Feeding Bloodworms

[cherrytetra]

i have 4 rummy nose tetra, and 4 neon tetra. i fed them blood worms for the first time the other day (frozen ones). on the packet it said 'ideal for small community fish'

the strange thing is, after the fish had finished feeding, i cleaned out all the uneaten blood worms... this morning however, there are bloodworms at the bottom of the tank. they have turned blue-ish, i assume they are rotting.

so basically, the fish seem to be passing the bloodworms solid, without digesting them... can anyone tell me if this is normal? am i wasting my time feeding bloodworm if they are not being digested?

 

[saltynay]

The fish's detritus colouration is related to what is eaten it also is normally cylindrical in shape which could be mistaken for a bloodworm. You should also give them cooked peas if feeding large quantities of live foods as it acts as a mild laxative cleaning out their digestive tract otherwise constipation can occur.

 

[saz326]

They would have been digested. As Salty says their waste is often related to what they have eaten. Its not like animal waste where everything comes out the same colour .. (no sweetcorn comments please!)

If they ear red food, their waste often comes out looking fairly red. Also, these fishies are pretty small so they tend to have quite cylindrical and well formed poops.

NExt time try feeding some veggie matter just before you feed bloodworms (i.e. crush up a little bit of flake and put it in as a "starter" course before the main dish. Then reduce the bloodworms so you only feed as much as they will eat. This saves you from fishing out the waste bloodworms and also means the fish get a more balanced meal.

As Salty says - they could benefit from a bit of pea treatment. Helps to prevent constipation if they are on a high protein diet.

 

[arobinson1984]

If you are feeding frozen bloodworms then I'm guessing they are likely to be in cube format?

If you only have them 8 fish in your tank, you dont want to be feeding a full cube as it will be way too much as they are only small fish anyway. I'd recommend cutting a cube in half or even quarter and just giving them that as excess feeding will lead to the fish overeating as they are greedy buggers and dont stop eating when full, plus you are bound to get bits which you miss when fishing excess bloodworm out and they bits you miss will rot and cause ammonia

Andy

 

[Jpmc™]

When I feed cubed tubifex worms, I usually take tiny bits off so they can eat them.

 

[JSmails]

Peas are brilliant. They definitely help digestion and I offer a bit with every meal. I have had problems in the past with blood worms nearly choking neons.

 

[cherrytetra]

thanks for all the fabulous feedback guys!

ill definately try the peas thing

and yes - i made the silly mistake of putting the whole cube in first time! but had to fish 99% of it out. this time around i smashed up the cube and just put a tiny bit in also the worms were smashed up too so they werent so big and difficult for my fish to eat

good to know about the digestion/colouration etc stuff