live worms?

[scott]

i normally feed my fish on live brine shrimp along with an assortment of frozen and dry foods. recently i was at the lfs in providence asking about getting a "starter" culture of daphnia to give the fish a little variety in there live food. the owner told me that daphnia wouldn't be a good choice and suggested live worms. he had black worms andf tubifex worms. i had always thaught that live worms were too risky to feed because of disease. he told me in thirty years he had never had a disease problem he could associate with the worms. as long as you keep them in fresh water, changing it several times daily, they should be disease free and safe to feed. i usually trust his advice, he even has his own radio show on the weekend. i have just read so many bad things about live worms i was hoping to hear about some other peoples experience with them, positive or negative. thanks.

 

[fishgeek]

never fed live worms of the sort that culture in water , would logically suggest that if cultured cleanly they should not be a problem

white worms will culture in soil and dwarf's love them

daphnia are simple to culture and make a long lasting live food that i overdose in tanks when i am going to be away for any length of time , they tend in my tanks to live until eaten

andrew
ps run a search under california or just black worm and i am sure you will get lots from the archive
http://forum.apistogramma.com/viewtopic.php?t=873&highlight=california+black+worm

also search as black+ worm and tick all terms then search will give you some links to articles of value

 

[farm41]

I have fed CBW for years, no problems in my tanks, I also feed lots of live daphnia too.

 

[T_om]

I feed Calif. Blackworms and Grindal worms almost exclusively. GREAT color and fast growth. Brings females into breeding condition very quickly.

I prefer Grindal worms to Whiteworms as the Grindal worms are easier to culture at room temperature and MUCH more prolific. If you have a refrigerator you can devote to whiteworms, then they are an option. Here in Florida, whiteworms cannot stand the heat without refrigeration.

By the way, I believe the old saw about whiteworms having "too much fat" to feed continuously is all an old wives tale that just keeps getting repeated as gospel in the hobby.

My Microgeophagus ramirezi are all raised on worms, starting with microworms when just hatched fry become free swimming. I do supplement feeding the fry with decapsulated brine shrimp eggs but I quit bothering to hatch brine shrimp long ago.

Tom

 

[scott]

thanks for the input

 

[fishgeek]

any thoughts from uk fish keepers asto sources of black worms that may be reputable
personal experience preferred

andrew