what's in a bloodworm?

[calla]

I feed my fish bloodworms every once in a while as a treat, and they ALL go freggin CRAZY over them!! My balas love them especially..... and instantly start doing their rubbing, swimming all over the place dance after eating them. No other food gets them that excited. I even give my betta a couple and he gobbles them down like it's his job.


just was wondering why they seem to give them such instant energy? and, why are they a treat and not a meal?

[cocoa_pleco]

bloodworm is mosquito larvae, and its high in protein so the fish cant have too much or else its bloat city

[Rue]

Not quite...

They're not mosquito larvae, they're Chironomid larvae (a midge). They contain high levels of haemoglobin (the stuff in our red blood cells) - which is protein -

Just like anything else, too much of a good thing isn't very good...so besst saved for regular, but occaisonal meals.

[crackatinny]

Great question, I have often wondered what they actually are.

[Kuli_Loach]

There kinda like giving a kid a candy bar, gets them hyper. I feed them once a week.

[squirt_12]

So how often are we speaking here that you should feed it to them??

[crackatinny]

Like Kuli, I feed them once a week as a treat.

[squirt_12]

O......well i feed mine a little more than that. OPPS!!!! i did not know that.
lol
i will feed it to them a little less now.

[Sowilu]

I feed mine once a week also. I have discovered something that will make the danios and tetras CRAZY......live brine shrimps!! They will go crazy I should take a video of them going nuts.

[Kuli_Loach]

Ghost shrimp will to and it won't take as many.

[Rocky06fx4]

If they go nuts for that you should try Frozen Brine Shrimp. They even have them with antibiotics for there immune system.

[YaYgoldFish]

Ghost shrimps ere are 2 bucks each here... -.-

[calla]

hahah the responses for this have been funny, wanna quote you all especially kuhli and the candy bar. lol.

But.. good to know why I shouldn't give them too much, thanks for the info everyone. I feed them about twice a week. I try to give them a varied diet so they have had brine shrimp, seaweed, krill, romaine, flakes, wafers, bloodworms... I switch it up. I just notice they reallly dig those bloodworms. :)

[YaYgoldFish]

What kind of seaweed do you use? And where do you get it? I`ve never heard of people feeding seaweed..must be good tho?

[calla]

It's called Seaweed Salad, says for fresh and saltwater fish, green marine algae. Says it's all natural, and had some of the fish I have listed for recommended feedings. Has a lot of protein and fiber.

Made by San Francisco Bay Brand Inc... got it at petco..


my swordtails and my balas tear it up.... and if I put some in over night with the pleco or corys its gone by morning.

[Kuli_Loach]

Here is all the frozen I feed:

Mysis shrimp
Brine Shrimp
Tubifex worms
Forumula one (feed this a lot)
Squid
Beef Heart
Blood worms

[cocoa_pleco]

lol, my plecos used to flip over frozen squid!

[Kuli_Loach]

I only feed it rarely because only my severum will eat it.

[lasm]

I went today to the pet store to buy my test water kit and curiously I asked for the bloodworms.

The guy told me that it is recommended to feed them daily or day between if you want your fish to grow fast (since they are high in protein).

What do you think?

[cocoa_pleco]

nope, thats false. its really meaty. what kind of fish do you have?

omnivores (platys for example) need mostly regular flakes and maybe bloodworm once a week. carnivorous fish (lets say JD's) can have it 2 times a week. basically, in your average community aquarium, only once a week is good, or else your gonna have a bloatfest.

and the best way for your fish to grow is good water changes, good conditions, and a large tank

[lasm]

I do have gouramis, only gouramis.

Is it a good idea to get some bloodworms and feed it to them once or twice a week?

I read that it is recommended to feed them something else than just the flakes so that they can keep bright colors.

Right now I just feed them tropical flakes, twice a day, the amount that they can it in 3 mins. Is it a good idea to feed them those? if it's not..

What do you recommend to feed them so that they keep bright colors?

Thanks,

Luis

[cocoa_pleco]

bright colors=variety of food. i would say small pellets and flakes daily, and bloodworm once a week, and only a bit of bloodworm.

[SkarloeysMom]

Sorry to come in so late on this thread but I was wondering Cocoa, when you say just a bit, what do you mean. I had some frozen bloomworm cubes once but I had no idea how to use them and had them so long I ended up throwing them away. I'm going to go get a fresh package today.

Do you just chop off a little sliver or what? I know you don't give them one whole cube at once, right? Do you defrost the bit you're going to feed them before you put them in? I was going to give them to my bettas and my community. I have 17 fish in my community but 6 of them are bottom feeders so how much would you suggest for that tank?

[SkarloeysMom]

Oops, nevermind. I found a WHOLE thread about it.

[cocoa_pleco]

lol, its okay.

[kid_fishboy13]

i fed a cube of bloodworms to my pleco once. i timed it too. he finished it in 32.12 seconds. its amazing what a 9in pleco can do