How nutritous are regular earthworms?

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siebertn

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Nov 27, 2008
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Johannesburg.South Africa
I was playing around in the garden last night and i came across a spot that had massive earthworms and i started to wonder just how good they are compared to store bought blood worms.

Will they make a difference to my fish?

The reason i posted in the CA/SA section is because i will feed them to my CA/SA fish. :)
 
Apparently they are good, assuming your fish can tolerate high protein/meaty diets.

I've also read of people having algea issues due to phosphates, and that washing the worms first prior to feeding fixes this. Not sure why this is?
 
I use them on my midas all the time; he loves them! At this point he is just a little guy around 2 1/2" so I am tryin to get some faster growth on him by using live food. I still use Omega One and Hikari Bio-Gold pellets as the main food items. The worms are a little treat at the end of the day. Just remember to clean the dirt out of the worms before use and to make sure they come from a clean source with no pesticides.
 
I know a discus breeder that swears by earthworm flakes/pellets.
 
I fish with them and gets lots of fish on them, I'm no nutritionist but the stats are in there favor
 
in the uk the SAS (special forces) are tought to use earth worms as a survival food due to high protein content.
the worm is basically a tube of muscle and in fish even the partly digested soil in them is of benefit due to its mineral content.
 
Ive used tham as treats and several times as a staple for my cichlids. The protein does seem to help them grow and fill out nicely. Want more protein and an even better growth rate? IME, fresh or live shrimp work nicely too.
 
I use them to grow out juvi's. The results were so good I grow my own red wigglers now. I read one fish expert/scientist that claimed them to be the perfect fish food. I can't remember his name or the source but it's 20-30 years ago I think.
 
I think I saw a news piece that showed a military facility/camp in the midwest that harvested & grew their own worms for recycling fruits & veggies yr round to reduce the amt of waste going into the dumps & makes great fertilized soil.

as for fish, worms are great, but like another said wash them to get the dirt out, pat them dry then cut them up but they can be bloody. big fish love them, but my discus didn't.
 
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