Do your goldfish like earthworms?

[Guest Jessie]

Do yourgoldfish like earthworms? Mine's sure do, but are they allowed to, or will they get sick? Thanks.

~ Jessie

No mean comments please.

[GoldfishLover! 4]

Fresh ones may bring virus/disease to your goldies. Give the worms a good wash and keep them in the water for a day or two before feeding them to your goldies. Tried couple of time last summer for my pond goldies, Too much trouble, now just buy packaged frozen bloodworms

[Sharkbait3 310]

the above post hit the nail on the head,

from pesticides being used etc, there is no way to tell if the worm has been exposed to chemicals or diseases,............so with that in thought it is better to be SAFE than SORRY...............

there are so many treats you can buy now (frozen) when thawed are as close a fresh as you can get.......

Edited August 16, 2012 by Sharkbait3

[GreenTea 741]

Just wondering Jessie but why do all your posts say "No mean comments?" It seems kind of weird, I've never seen anyone be mean here. It rubs me the wrong way a little. That said, I agree with the above posters.

[Guest Jessie]

Oh, thanks guys! I will just buy stuff rom the stores. Lol.And it says " No mean comments because im just new. I dont know if anybody is mean or what not. I was just staing with the safe side.

[dnalex 13,633]

I agree with GreenTea. That comment is really not necessary here. We are a happy family site, and do not condone mean spirited postings or people.

[Evening 102]

Yeah, give them a good purging in clean water before giving them to your goldies. Otherwise they're good. A bit too big though, unless you have a LOT of fish, or are just feeding them the scraps from feeding your oscars or something.

[Guest Jessie]

Gee, sorry guys. I will stop! Also, thanks for all the helpful comments!

[Narny105 1,992]

Frozen bloodworms are a lot easier to feed and you can get them free of any bad bacteria and parasites. I completely agree what has been said above. Even If you are to clean them under water, that does not guarantee them to be free of chemicals (which they do absorb into their systems through feeding an exposure) or even bad bacteria or other harmful micro organisms.

[number20121 2,663]

It's different if you grow them yourself in a controlled environment where you know what goes into their systems. Other than that I would rather recommend store bought worms, shrimp etc. It's a lot less hassle and worry

[bodoba 2,980]

I never intetionally feed my goldies earthworms, but they do sneak into the pond after a rain and they will gorge themselves on them. I am lucky that my mom and I do the gardening and we don't use fertilizers or pesticides but I don't know how far earthworms travel so I don't know if they are local or not. Just considering the size of the goldies vs the earthworms they are consuming I would definitely fast and have a pea day after feeding them it.

[shakaho 6,312]

I know of no fish pathogens carried by earthworms. Iknow that any worm I dig in my yard has not been exposed to pesticides. They don't travel far. And I doubt that an earthworm in treated soil would absorb enough pesticide to affect a goldfish that ate it. There's a reason why people use earthworms for fish bait. The fish love them.