splendidbetta Posted August 28, 2006 Report Share Posted August 28, 2006 Warmer weather has come to melbourne, and one of the buckets of water I have outside for collecting mozzie larvae etc now is full of red wrigglers - small, thin/long versions of mozzie larvae. Are these BLOODWORMS, and are they safe to feed to my fish? The water is "clean" apart from organic waste, so it shouldn't harbour any nasties. Any help? http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/MFB/EnvironHealth/Images/vi20.JPG thanks They actually look quite apetizing in real life :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celeste84 Posted August 28, 2006 Report Share Posted August 28, 2006 yup those are bloodworms congrats and happy feeding LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splendidbetta Posted August 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2006 Thanks :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celeste84 Posted August 28, 2006 Report Share Posted August 28, 2006 NP, just don't put them in the tanks with the fish when they're close to maturation i've heard they become dangerous to the fish when they do mature Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterJ Posted August 28, 2006 Report Share Posted August 28, 2006 Really - in what way? I feed the pupae to my fish and haven't had any problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbies Betta Posted August 28, 2006 Report Share Posted August 28, 2006 Are they bloodworms? what u get in ur buckets with Mozzie Wrigglers are the pupae of Midgies (sp? luckily I didn't write midgets, that might've been a bit ... awkward ) I feed them to my fish all the time when I have them in my buckets. and I don't think they're harmful, as once they "grow up" they turn into midgies and fly away, or sit on the tank lid until u open it (midgies dn't bite ppl either) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Figure_8 Posted August 28, 2006 Report Share Posted August 28, 2006 Yep, bloodworms I've been feeding them to my fish for months. I've even got a tank in the laundry with heaps of leaves etc in the bottom thats litterally crawling with them. Haven't seen any dangerous bugslies so far :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splendidbetta Posted August 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2006 They can be dangerous in that they have hooked mouth parts that can damage the digestive system as it goes down. They cannot be fed to certain cichlid species because of this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boughetto Posted August 28, 2006 Report Share Posted August 28, 2006 How do u get ur bloodworms?? i want to get my own bloodworms to.. just get a tub of water and let it be outside?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Figure_8 Posted August 28, 2006 Report Share Posted August 28, 2006 just the same way as you get the mozzies. They will end up in the same water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boughetto Posted August 29, 2006 Report Share Posted August 29, 2006 just the same way as you get the mozzies. They will end up in the same water. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Teach how how to oh great masters as i have no clue how to di it at all :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splendidbetta Posted August 29, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2006 Well I got my bloodworms by leaving a bucket of water that was once dechlorinated tap water, aged and then cultured daphnia in, fed spirulina powder, had some rotting organic mater inside too. left bucket outside over winter, daphnia died, went outside the other day to find it teaming with bloodworms. For mozzies you could leave a bucket of old tank water out, with a heap of organic matter, i.e some manure, leaves, straw, and add some vegmight... leave in a spot that is cool and shady but gets some light. The container needs to be pretty big or it will all go off really quickly. and add some pond snails! They will help things along :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celeste84 Posted August 29, 2006 Report Share Posted August 29, 2006 i was never told WHY they're dangerous, just that they were LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Figure_8 Posted August 29, 2006 Report Share Posted August 29, 2006 I have a small supposedly ornimental pond that has a heap of fallen leaves/assorted organic matter thats fallen in over time that I simply top up when it gets low or it hasn't rained in a while (holds about 4 buckets of water and no fish ). Apart from the occasional top up (usually water from wc's) I do nothing to it other than pull out the bigger sticks etc that fall in. All sorts of bugslies and wigglies grow and flourish in it :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splendidbetta Posted August 29, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2006 Is there a chance that these bugslies carry parasites if the water is otherwise 'clean'? Should home-grown larvae be sterilized before being fed to fish? If so, with what? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbies Betta Posted August 29, 2006 Report Share Posted August 29, 2006 I dn't think so, seeing as how u haven't "introduced" anything into the water that may carry parasites I fed them to mine for the whole of summer, plus sum, and never had any disease issues with them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Figure_8 Posted August 29, 2006 Report Share Posted August 29, 2006 I've been feeding my fish this way for years and never had anything end up in the tanks (other than a dragonfly nymph that came in on some java moss) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterJ Posted August 29, 2006 Report Share Posted August 29, 2006 The insects that produce fish food larvae (mosquitoes & midges) only go to water to lay eggs so it's unlikely they'd transport fish diseases or parasites between water sources. I put potato skins in a 4l ice cream container of water in half shade - I get about 1/2 doz mosquito rafts daily at this time of year (up to 30 in summer), midge larvae all year, intermittent daphnia blooms, and the fragrance of . All for free! I considered using bbs for fry once but . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splendidbetta Posted August 29, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2006 Thanks all Peter, I ENVY you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterJ Posted August 29, 2006 Report Share Posted August 29, 2006 Most Australian suburbs should be good for stinky water & bugs during summer (Melbourne winter is prolly a tad cold). You should give a go (maybe not too close to the house though). The most you'll lose is some food scraps, a used ice cream container and a few litres of water (preferably left overs from a water change - the more fish poo the better). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Figure_8 Posted August 29, 2006 Report Share Posted August 29, 2006 In Perth I get mozzies, midgie and other assorted larvae pretty much all year round. The daphnia are usually only a summer thing though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckie Posted August 29, 2006 Report Share Posted August 29, 2006 ... always with the sterilising They will be fine to feed your fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splendidbetta Posted August 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2006 :cheer: Thanks guys, I'll give it a go :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Figure_8 Posted August 30, 2006 Report Share Posted August 30, 2006 I've done a lot of searching and haven't been able to come up with anything that says live bloodworms can be dangerous to fish. One page suggested that possibly they could be hazardous to frogs. Does anyone have any links - I'd be interested to read up on it a bit more? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterJ Posted August 30, 2006 Report Share Posted August 30, 2006 If they are don't tell my fish please . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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