Sharkey18 December 28, 2009 Share December 28, 2009 So I have been reading the articles by Paul B about feeding blackworms and I want to try it. Is anyone here feeding live blackworms? What are the pros and cons? Where do you buy them? Laura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k December 29, 2009 Share December 29, 2009 buy them from your LFS that sells freshwater fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PupChow December 30, 2009 Share December 30, 2009 I used to when I kept a Copperband butterfly fish, all the other fish / hermits / anemones go crazy for the black worms. For 6 years my clown pair did not spawn, a month or so after I started feeding live black worms they started spawning / laying eggs. May be coincident, but I would like to think the worms are more nutritious and helped. I did not read Paul B's article, do you happen to have a link? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkey18 December 30, 2009 Author Share December 30, 2009 There are links in the "club news" WAMAS forums... thanks to Origami and Gatortailale for posting... Laura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami December 30, 2009 Share December 30, 2009 I tried it after reading Paul's testimonials. I picked up a bunch at Centreville Aquarium. They were very reasonably priced. However, I really need a worm keeper like Paul has since my effort at keeping them alive in the refrigerator left something to be desired. (Not to mention that my wife really didn't like the idea of having a plastic tray full of live worms in her fridge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bankyf December 30, 2009 Share December 30, 2009 I tried it last night. Most of the fish were not interested. My puprle tang ate them and my baby Rod's Reef Onyx clowns loved them. My picasso clowns checked them out, but would not eat them and my wrasses showed no interest at all. The picassos are the fish that I really hoped would eat them. They are a mature pair and I would really like to see them spawn. Any trick in getting the fish to try them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L8 2 RISE December 30, 2009 Share December 30, 2009 Just feed and over time they'll get used to it and usually after they taste it, they'll go after it. I have a worm keeper that is the exact same design as Pauls however I haven't yet used it/ picked up black worms... not that I have many fish to feed them to... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Lazar December 31, 2009 Share December 31, 2009 I tried it last night. Most of the fish were not interested. My puprle tang ate them and my baby Rod's Reef Onyx clowns loved them. My picasso clowns checked them out, but would not eat them and my wrasses showed no interest at all. The picassos are the fish that I really hoped would eat them. They are a mature pair and I would really like to see them spawn. Any trick in getting the fish to try them? Bloodworms are a great food for conditioning fish, but there are other great foods too if your fish won't take them. I would feed lots of PE mysis, frozen cyclopeeze, and other frozen foods. Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul b December 31, 2009 Share December 31, 2009 I did not read Paul B's article, do you happen to have a link? Yes, Paul said that live blackworms will get most fish into breeding condition. He told me so. but there are other great foods too if your fish won't take them. I would feed lots of PE mysis, frozen cyclopeeze, and other frozen foods. Jon, this is true but those foods you mention are lacking in the oils fish need in quantity to develop eggs. Fish eggs are largly oil and fish need this in their diet in large amounts to get into breeding condition. Fish in the sea are always in breeding condition in part due to their diet which is mostly whole fish. A whole fish may be 1/5th oil concentrated in the liver. If a fish like a shark eats a one pound fish, it is getting almost a fifth of a pound of fish oil. Thats about how much of the stuff I take in 6 months, and I take it every day. (It keeps my scales shiny and protects me from ich also) If your fish are not spawning or making spawning jestures, they are not as healthy as you believe them to be. This does not apply to egg scatters which would rarely, if ever spawn in a tank. Spawning fish are healthy fish, sick or mal nourished fish do not, and can not spawn. Unlike us, who can lay on a couch eating potato chips and drink beer for years and still "spawn". Fish can not. They can live a long time on mysis and frozen food but if they are not given enough oil, they will never be in perfect health and will be prone to disease. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkey18 January 1, 2010 Author Share January 1, 2010 So I picked up some live blackworms from Pristine Aquariums today. My chromis and 6 line thought they were in heaven. The clowns were curious and the others ignored it. I'll feed a few times a week and see how it goes. Laura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Lazar January 1, 2010 Share January 1, 2010 Jon, this is true but those foods you mention are lacking in the oils fish need in quantity to develop eggs. Paul, I agree that bloodworms are a good food, but they are not neccessary to get clownfish to spawn, which is what bankyf wants to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul b January 1, 2010 Share January 1, 2010 Paul, I agree that bloodworms are a good food, No, not bloodworms, black worms. Bloodworms are not worms, but beetle larvae and not a good food for salt water fish. Clownfish can of course spawn with out worms but somewhere in their diet they need to get enough oil. It can come from a variety of sources but a fish eggs are mostly oil. Fish need to injest oil to be in perfect health. There is oil in mysis and new born brine as well as other fish. It's just easy to give them something that contains a lot of oil in one meal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Lazar January 1, 2010 Share January 1, 2010 Sorry, I misspoke about the type of worm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul b January 1, 2010 Share January 1, 2010 Sorry, I misspoke about the type of worm. Thats OK Jon, I misspeak my wife's name all the time. And she goes to the gym a lot more than I do so I have to be careful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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