Bait nightcrawlers

[BIG-G]

I spoke to a delivery guy at a local bait shop last year, he was dropping off worms and minnows to the store( He worked for the farm where these are raised) I ask about pesticides and worms. He told me that they sourced only organic ingredients to raise their worms.
I would think if you are dealing with a bait business that makes there money from such things, then they probably wouldn’t risk loosing their stock from introducing things that will harm them.

Not to say accidents don’t happen. I believe there would be greater risk if people were collecting there own from property that are not fully known.
I’ve feed from local bait for years without issue.

 

[esoxlucius]

Sure, earthworms are prone to getting parasites themselves, in fact a quick search would surprise you just how many nasties they can potentially pick up as they go about their lives in the earth.

How many of these "nasties" will harm or kill your fish is open to question. But let me say this. I have been feeding worms to my tropical fish for years and years, and I've never witnessed any ill effects of doing so.

What is clear though, it isn't necessarily what parasites the worm may have inside them that is the major concern regarding feeding worms. The main concern is whether the worm has been in contact with pesticides.

So, to be sure, either collect or buy worms from a good source, even better, do as I do and have your own personal wormery at the bottom of your garden.

 

[Disturbed.)]

Are there fish parasites that live part of their lives in earthworms?
Earthworms and snails can harbor nematodes and a variety of other intermediate parasites.

I think that terrestrial earthworms are probably the least likely live food to transmit parasites or diseases to fish that eat them. Most live foods are aquatic in origin and have at least some possibility of being contaminated...but earthworms?

Agreed, Least likely, but to quote Mr Spok “When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”
How did this fellow come to the conclusion that his fish's parasites were introduced by earthworms?

It was the only live food that he fed the fish and he had had the fish for almost 3 years when it suddenly swelled up and lost its appetite.
Can I say with certainty that's how they were introduced? Of course not, it wasn't my fish. It didn't go through my strict prophylactic QT. I wasn't there checking water conditions and ruling everything else out like the possibility of cross contamination from another tank. It's simply food for thought, if you'll excuse the pun.
It's good practice to periodically prophylactically treat specimens that are routinely fed potentially contaminated foods. Freezing food first will kill most parasites but let's face ot some species simply won't eat pellets or anything not wiggling. Excluding metro, most antiparasitics are relatively harmless to your livestock. And to my mind like putting on bug spray or sun screen. Probably not the best thing to put in your body but compared to any of the mosquito transmitted diseases or skin cancer it's worth it.

Sorry some of my responses got put into the quote itself.

 

[Hybridfish7]

Interesting topic. Would people consider the night crawlers and earthworms bought from Petco/Petsmart safe?

Yes, those are specifically bred to be pet food
As for the flowerhorn, I feel like that's more of a flowerhorn sensitivity issue than anything. I normally feed my p. multifasciatus wc gambusia with no issues, but I just wanted to make sure with the worms.

 

[FINWIN]

I bought canadian and african nightcrawlers on amazon from worm farms with no issue.

 

[jjohnwm]

I spoke to a delivery guy at a local bait shop last year, he was dropping off worms and minnows to the store( He worked for the farm where these are raised) I ask about pesticides and worms. He told me that they sourced only organic ingredients to raise their worms.
I would think if you are dealing with a bait business that makes there money from such things, then they probably wouldn’t risk loosing their stock from introducing things that will harm them.

Not to say accidents don’t happen. I believe there would be greater risk if people were collecting there own from property that are not fully known.
I’ve feed from local bait for years without issue.

I should have checked into this...and, really, I should have guessed as well...but I had no idea that earthworms were being farmed! And organic earthworms, to boot!

I guess the days of students and other societal undesirables scouring the grounds of local golf courses, with a pair of coffee cans strapped to each calf, a headlamp with a red filter and both hands coated in slime...are a thing of the past!

Ah...memories...

 

[BIG-G]

I guess the days of students and other societal undesirables scouring the grounds of local golf courses, with a pair of coffee cans strapped to each calf, a headlamp with a red filter and both hands coated in slime...are a thing of the past!

That’s how we used to do it also, But that was to fish with not to feed to pets.
It’s a business now. The organic worm farms also sell castings and something called worm tea. I imagine it’s for plants and gardens not for drinking.

 

[jjohnwm]

That’s how we used to do it also, But that was to fish with not to feed to pets.
It’s a business now. The organic worm farms also sell castings and something called worm tea. I imagine it’s for plants and gardens not for drinking.

Yeah, my "professional" collecting was strictly done for financial gain; selling my catch to local bait shops kept me in comic books, candy bars and movies.

My own fishing bait, and food for my critters...i.e. the "premium" worms...came strictly off my family's pesticide-free property.

I know what castings are; not sure about tea...and pretty sure I am going to look it up and regret it...

Edited: Yup...it's exactly what I thought it was. Yum.

Gotta love how an infusion of worm s**t in water is spin-doctored to sound so clean and wholesome...

 

[ken31cay]

When I lived in the US New Jersey/NY area I collected & fed night crawlers to my fish tanks for many years with no issues.

 

[Procrypsis]

Start your own worm farm - fairly easy and you control what they eat.