Any problem feeding Earthworms as a daily treat?

[BassetsForBrown]

I usually give fish brine and krill, or mysis and bloodworm as a once a day treat. As well as the occasional few Mealworms.

Is it safe to feed daily Earthworms instead? Using the others as occasionally to mix things up.

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[BassetsForBrown]

Instead of simply writing "bump", I'll shamelessly bump the thread with an additional point of information.
The worms are fed various veggies and other things my fish are unlikely to eat themselves. I understand that the worm's consumption - when eaten by the fish - IS the fish's consumption. Unless you've waited so long that the worm has **** the food out obviously.

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[David R]

Once a day isn't really a treat IMO.

 

[Fighter Fish]

Once a day isn't really a treat IMO.

I am pretty sure the question was on whether earthworms were okay to feed regularly not on your opinion of what you consider a treat. I consider a treat as a daily thing if your fish can eat more then an earthworm per day and most SA/CA cichlids can. I would really like to see others opinions on regular feeding of earthworms. I have lots in my backyard and it would be much cheaper but never felt sure about doing it regularly. Look forward to more responses on this and less thread killing remarks IMO lol


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[nstefan2597]

I was reading up on doing earthworm feeding and I saw that its not safe to do them from your yard because they eat stuff in the ground and their are many chemicals and such in the ground and grass. The article I read said buy the worms that you get from bait shops because those are raised without consuming chemicals. I wish I could find the artical it was really interesting.

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[snake8myelbo]

As long as you know your yard doesn't have fertilizers or pesticides on it I say go for it! I culture red worms in a tub in the basement all my fish love them for weekly treats!

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[Mythic Figment]

Believe it or not, there are worm collectors who harvest worms to sell to bait shops. Well because these worms are used to bait fish that someone might eat, the collectors of worms have to follow FDA regulations. Worms collected have to be from remote areas no less than half a mile away from the nearest road. Because roads collect oils and other chemicals given off by vehicles, it is unsafe to collect too close to these areas. Farm land is also avoided because these areas are sprayed down with pesticides. Several other areas are avoided due to very similar reasons (almost constantly in regards to chemicals). Feeding earthworm on a regular basis is fine, but buy from a bait shop when you can rest assured that the worms are collected in safe areas. Also be careful of over feeding worms as this can cause constipation in fish with poor digestive systems, and constipation in fish can be lethal.


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[vinod_uthaiah]

I feed my EBJD's earthworms regularly . They are safe as long as your backyard is not dosed with pesticides.
I culture my own earthworms thus safe for my fishes. You can start your own and your fishes will instantly love them.

 

[E.C.]

Earthworms + peas that will do the trick. The only thing you do want to avoid is constipation, which can cause bloat if feeding is not regularly monitored. Plus, the peas will make em poop if ever they do have constipation, it's a laxative. But before you wait for them to be constipated give em peas, maybe the next meal after the earthworm. You could also do a DIY food if your fish won't eat peas.

 

[David R]

I am pretty sure the question was on whether earthworms were okay to feed regularly not on your opinion of what you consider a treat. I consider a treat as a daily thing if your fish can eat more then an earthworm per day and most SA/CA cichlids can.

Thanks for sharing your opinion of what constitutes a treat immediately after telling me that isn't what the thread is about.

I'll elaborate on my previous post. If you're feeding something daily, even in small quantities, it really become part of the staple diet rather than just a treat. I know I certainly wouldn't consider ice cream a treat if I ate it every single night after dinner! Because of this, I think you should give serious consideration to the nutritional value of the earthworms rather than just asking if it is "ok", and think about what percentage of the fishes diet they will make up. I take it because you're talking about the worms being fed veges you're not talking about randomly dug up straight out of the ground worms, and more something like those from a worm farm kept for composting? You're probably right saying they may offer some nutrients from food your fish might not traditionally eat, but I would doubt it would be much they wouldn't get from a high quality prepared diet (like NLS pellets for example). The other issue with feeding foods like that daily is it is easy for the fish to get fussy and start turning its nose up at more "boring" foods. If that does happen you need to stop feeding the "treats" immediately and hope it goes back to eating the staple diet when it gets hungry.

If you have a cheap/free/easy source of clean earthworms I don't see the problem with including them as an occasional part of a cichlids diet, species depending of course. The key thing is to think about what percentage of the diet will be made up by the worms, and when a treat becomes a staple food. If it were me I'd limit it to once a week as I feel you would be feeding them more for stimulation/variety than any nutritional benefits.