Blackworms

[bolivian_d]

I've been feeding my fish just flake and pellets for a while now, I thought I might mix it up and feed them some live food. I don't have many fish (8) so I needed something that would keep a few weeks. I picked up some blackworms. I've been reading articles that suggest they can cause the fish to die if the blackworms are dead. So a couple of questions before I chuck them into my tank.

Firstly, they aren't exactly moving, so I wouldn't know if they are alive or not. Secondly, my fridge is set to 1 degree celcius, where 5 is what is optimal on the pack. Does this temp kill them? Thirdly, can't I just pinch a few out rather than straining the contents with kitchenware?

Thanks guys

P.S last thread of the day!

 

[Tolak]

I get blackworms shipped in for the club, 15 pounds every few weeks.

If they are dead they will be white, and stink something awful. Dead worms is the reason I started getting them shipped in, I knew I could do better than the supplier we had. You will find the occasional dead one, they will be white. As long as you are rinsing daily, and keeping the worms no more than 1/4" deep, with no more than 1/4" of water over them they will be fine. This is about one pounds of worms in a container the size of a shoe box.

They won't move when they are cold, they should wiggle when you pick them up, and really wiggle when you put them in the tank. The cold slows their metabolism so they don't have to be fed.

If they freeze they are goners, you might want to keep them in a warmer section of your refrigerator. You sure can pinch a few out, I usually toss a handful in a tupperware bowl after rinsing, and walk around the tanks tossing in pinches of worms.

If you rinse them daily, and keep them in the refrigerator, they should last a few weeks with no problem. I've had them as long as 6 weeks, a buddy of mine had them for 8 weeks.

 

[bolivian_d]

Hey,

thanks for the reply, thats been a lot of help. so should i be replacing the 1/4 of water every day?

 

[Tolak]

I generally fill the container with cold tap water, let it settle for a few minutes, and pour off the excess. I'll often double rinse them if I have the time, I keep them a little deeper than 1/4", but have multiple styros taking up half the basement fridge, with air running to each styro.

 

[paul123]

yeah nah they should be fine.. usually the worms your lfs gives you are alive and healthy

so your fish will be OK with that and my fridge is also so to 1 degrees and i still keep mying in there

and they are fine

 

[bolivian_d]

I just fed them the brownworms, it was great, you could tell the fish appreciated.

the brownworms were in a small prepacked bag, obviously I had to throw it out and put the worms in my own container to clean the water. I just realised that the container has been through the dishwasher before. does this matter? i only ask because i remember reading not to ever put anything in your tank that has been washed with a chemical at some point in the past. i only realissed this in hindsight.

thanks