Nutritional value difference between frozen brine shrimp and frozen blood worms???

[Magnum Man]

I’ve been mixing up cocktails in a shaker of a variety of frozen cubes as I can find them, of course only as a part of a varied diet… but I’m discovering some tanks have favorites, depending on residence… so lately I’ve been mixing a couple shakers rather than mixing them up in the same shaker, so I can vary the content, by tank, rather than having the same mix for everyone… right now, I’m mostly finding brine shrimp, and blood worms consistently, everyone will eat both, but I’m wondering if there is specifically something the brine shrimp offers nutritionally, that is not in the blood worms… or if the tanks that prefer one or the other are fine getting their favorite… again only as a part of a varied diet so there should be plenty of nutrition in the other components of their diet…

 

[Colin_T]

Brineshrimp can be more nutritional if they have been fed on algae before they are frozen. They are cleaner than bloodworms due to being kept in saltwater but they are usually found alone in clean saltwater (no birds or fish).

Bloodworms have hard heads that can't be digested and can cause blockages in some fish's intestines. These guys are found on the bottom of waterways and can occur in any fresh waterway, including sewerage ponds where they are sometimes collected from. Some companies irradiated them and others don't. the irradiated bloodworms are much safer to use and handle.

Most fish will eat either but bloodworms smell better to them. Both can be used as part of a varied diet for most fish except Tropheus and other vegetarian cichlids.

 

[MaloK]

Brine Shrimp:
Protein: High in protein, making it a good source of energy for fish.
Fat: Low in fat, making it a healthier option for fish prone to obesity.
Other Nutrients: Contains essential fatty acids and minerals. calcium, sodium, potassium, and magnesium

Bloodworms:
Protein: Also high in protein, but not as concentrated as brine shrimp.
Fat: Higher in fat than brine shrimp, making them a good option for fish needing extra energy.
Other Nutrients: Rich in iron, copper, zinc and other minerals.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Also you might want to consider Mysis shrimp. They are supposedly more nutritious than brine.

Cubes are too pricey for most foods when they are needed in quantity. I prefer to buy my frozen foods whenever possible in the 1 pound slabs or the bigger blocks Jehmco sells. However, I do buy some in cube form.
https://www.jehmco.com/html/frozen.html

- Blood worms, because I am very allergic and I wear latex gloves when feeding them. Cubes are easier to dispense w/o touching them.
- Daphnia, because I have never seen the in any form but cubes.
- BBS, but in smaller amounts as they are overpriced. (I don't hatch BBS.) For bulk fry food I get the 250 gm (8.8 oz.) slabs of rotifers.

(Cyclops are one of my favorite small foods but they went scarce for a while. I loved Cyclop-eeze then their lake crashed and they could never get them re-established.)

Cubes are too pricey for most foods when they are needed in quantity.

 

[GaryE]

I use no frozen now, but when I did, I gave up on shrimp. Freezing really breaks them up, and you buy a lot of water. What's there is good, but.

I developed the common allergy to bloodworms. They have a protein that a lot of people develop a problem with. I got so bad my hands swell if I put them in a tank where bloodworm has been fed, so that one's out. I catch them 'wild' often, in my summertime daphnia cultures. With them, there's no 'juice' and I don't have a problem. There are so few in a feeding and they are eaten in seconds. Fish like them.

A lot of people mix them up with tubifex, which can be a problem as they like sewage. Bloodworms are midge larvae.

I also bought in slabs and never in cubes. There was a local guy who would bulk buy and sell by the pound at a fair price within the local club.

Somewhere online there must be a detailed nutritional breakdown. I never worried about it because I was set on having variety. There aren't a lot of easily accessed small critters that make good fishfood. I much prefer buying shrimp and white fleshed fish, along with veggie options, vitamins and colour algaes and running them through a meat grinder and freezing it in slabs. It isn't a lot cheaper, but you can make good food in bulk.