Gold fish pregnant or signs of swim bladder?

[Deeznuts]

You really need one of these compost-worm species for a worm farm, because they eat dead and decaying plant matter (ie kitchen scraps). The true earthworms tend to just eat soil.

Do you know the name of the worm? Would this work be okay to feed to the koi, too?

 

[Deeznuts]

I go to the one in Dartford, I’ve also been to the one in Polhill not far from Orpington. Both reside in garden centres, that seems to be their thing lol.
I did go to mine yesterday but they didn’t have any live food! Said they had a problem with the supplier.. but they had lots of frozen bloodworm in the freezer.

I see! When was the time before that, when they had the live food? I’ve not been to any others other than the one near me but my local fish shop as live blood work, I use live loosely because they’re always unalive in a clear sack plastic bag lol! So dumb. They don’t even try to keep them alive longer someone should really consider selling bloodworm in a way that they remain alive longer

 

[Ichthys]

Do you know the name of the worm? Would this work be okay to feed to the koi, too?

They're in the genus Dendrobaena. In the UK they're usually called Compost Worms (Google Compost Worm). Any reddish/pinkish worms you find in the garden are these. Earthworms are greyish.
They're great fish food but I wouldn't feed many at all to koi or goldfish, as they're quite high in protein. Goldfish and koi need a low protein diet.

 

[Sparx]

I see! When was the time before that, when they had the live food? I’ve not been to any others other than the one near me but my local fish shop as live blood work, I use live loosely because they’re always unalive in a clear sack plastic bag lol! So dumb. They don’t even try to keep them alive longer someone should really consider selling bloodworm in a way that they remain alive longer

They actually said they’d had a problem with their supplier for the last couple of months, and it’s not just them he said it’s the same for their other branches as well. Something about having the right code to transport live product
But I had live food just last week - I asked hubby and turns out he got it from a different shop where about in the UK are you?

 

[Deeznuts]

They're in the genus Dendrobaena. In the UK they're usually called Compost Worms (Google Compost Worm). Any reddish/pinkish worms you find in the garden are these. Earthworms are greyish.
They're great fish food but I wouldn't feed many at all to koi or goldfish, as they're quite high in protein. Goldfish and koi need a low protein diet.

I depends on your country as to the protein requirements for your koi and whether it’s a competition koi or not.

I’m from the U.K. during the hot months (I say hot because summer here doesn’t always mean hot months lol) They require a higher protein diet around 32% would be reasonable. It helps to encourage breeding and growth. In the winter however, when they slow down, so dropping the protein level would be the right thing to do if keeping them outside in a pond as it can reach -8 degrees Celsius here.

If you have an indoor pond and it’s kept warm throughout the year, there’s nothing wrong with keeping the protein the same throughout.

The worms I’ve dug up when landscaping the garden tend to be reddish/pinkish and grey lol
My Hi-Utsuri has put on some serious growth since he’s been munching on worms. Every now and then gets some larvae pupae, too. Along with his regular pellets.

 

[Deeznuts]

They actually said they’d had a problem with their supplier for the last couple of months, and it’s not just them he said it’s the same for their other branches as well. Something about having the right code to transport live product
But I had live food just last week - I asked hubby and turns out he got it from a different shop where about in the UK are you?

Sounds about right lol. When you say live food, what food are you referring, too? Small live feeder goldfish and small feeder crabs etc? I live in the south east near Kent.

 

[Colin_T]

So, as noted by the person below. Is there a specific worm i should be using?
I also read that earth worms like to try and dig through the bottom of whatever they’re in.

I have looked at various worm farms that can be made at home. Unfortunately, I don’t have a home depot or anything useful like that in the uk. I’m going to probably use two transparent containers to create one, so I can see them hard at work lol. I’m just not sure what purpose the tap serves

Red, blue and tiger worms are the 3 main composting earthworms we have in Australia. You should be able to find something similar where you live. Maybe Google composting worms in your area.

If you have transparent containers for the worms, cover the sides and top in black plastic or something to stop light getting in. Make sure air can get in but not light. Earthworms (including the composting varieties) don't like bright light and if you have transparent containers, they won't go near the sides. If you put black plastic or material over the top and sides, you can remove that to check on the worms, then put it back over the container to stop light stressing the worms.

On worm farms, they have a tap near the bottom of the container to drain out the worm juice. Worm juice is the liquid waste that is produced by the worms eating the food scraps. It is full or nutrients and worm eggs and can be mixed with water (1 part worm juice to 10-20 parts water) and watered over lawns and garden plants once a month or whenever you like. It is an excellent source of nutrients for plants and helps boost microbial activity in the soil.

If you don't remove the worm juice, the liquid builds up in the potting mix and drives the worms out so you need some way of removing the worm juice from the farm.

 

[Sparx]

Sounds about right lol. When you say live food, what food are you referring, too? Small live feeder goldfish and small feeder crabs etc? I live in the south east near Kent.

I’m referring to brine shrimp and bloodworm.
He got them from Swallow Aquatics in Gravesend if you fancy making the trip over