Can Ingesting Bloodworms Kill Fry?

[FishBlast]

Yesterday, I finally got a new pack of bloodworms and I fed some to the fish.
One of my biggest fry, Pinky, ate 3 of those and filled herself to the point of looking like a balloon. Even though she deflated later on, she spent the whole evening going sluggish.
By morning, she was gone. I looked everywhere, she's nowhere (probably the body was eaten).
Today when I fed bloodworms again, another fry of mine ate 1 tiny worm and now he's hiding under a leaf with his fins clamped.
Why is this happening? I thought fry of 3 months can be fed with bloodworms. And I can't avoid them eating the bloodworms because the adults eat those too (and they're fine).

 

[Akasha72]

hmm ... sounds strange. I've only ever lost one fish to a bloodworm and I'm pretty certain she choked on it - she was probably about 5 or 6 months old at the time

I don't think I've ever fed fry as young as that anything more than crushed flake. Bloodworm is quite substantial and I can image would be difficult to digest on a young stomach - not certain though.

If it were me I'd switch to something like Daphnia for a month or two or even Cylops, both are good. The adult fish will love it just as much as the fry but it's much much smaller and there's less likelihood of fry choking on it.

Sorry for your loss hun

 

[FishBlast]

hmm ... sounds strange. I've only ever lost one fish to a bloodworm and I'm pretty certain she choked on it - she was probably about 5 or 6 months old at the time

I don't think I've ever fed fry as young as that anything more than crushed flake. Bloodworm is quite substantial and I can image would be difficult to digest on a young stomach - not certain though.

If it were me I'd switch to something like Daphnia for a month or two or even Cylops, both are good. The adult fish will love it just as much as the fry but it's much much smaller and there's less likelihood of fry choking on it.

Sorry for your loss hun

She didn't choke though, but she shoved all 3 worms inside her belly and she looked like she was carrying a basket ball. She then went slim again by the night. But after lights out, I have no idea what happened.
And today Ninja ingested a very small half of a bloodworm and now he's sulking next to the filter.
I only have dried daphnia and all that the shop has except for frozen bloodies are mosquito larvae which are just as big as these.

Water tests show no sign of decomposing fish though... But I guess she was too small to give off any ammonia / nitrite and must've been eaten by the time she would have been dissolved. Who ever poops black is the one who ate her I guess... Oddly, there is no poop in the tank at all today...

Oh well, at least I still have Hoppy, who is also pink but has black fins. But he's probably a male, Pinky I was almost sure that it was female...

 

[FishBlast]

I don't believe in curses, but it sure looks like one where I can never get swordtails past 3 cm because something just HAS to happen to them eventually. -.-

 

[LucyB]

Awww! Not Pinky! Sorry for your loss FishBlast

 

[FishBlast]

Awww! Not Pinky! Sorry for your loss FishBlast

It's just weird, she was so huge... Couldn't fit in anything's mouth and I've even heard that some people feed 3 month old fry with bloodworms already. So what ever happened to her, I guess I'll never know. Unless Ninja's on his way out too, he ate a worm too and seems to be hiding under a leaf now.

Though I did get 4 fry from Eris in exchange... if that counts.

 

[LucyB]

Awww! Not Pinky! Sorry for your loss FishBlast

It's just weird, she was so huge... Couldn't fit in anything's mouth and I've even heard that some people feed 3 month old fry with bloodworms already. So what ever happened to her, I guess I'll never know. Unless Ninja's on his way out too, he ate a worm too and seems to be hiding under a leaf now.

Though I did get 4 fry from Eris in exchange... if that counts.

Hmm, weird. Have you thought about there might be something wrong with with the bloodworms? Maybe you had something bad on your hands when you touched the bloodworms? Just a thought?

 

[FishBlast]

Hmm, weird. Have you thought about there might be something wrong with with the bloodworms? Maybe you had something bad on your hands when you touched the bloodworms? Just a thought?

If it was, then how come the adults are not acting up? Especially Tzuppy, who actually eats directly off my hand, while the others just grab them off the floor.
The thing is that Pinky looked like she swallowed a basketball after eating those 3. But she then lost the extra weight by the evening. Only that she sat there on the sand, with her tail lowered.
Ninja seems to be hiding but he only ate a half of one bloody. He does come out every now and then (and gets chased around by Sushi or Hoppy, his younger siblings).

 

[FishBlast]

Well, Ninja seems to have handled that bloodworm he ate yesterday alright.
He's out and eating daphnia powder today. I just wish I could have done something about Pinky, like separating her into the fry cage when I saw her with her tail lowered...

 

[hensonc4098]

Separating her wouldn't have helped since it would have just stressed her out more if that makes you feel any better There's really nothing you could've done...

 

[FishBlast]

Separating her wouldn't have helped since it would have just stressed her out more if that makes you feel any better There's really nothing you could've done...

Well, she grew up in the fry cage most of her life. She was only in the main tank for like... 2 weeks or so.
At least these other three fry are alive.
Well, I'm kind of wondering about Ninja, he's always separated from the rest of the fish and usually sits in one place, pecking at something or just sitting with his nose up at the surface. He's also chased by some week-old fry that survived from my lyretail's latest batch. He's such a pansy...
Sushi on the other hand, is so lively and has started to show some green sparkles on his head, like his daddy.
Then there's Hoppy, who looks like Pinky but has black fins. I hope he'll grow up.
Seems like there will be a sausage fest in there though, I think Pinky was the only female fry...

 

[FishBlast]

Now sushi ate 2 bloodworms that he snatched from the adults... hope he will be ok.
Ninja has been eating them with no problem and is smaller than Sushi, but he never ate more than one at a time...

 

[FishBlast]

Hmm, Sushi survived. Seems like he's not affected, he didn't even swell like Pinky after eating those 2 bloodworms.

 

[BlueDragon]

Could it have been that she might have swallowed something else along with the bloodworms? Maybe a lot of air or maybe some sand while fighting for her share?

It was just a thought, I have no idea if it could have really happened that way.

Sorry about little Pinky : (

 

[FishBlast]

Could it have been that she might have swallowed something else along with the bloodworms? Maybe a lot of air or maybe some sand while fighting for her share?

It was just a thought, I have no idea if it could have really happened that way.

Sorry about little Pinky : (

I don't know if there was any air inside the worms, as she didn't pick them off the surface or the sand.
She just snatched them while they were dropping, but she ate 3, one after the other, within seconds.
Ninja has been eating one every now and then and he's ok, Sushi ate 2 very quickly and he's also ok (though he had a bit of a belly, he didn't look like a basketball).

One minor problem with Pinky's configuration was that she always pooped spirals, from birth till the last day I saw her. Maybe there was something wrong with her digestive tract and couldn't handle all that food.