Preparing live food.

[DR.V]

Hi im planning to feed some of my bigger fish (eg: flowerhorn) some live food, like earthworms.

Where is the best place to get earthworms ? I saw a box of earthworms at Bunning warehouse once, are they safe to feed to the fish ??

Also, how to prepare them ? Is there any way to ensure that the worms does not transmit any disease to the fish ?


Thanks

[Merrilyn]

Hi Dr.V. Earthworms are good food for fish, and those worms in Bunnings are ideal. You can even feed them on dry fish food, and then they will be loaded with vitamins when you harvest them.

Cleaning them is easy. Select the number that you require, rinse all the dirt off them and place them in a plastic box with damp newspaper for 24 hours. Don't forget some airholes.

Some people wrap them in damp spinach leaves, which they usually eat. That way you can feed your fish with meat and vegies at the same time :wink:

Because of the way they feed, their gut is usually loaded with sand, and this allows time for them to expel all the sand. If you need to chop them up, for smaller fish, then put them in the freezer for a few hours. Frozen worms are a lot easier to handle, and don't wriggle around as you trim bits off them. :lol:

[DR.V]

Hi ladyred, is there any way to ensure that the live food does not contain any disease, before feeding to our fish ??


Thanks for the advice

[Merrilyn]

I understand, from everything I've read, that worms are a very clean and safe food to feed to your fish, so long as they are well rinsed.

Naturally, only choose lively, healthy looking worms without any blemishes or signs of fungus on them. :P