bberyy91 0 Posted January 9, 2013 I just bought some live bloodworms for my fish. I was reading about them online, and found that "their bite is painful even to a human"(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycera_(genus))? Also, I added aquarium salt to my 20 gallon tank. If I were to add bloodworms, would the salt kill them? "they can tolerate low salt levels in the water" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycera_(genus))? 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ashlee18 1,169 Posted January 9, 2013 Where did you buy them from? Be very careful wuen feeding live foods because it could carry parasites that are passed onto your fish. Sent from my SCH-I535 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cmclien 655 Posted January 9, 2013 This would worry me too I like the frozen bloodworms because they are parasite free. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sakura 500 Posted January 9, 2013 (edited) These are the bloodworms that bite. Glyceria dibranchiata. They're nasty; I saw a Dirty Jobs episode about them. These are the bloodworms we feed to our fish. They're not actually worms, but larvae. They're the larval stage of the midge fly (a mosquito-like bug). The two share a common name (bloodworm), but they are totally different species. Edited January 9, 2013 by Sakura 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ms.Jenny 555 Posted January 10, 2013 Biting worms, yuck! 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Evening 102 Posted January 10, 2013 Actually I wonder. Can you make your live bloodworms safe by freezing them? 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yafashelli 9,540 Posted January 10, 2013 Lol! My fish food needs to be neatly packaged so that I can't tell what it once was. No worms for this girl!! 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cmclien 655 Posted January 10, 2013 (edited) Lol! My fish food needs to be neatly packaged so that I can't tell what it once was. No worms for this girl!! Not even the frozen bloodworms? Ahhh they love them so much lol I love to sit and watch mine sift through the tank looking for more, more, more! I only feed them 2 or 3 times a week, I turn off the filters while they are eating them so they don't get sucked up. So while the filters are off for 15min I watch them and they sure get excited. Edited January 10, 2013 by cmclien 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yafashelli 9,540 Posted January 10, 2013 Lol! My fish food needs to be neatly packaged so that I can't tell what it once was. No worms for this girl!! Not even the frozen bloodworms? Ahhh they love them so much lol I love to sit and watch mine sift through the tank looking for more, more, more! I only feed them 2 or 3 times a week, I turn off the filters while they are eating them so they don't get sucked up. So while the filters are off for 15min I watch them and they sure get excited. Lol! Noooooo way! If they can't get it from the repashy, from the Pro Gold, from the Hikari Algae wafers, or from the Omega One, they don't need it. Lol! Unless they make Bloodworms in the shape of fish flakes, but then I'd still have to touch them, which would be an automatic negatory. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cmclien 655 Posted January 10, 2013 Lol! My fish food needs to be neatly packaged so that I can't tell what it once was. No worms for this girl!! Not even the frozen bloodworms? Ahhh they love them so much lol I love to sit and watch mine sift through the tank looking for more, more, more! I only feed them 2 or 3 times a week, I turn off the filters while they are eating them so they don't get sucked up. So while the filters are off for 15min I watch them and they sure get excited. Lol! Noooooo way! If they can't get it from the repashy, from the Pro Gold, from the Hikari Algae wafers, or from the Omega One, they don't need it. Lol! Unless they make Bloodworms in the shape of fish flakes, but then I'd still have to touch them, which would be an automatic negatory. Thats pretty funny! I use a plastic spoon. Actually thats how I always feed them because I'm afraid I might have soap or lotion on my hands. They must think that plastic spoon is my hand! 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fantailfan1 26,742 Posted January 10, 2013 I wouldn't feed blood worms if I had to touch them either, I don't think. I just thaw in a cup of tank water and spoon them into the tank like Cindi does. And they love them sooo much! My betta goes nuts for them too. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bberyy91 0 Posted January 11, 2013 interesting! I think my goldfish may have parasites on it because there are brown spots on it, and it keeps on rubbing up against other things. I've turned up the temperature, and added aquarium salt. the water stats are fine. not sure what else I can do for him. weird; it started happening even before I fed them the bloodworms... 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LovelyChaos 869 Posted January 11, 2013 Is there a store near you that carries prazi? If not our sponsor tasty worms sells it, I believe (: salt is good for a lot of things but the best parasite treatment is prazi, and prazi is a good thing to have anyways. If you would like, you can snap a video of your fish and post a new thread in diagnosis and discussion so that a mod can help walk you through treating your fish for parasites. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dnalex 13,633 Posted January 11, 2013 interesting! I think my goldfish may have parasites on it because there are brown spots on it, and it keeps on rubbing up against other things. I've turned up the temperature, and added aquarium salt. the water stats are fine. not sure what else I can do for him. weird; it started happening even before I fed them the bloodworms... Are these fish new, or somewhat new? 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
number20121 2,663 Posted January 11, 2013 Lol! My fish food needs to be neatly packaged so that I can't tell what it once was. No worms for this girl!! Not even the frozen bloodworms? Ahhh they love them so much lol I love to sit and watch mine sift through the tank looking for more, more, more! I only feed them 2 or 3 times a week, I turn off the filters while they are eating them so they don't get sucked up. So while the filters are off for 15min I watch them and they sure get excited. Lol! Noooooo way! If they can't get it from the repashy, from the Pro Gold, from the Hikari Algae wafers, or from the Omega One, they don't need it. Lol! Unless they make Bloodworms in the shape of fish flakes, but then I'd still have to touch them, which would be an automatic negatory. How about feeding them frozen? I do not like touching bloodworms AT ALL. Yuck! But my fish love them and they are an excellent source of protein. I got these feeding cones in almost all tanks http://www.drsfostersmith.com/images/Categoryimages/normal/p-78549-61700-fish.jpg Then I just take a cube of frozen food out of the freezer, dip it in water for a few seconds to just thaw them enough to easily come out of the package. Peel open the top and let the frozen cube plop right into the cone. This also has the advantage that the cube will slowly thaw inside the cone, and the fish can not just gobble the entire piece up in a second. Instead, all the fish in the tank get their chance and fair share, plus you do not need to turn off the filters since the individual bloodworms (or shrimp or whatever you are feeding) will not float all over the tank interesting! I think my goldfish may have parasites on it because there are brown spots on it, and it keeps on rubbing up against other things. I've turned up the temperature, and added aquarium salt. the water stats are fine. not sure what else I can do for him. weird; it started happening even before I fed them the bloodworms... I know this is your topic, but you should open a topic in Diagnosis & Discussion so you can get full attention to your issues 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yafashelli 9,540 Posted January 11, 2013 Lol! My fish food needs to be neatly packaged so that I can't tell what it once was. No worms for this girl!! Not even the frozen bloodworms? Ahhh they love them so much lol I love to sit and watch mine sift through the tank looking for more, more, more! I only feed them 2 or 3 times a week, I turn off the filters while they are eating them so they don't get sucked up. So while the filters are off for 15min I watch them and they sure get excited. Lol! Noooooo way! If they can't get it from the repashy, from the Pro Gold, from the Hikari Algae wafers, or from the Omega One, they don't need it. Lol! Unless they make Bloodworms in the shape of fish flakes, but then I'd still have to touch them, which would be an automatic negatory. How about feeding them frozen? I do not like touching bloodworms AT ALL. Yuck! But my fish love them and they are an excellent source of protein. I got these feeding cones in almost all tanks http://www.drsfoster...-61700-fish.jpg Then I just take a cube of frozen food out of the freezer, dip it in water for a few seconds to just thaw them enough to easily come out of the package. Peel open the top and let the frozen cube plop right into the cone. This also has the advantage that the cube will slowly thaw inside the cone, and the fish can not just gobble the entire piece up in a second. Instead, all the fish in the tank get their chance and fair share, plus you do not need to turn off the filters since the individual bloodworms (or shrimp or whatever you are feeding) will not float all over the tank interesting! I think my goldfish may have parasites on it because there are brown spots on it, and it keeps on rubbing up against other things. I've turned up the temperature, and added aquarium salt. the water stats are fine. not sure what else I can do for him. weird; it started happening even before I fed them the bloodworms... I know this is your topic, but you should open a topic in Diagnosis & Discussion so you can get full attention to your issues That's an interesting utensil. Maaaaaaybe, I'll try it. The frozen stuff doesn't make the tank all bloody? 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cmclien 655 Posted January 11, 2013 (edited) That's an interesting utensil. Maaaaaaybe, I'll try it. The frozen stuff doesn't make the tank all bloody? Eeeeewh, no! lol I put a cube in a paper cup and wait for it to thaw, about 30min. I tip the water/juice, (yes its red!) away and just scoop little amounts of the bloodworms which are super tiny and really not toooooooo gross. The fish go nuts trying to get them as they float around the tank, and they are super small. Even if you put the whole cube in, it wouldn't make your tank dirty or bloody. Edited January 11, 2013 by cmclien 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bberyy91 0 Posted January 11, 2013 there is one new fish, and the other has been in for months that has been having the issue. it looks like he is slowly getting better though does freezing the bloodworms actually make it safer? also, how can I tell what kind of bloodworm i have? 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
number20121 2,663 Posted January 11, 2013 (edited) Lol! My fish food needs to be neatly packaged so that I can't tell what it once was. No worms for this girl!! Not even the frozen bloodworms? Ahhh they love them so much lol I love to sit and watch mine sift through the tank looking for more, more, more! I only feed them 2 or 3 times a week, I turn off the filters while they are eating them so they don't get sucked up. So while the filters are off for 15min I watch them and they sure get excited. Lol! Noooooo way! If they can't get it from the repashy, from the Pro Gold, from the Hikari Algae wafers, or from the Omega One, they don't need it. Lol! Unless they make Bloodworms in the shape of fish flakes, but then I'd still have to touch them, which would be an automatic negatory. How about feeding them frozen? I do not like touching bloodworms AT ALL. Yuck! But my fish love them and they are an excellent source of protein. I got these feeding cones in almost all tanks http://www.drsfoster...-61700-fish.jpg Then I just take a cube of frozen food out of the freezer, dip it in water for a few seconds to just thaw them enough to easily come out of the package. Peel open the top and let the frozen cube plop right into the cone. This also has the advantage that the cube will slowly thaw inside the cone, and the fish can not just gobble the entire piece up in a second. Instead, all the fish in the tank get their chance and fair share, plus you do not need to turn off the filters since the individual bloodworms (or shrimp or whatever you are feeding) will not float all over the tank interesting! I think my goldfish may have parasites on it because there are brown spots on it, and it keeps on rubbing up against other things. I've turned up the temperature, and added aquarium salt. the water stats are fine. not sure what else I can do for him. weird; it started happening even before I fed them the bloodworms... I know this is your topic, but you should open a topic in Diagnosis & Discussion so you can get full attention to your issues That's an interesting utensil. Maaaaaaybe, I'll try it. The frozen stuff doesn't make the tank all bloody? Oh gosh, no! They are just called blood worms because of their deep red coloration. there is one new fish, and the other has been in for months that has been having the issue. it looks like he is slowly getting better though does freezing the bloodworms actually make it safer? also, how can I tell what kind of bloodworm i have? You'd probably have to take a nice clear photo of it and post it here, I am sure someone can identify it for you. As for the freezing, I am not sure if it makes it safer or not. Many bacteria and parasites can easily survive being frozen for a while (just like for example with previously frozen chicken/meat, you will still want to wash your hands thoroughly after handling because of the bacteria). The reason the store bought frozen kind are safer is because these big companies like Hikari and San Francisco Bay ensure that what goes in the frozen cubes is as free as possible from bacteria and parasites. If you want to try frozen bloodworms, I always suggest San Francisco Bay over Hikari. The SFB cubes are packed with worms and a little bit of water, whereas Hikari cubes have a significantly higher water content. I'd say SFB has about twice as much actual "meat" in their cubes as Hikari. Hikari does add vitamins and minerals to their cubes but I find this negligible because most of it is in the water which will not be consumed by your fish. Kind of a waste. Edited January 11, 2013 by Oerba Yun Fang 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bberyy91 0 Posted January 12, 2013 is there anything that I can really do with the rest of my live bloodworms then? 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
