Video eating some worms

[paul b]

I have been feeding live blackworms for about 50 years. All of these fish are spawning except the coppperband

Edited March 27, 2013 by paul b

[newtoreef]

cool

[Omair]

Where do you get live black worms?

[howaboutme]

Wow, what a sight! I did some searches and it sounds like you talked about them a few years ago on RC. Do you still keep them in the trough you built?

[AlanM]

Nice video. I'd just been reading the "Ask Albert Thiel" thread on nano-reef.com and was curious about the worms when I saw your video. Very cool.

[paul b]

I have been feeding live blackworms to my fish for almost fifty years and if it were not for live worms,I would not be in this hobby. All of the fish in that video (except the copperband) including the mandarins are spawning. Why do you think that is?

Those fireclowns are 19 years old and still spawning, guess why? In all the years I have been posting on these forums, I never posted a thread about any disease in my tank. Interesting isn't it? I don't have to quarantine and have not in 35 years? You want to know why?

Are blackworms good? I will let you be the judge.

 

I get them in a pet shop and keep them in this keeper that I designed many years ago.

 

 

The tank is 6' long and many of the fish are not in that video.

 

Edited March 27, 2013 by paul b

[paul b]

I spoke at WAMAS a couple of years ago. Albert Thiel is a friend of mine and he just ordered and received worms yesterday. He is now making a worm keeper like mine. My tank is also in his new book coming out in a few days, (I ordered one)

 

Edited March 27, 2013 by paul b

[AlanM]

Paul, can you post some references where we can read some longer form articles from you about your feeding and tank philosophy? I haven't been around long enough to know where to look.

[paul b]

I can look for some, but if you google my name Paul Baldassano, you should find them as I have been writing for many years.

 

I just did that and found this one. http://www.reefkeeping.com/joomla/index.php/current-issue/article/7-paul-baldassanos-40-year-old-reef

 

And this one

http://www.reefsmagazine.com/forum/reefs-magazine/79150-ramblings-old-reefer.html

 

And this http://www.saltcorner.com/Articles/Showarticle.php?articleID=25

Edited March 27, 2013 by paul b

[GraffitiSpotCorals]

Yes I do want to know why you do not have to qt anything.

[paul b]

This could get lengthy. I will have to find some of those articles so I don't have to post it over again. I post on a lot of forums so I will look for them.

[Origami]

Where do you get live black worms?

Centreville Aquarium has them, I think. I've gotten them there in the past. Call before.

 

(Sent from my phone)

 

 

[STEVE]

Centreville Aquarium has them, I think. I've gotten them there in the past. Call before.

 

(Sent from my phone)

 

x2 but call ahead and make sure they have them in stock.

[Kingumar]

I'm interested in these black worms as fish food. Centerville is quiet a distance from me. Anyone know of any lfs who carries them in md?

[surf&turf]

FYI, all worms are really hard to get at this time. There is a shortage according to my LFS. Meal worms, black worms anything.

[paul b]

I buy them every week here in NY, never had a problem. I guess I better not mention them or they will run out.

[surf&turf]

I buy them every week here in NY, never had a problem. I guess I better not mention them or they will run out.

 

I've been trying to get them for 3 weeks now and they can't get them. My Copperband loves them, luckly it loves Jans food as well.

Edited March 28, 2013 by surf&turf

[YHSublime]

Beautiful tank. If it's a testament to black worms, then I'll believe it!

[sachabballi reef]

you can order them online as well

[paul b]

Here is a long post I did on another forum if you are interested:

 

Fish Health Through Proper Nutrition:

 

Keeping fish healthy is a very simple thing, fish want to get and stay healthy even though they are rarely in that condidion when you get them. Of course we know why that is with the stress of collection, shipping and then being placed in a tiny, bare tank with other, un familiar creatures in artificial sea water with artificial lighting that abruptly comes on and goes off then being fed an assortment of un familiar foods that don't wriggle or try to get away. It's a miracle anything lives. Unfortunately, many don't. But, luckily for us, it is easy to get and keep fish in "almost" the same condition they were in in the sea. How do we know if our fish are in great condition? That is also easy. If they die, that is a no brainer, if they get sick, any type of sickness, that is also un acceptable as fish in the sea rarely get sick. There is a reason for that and that reason is food. Yes water chemistry is a factor but it is more of a factor for corals than fish. Fish don't really care if their salinity is a few points higher or lower than what the "experts" tell us it should be. They don't notice if the nitrates are zero or 40. They may like it better at zero but my 19 year old fish have never complained. They also did not complain when I was away and the "babysitter" let the water level go down by 7" making the salinity off the scale. The fish also didn't text me when the temperature went into the 90s or from the Hurricane Sandy, into the 60s.

No, I don't advocate letting these things happen, I also don't want hair growing out of my ears or gaining a few pounds, I don't like when my taxes go up or when I get a flat tire, but you know what? These things happen so get over it.

"But" if the fish are in great shape, they will forgive us and we can try to remedy the situation and try to change things so it doesn't happen again.

Getting fish in great shape should be a goal of everyone in this hobby that keeps a tank for enjoyment. Tanks in malls, stores or Paris Hiltons house are there for entertainment of people who like to see the brilliant colors but usually don't know a healthy fish from a plate of halibut steaks.

(I had that for dinner last night and it popped in my head)

Fish are simpler than us, (well, most of us) they don't worry about what to wear, or what other fish think about them because fish only think about three things. Eating, being eaten and spawning. (I myself also only think about 2 of those things, I won't say which two)

Being eaten is easy to prevent in a fish tank, don't add something that will eat them. So no Great white Sharks, or polar bears. Spawning is something that fish "always" do, not just some times, not just on holidays or birthdays, but always.

That is why there are so many fish. Are they spawning in your tank? Why not? Well, usually it is because they have no mate but even if there is no mate, many fish, especially bottom dwellers or fish in the damsel family don't seem to realize that there is no mate in there for them and if they are a male, they should be looking for a mate and cleaning a nest site.

Fish in spawning condition also do not get sick. "Almost" never, they also "almost" always live a very long time. Many of the fish we commonly keep should live 15, 20 or more years. There are no fish with a lifespan that is only a couple of years. Seahorses and pipefish have the shortest lifespan but even them should live 4 or 5 years.

Clownfish will live over 20 years as many people keep them that long and if one can live to that age, they all can.

Why don't they? Because they are not in breeding condition. That is the main reason.

Keeping the fish in clean water, feeding them a variety of food and watching what they like on TV will not get them in breeding condition. Sometimes it will but to get fish in that condition and keep them there all comes down to food.

Yes they will live on flakes, pellets, shrimp tails and a few other things but most fish were not designed to eat that type of diet. If you want to keep your fish in breeding condition, disease free and have them live forever you need to do a little extra work. First there is that TV thing, but then you have to know what "your" fish are supposed to eat. Not my fish, not Miss Hiltons fish, but your fish. Most fish in the sea do not live on flakes so you can do without them. I feed flakes to my worms.

There is nothing wrong with flakes for keeping fish alive but flakes are dried and usually heated.

If you think that is a good diet, eat them for a month and see if anyone wants to spawn with you.

Fish in the sea eat other fish, other whole fish. They do not eat shrimp and spit out the head and guts, they do not eat a fish and spit out the guts and bones. Guess why?

Bones are made of calcium and fish need calcium just as we do. I eat fish almost every day but I don't eat the bones and guts, but I am not a fish. Fish need "mostly" the guts and bones along with the eyes, tails, scales, eyelashes etc. They are also getting the benefit of what was that fishes last meal.

As I said fish don't worry about the things we worry about because we are not fish.

When a fish eats another fish it is getting (I am making up this number) 40% of it's meal as calcium, 20% fish oil and the rest is an assortment of minerals that the prey fish is made out of which happen to be "exactly" what the fish in our tank are made out of. What a concept, a food that is composed of exactly what our fish are made out of.

Shrimp tails, squid tentacles, fish fillets and Alpo dog food are just made out of muscle tissue, lacking most of what fish need.

So if we can feed fish exactly what they are made from, they have no choice but to be in the best condition they can be.

Of course if we keep them in saw dust instead of sea water, it will not matter what we feed them and they "may" not spawn.

Feeding whole fish is very hard because they are not available commercially. I have spoken to fish food distributers about this but they don't seem to care. The closest we have is frozen mysis. Mysis are a complete food but they have a problem. a large part of them is un digestable shell and that shell is not calcium so much of that food is wasted.

 

Putting whole fish in a blender is just disguesting and mush of the oils are lost. (Saturday Night Live used to do a Skit with the "Fish O Matic" where they did this.

A great food is clams because we are feeding the entire animal, guts and all. A better food is live blackworms. If you feed your fish live worms a couple of times a day, and you don't keep your fish in saw dust, I can almost guarantee they will get in spawning condition (all other factors correct) Live worms are a whole food with blood, guts and all.

(I think that was a John Wayne movie) Fish eggs are another really good food as they also contain everything a fish is made out of but they also contain chemicals that will make your skimmer go nuts so they have to be rinsed very well.

For small fish like mandarins and pipefish, new born brine shrimp are excellent because most of them when they are just born are mostly oil from their yock sack. After a few hours they lose much of their nutrition so you have to hatch them yourself. I do and also fed live worms every day. My mandarins spawn every few weeks as do my 19 year old fireclowns blue striped pipefish. I don't have to quarantine and have no use for a hospital tank, but if you don't have my tank, you may want to keep your quaranting procedures and hospital tank.

In the unlikely event that you disagree with this post, start your own thread called, "PaulB doesn't know a clam from Paris Hilton's dog and he should stick to breeding guppies in his bathtub"

 

[howaboutme]

Paul,

 

Excellent read. How does this translate to tank bred fish like occ clowns, for example? I assume none of them have been fed live food while being bred. Will they know to eat live food like blackworms (or even other fish/food)? Your article doesn't specifically talk about the difference between wild-caught fish versus tank bred.

 

Thanks.

[AlanM]

I don't understand that sketch that you posted on your worm growing system. Or I don't think I do. What's happening in the big vessel in the lower tank that catches the water from the upper tank? How are you keeping worms from getting sucked up in your powerhead? Does a teensy jar of carbon up top do anything? I saw references in some of your stuff that it provides a surface for bacteria to grow, but I've never heard of carbon being used that way. Where are the worms living and reproducing in that system, which I assume is fresh water? Do you really just feed the worms flake fish food?

 

My wife is barely on board with a fish tank, but I'm not sure I could talk fast enough to get her to be on board with a worm nursery. The two boys would like it, though.

[YHSublime]

Paul,

 

Excellent read. How does this translate to tank bred fish like occ clowns, for example? I assume none of them have been fed live food while being bred. Will they know to eat live food like blackworms (or even other fish/food)? Your article doesn't specifically talk about the difference between wild-caught fish versus tank bred.

 

.

 

Thanks.

 

They will know. It's basic instinct

 

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

Edited March 28, 2013 by YHSublime

[howaboutme]

 

They will know. It's basic instinct

 

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

 

Hmmm... I thought about that but I am not convinced. Think about other examples of supposedly wild animals that were raised in captivity. The still may have their wild instincts (think sigfried & roy accident) but I am sure their diet and way of obtaining that diet has changed.

 

But, I know fish are/can be different. So......

 

Sent from my SCH-I405 using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[paul b]

Quote: Your article doesn't specifically talk about the difference between wild-caught fish versus tank bred.

 

It wasn't an article, just a post on a thread so I did not write to much. When you go fishing for saltwater fish, you can catch fish on a worm can't you? Most fish never saw a worm, but they eat them. Fish like copperbands live on worms but all my fish eat them.

 

 

I don't understand that sketch that you posted on your worm growing system. Or I don't think I do. What's happening in the big vessel in the lower tank that catches the water from the upper tank? How are you keeping worms from getting sucked up in your powerhead? Does a teensy jar of carbon up top do anything? I saw references in some of your stuff that it provides a surface for bacteria to grow, but I've never heard of carbon being used that way. Where are the worms living and reproducing in that system, which I assume is fresh water? Do you really just feed the worms flake fish food?

 

My wife is barely on board with a fish tank, but I'm not sure I could talk fast enough to get her to be on board with a worm nursery. The two boys would like it, though.

 

The worms do not swim and if you notice the holes on the container that the powerhead are near the top, the worms stay on the bottom so they don't get sucked into the pump. If the worms leave the trough, they fall into that other container where I suck them out of with a baster. The teensy container of carbon helps to purify the water as there is only about a gallon of water in the entire system. You can get away without the carbon. I don't feed those worms flake food but I feed them brown paper or paper towels. I can use flakes but the worms live off the bacteria that multiply from the de composing paper. They do reproduce but not fast enough so I do have to buy them. I just bought some, worms are cheap. $3.00 lasts me at least two weeks. I have been using this system for many years and it came about after many prototypes.

 

Quote:

Hmmm... I thought about that but I am not convinced. Think about other examples of supposedly wild animals that were raised in captivity. The still may have their wild instincts (think sigfried & roy accident) but I am sure their diet and way of obtaining that diet has changed.

 

But, I know fish are/can be different. So......

 

Sent from my SCH-I405 using Tapatalk 2

 

I am not here to convince anyone of anything. I was asked how I can go about and keep a 42 year old tank with almost all the fish spawning and not have to quarantine. This is "my" method.

As I may have said in that long post, if you have pairs of fish and they are not spawning, they are not very healthy because all healthy pairs of fish spawn. If they are spawning, they are in the best possible condition they can be in because it is a huge burden on a fish to produce eggs and only the healthiest fish can produce eggs.

Fish in that condition have a very good immune system that will prevent fish from catching almost anything. Otherwise how would I be able to have 19 year old fish and at the same time add fish, amphipods and mud from the sea and buy fish from almost every LFS in NY for 35 years and not quarantine any of them? In all the years I have been posting, I have never posted any thread on a fish disease other than accidents, injuries or fish I got that were already sick.

 

I have not lost any fish from paracites in probably 35 years. I don't think it is my UG filter or my good looks, although that may have something to do with it.

As I said, this is what I do, you can do what you do, that's what great about this hobby, there are many ways to do things.

Edited March 28, 2013 by paul b