and have been telling governments to ban the stuff because it is dangerous.
There's also a link between Glyphosate and the Chytrid fungus that kills frogs, as well as a major decline in flora and fauna biodiversity in areas where the chemical is regularly applied.
If your dad has to use it, make sure he wears rubber gloves, safety glass, a respirator for chemical aerosols/ poisons, and protective clothing.
Keep all pets and animals away from the sprayed areas for at least 6 months.
OP
OP
Oh my gosh! Idk if he uses roundup but wow... Ok I will check out what he uses. Thank you
I feed earth worms and woodlice every month , yes woodlice apparently they have a gill like organ that allows them to survive under water for extended period.. apparently but I use earthworms I purge them in water first
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