Live Foods

[twingogeekeo]

Ive been considering getting live bloodworm for my fish to feast on once a week.

I currently have the dried bloodworm and flakes for them. I feed them flakes everyday except wednesday nights and sunday nights they get treated to the dried bloodworm. I read the live stuff ids better for the fish is this true?

How are these ones stored?

My other half doesnt fancy bloodworm in the same fridge/freezer as our food

I fought we could share foods with the fish they can have some pizza and we can have worms but she thinks not

 

[mattlee]

using live foods can be a risky affair. the reason being that you have no idea what else is in the bag with the worms etc or if they are even healthy products. the only live foods i feed are earthworms to my rays but these are got from a source that uses no pesticides etc on the land they are dug from so i know they are probably a very safe bet.

adding live foods carries the risk of introducing other nasties and disease into your tank which tbh isnt really worth it in my eyes as there are loads of dry, freeze dried, frozen etc etc procucts available. the only thing i can think of thats of an advantage of using live foods is that it gives the fish a chance to hunt the food but then how much would hit the substrate anyway...? in my tanks hardly anything makes it to the bottom half of the tank before its eaten. i guess you could use a turkey baster to direct the live food if you wished.

you also have no idea how long the foods have been sat in the bags at the lfs. most the ones i see dont really look very appealing but then they arent for me

 

[mattyeatsmatts]

Get a sealed container and put the frozen worms in there, in the freezer.

 

[mattlee]

Get a sealed container and put the frozen worms in there, in the freezer.

the worms the op stated are LIVE not frozen.....

 

[fish48]

If there is no way to keep live bloodworm in the fridge / keep them in a bucket of cold water you can leave them out side in the garden and use them and feed them to your fish as you need them. I have been feeding live foods for more than 20 years and have not had any problems yet

 

[twingogeekeo]

Ok thats a great idea i could do that but leave them in my shed out the way.

But next question would i tip the fluid in the tank with the worms?

 

[mattlee]

i wouldnt but thats me..... maybe get a strainer/sieve thats fine enough to trap the worms and drain the fluids.

 

[twingogeekeo]

I was thinking the fluid could contain something that could make the fish ill. I might look into them or just hide the frozen stuff in the back of the freezer. But also have the dried bloodworm so she thinks no different

 

[Zante]

Ok thats a great idea i could do that but leave them in my shed out the way.

But next question would i tip the fluid in the tank with the worms?

I've been dropping the liquid with the live food for ages and nothing bad has happened.

Mind you I have a trusted source and always buy from there...

 

[twingogeekeo]

Little update i bought a packet of frozen bloodworm and Daphina yesterday on the way home from work. Havent used the bloodworm yet but have the other and they seemed to love it. Ill see how i get on with the bloodworm on Sunday

 

[Lufbramatt]

its very easy to hatch your own brine shrimp, loads of videos about it on youtube. just need two soft drinks bottles, a small airpump and a desk lamp. that way you know exactly where they came from.

 

[twingogeekeo]

How do they start though do i need to buy Brine Shrimp to start off with and put the in the drinkins with the air pump and desk lamp?

 

[Lufbramatt]

you can buy the dried eggs, looks like a sandy coloured powder, look on ebay for "90% brine shrimp eggs". You mix up some salt water, make sure all the salt is dissolved and put some eggs in the bottle with the airstone, put a lamp over it to keep it warm and wait about 30 hours and they hatch. Loads of guides on the internet about how to set it all up, it's really easy

 

[twingogeekeo]

Ive watched a video i might look into this. I also have a friend who works in a LFS so get some good deals like frozen Bloodworm and Daphine cost me £3 both come with 24 pots. I worked out this would last me 6 months and thats feeding them Daphine on the wednseday and Bloodworm on the sunday.

Suppose making it you could sell it on at a profit