Live Black Worms

[Styx]

Are live black worms good betta food or bad betta food? What are the risks of feeding them this particualr food? What are the chances of them getting internal parisites from live black worms?

 

[OohFeeshy]

I know a lot of people use live worms if they have ADFs..... I think any worms the betta doesn't eat burrow into the gravel where the ADF eats them. I think they don't rot the tank as much with an ADF to eat them.

 

[Styx]

I don't own frogs.

 

[nashnut]

My fish loved them but I kept getting problems with fish coming down with dropsy. After feeding my favorite fish a juicy blackworm only to watch him die slowly over the next 4 days convinced me that there must be something better out there. I thought they were clean, made daily clean water changes, washed them twice before feeding but still had problems.

Bottom line... I stopped feeding blackworms... and stopped losing fish.

 

[OohFeeshy]

I'm not saying you do

 

[Texaswoman]

Alot of breeders use them only, and alot of people won't fed them. I would think the chance that you are taking is not worth the bettas life or suffering. If you could find another source of food, I would recommend that. Only if you are for certain they are healthy would I fed them. I never have and don't have any personal experiences with them, but other breeders I know have tried them, and they have always had some fish die, and they believed from no other cause than feeding them live blackworms.

 

[BettasRFriends]

Is live bloodworms safe? I mean if black live worms have a pretty high chance of the fish dying, then what about bloodworms?

 

[Styx]

Hmmm... Sounds like these blackworms are bad news. ~_- Anyone else have anything to add?

 

[3fsh]

I don't know about blackworms... but I am convinced that the freeze dried bloodworms I started feeding my betta killed him. The crowntail I have would eat nothing but live bloodworms for the first few weeks after I got him and he was extremely healthy that entire time, so I'd say that live bloodworms are better than freeze dried. I don't know if blackworms are the same, though.

 

[yeeviabetta]

Don't throw stones on me please. LOL Why only me are so different one in here??? LOL Actually, I don't have any problem with live black worms. All my bettas love California Black worms. The females will carried bigger eggs. Of course I wash them with indian almond leaves aged water everyday before I feed to the betta and then put them in the refrigerator. That is my secret. LOL opps..

 

[nashnut]

It's more apt to be your supplier. I got mine from the local LFS... they were clean... no dirty water with them, etc. I washed them in clean bottled water daily. I put them in a plastic zip lock box with water in the fridge. Every single day I cleaned them with fresh water. When I went to feed the fish, the worms were again washed in clean bottled water - TWICE. My fish loved them too, but I began losing fish at the rate of one or two a week from them. I cut back on the number of worms each feeding, still had loses. Bought from another LFS - still had loses. I actually bought from three different stores in areas around Long Island. We also have no idea just how the LFS is keeping the worms either.

I just started feeding frozen bloodworms to my guys but am not sure of the company supplying them even though it's a named company so I will just try things slowly. In the meantime, my fish seem to be very happy and healthy and it's a pleasure to see them bouncing around in their tanks in the morning rather than just laying on the surface waiting to die.

 

[Styx]

Hmmmm again. Something to consider...

 

[yeeviabetta]

Maybe the live black worm can be treated first with parasite clean from jungles with aged water first. Just keep rinse it as always before feed to the betta. My idea is weird right? LOL

 

[Chaos bringer]

I dont know I recommend bloodworm a lot for bettas. Frozen black worms would be good as they will not burrow or rot

 

[nashnut]

I remember seeing somewhere that frozen blackworms do tend to get a bit mushy.