do night crawlers carry diseases?

[cgronko]

I want to feed my Jack dempseys some night crawlers but i dont want to feed any live food that has a possiblity of giving my Jacks any parasites. Has anyone had any problems with feeding their fish night crawlers?

 

[kritz]

If you are sure where your crawlers came from, go on!

 

[megalopsatlanticus]

Freeze them first, they carry a wide variety of nematodes, and other pathogens.

 

[cgronko]

ok, how long should i freeze them for and how long can i keep them for after i freeze them?

 

[navygirl76]

just keep in mind that some ppl spray their yards with chemicals and pesticides.. so only take from a good clean source.

 

[Michigan]

All live food should be OK after 48 hrs freezing

 

[cichlid fiend]

thats some good info MICH

 

[cgronko]

are nightcrawlers from a bait shop a clean source?

 

[mikee870]

Yup you should know where your nightcrawlers came from, but if u stil arent sure and you want to feed them to ur fish alive, you should rinse them well using tap water and allow them to soak in a pail for 6hours, we call that method here in the phil "lamming".. Live foods are hell way nutricious than the average pellets. Anyway jack dempseys are tough. So dont wory too much.