My gills are afraid of worms

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T

Thalan

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Sep 30, 2008
1,098
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jacksonville
Dug up some earthworms today and thought I'd give my Bluegills a treat. I reached over to where I keep the pellets which got them excited, and they came up when my hand went over the tank but when the worm hit the water they scattered. They freaked out and hid under the wood.
I'd like to get them used to this since worms are good for 'em and its free but I'm not sure how to proceed. The worms dig into the gravel very quickly and I'm sure they wont live very long. I don't really want worms rotting in my substrate.
Any tips on getting used seeing worms as food? They eat pellets (floating and sinking) and freeze dried krill, just to give you an idea of their feeding habits.
 
LOL its usually the other way around, have these fish always been tank raised, i would think if they see another fish eating the worms they would get the idea.
 
I have never heard of a bluegill being afraid of food. Usually, they try to eat me when I put my hand in the tank! How big are they?
 
this is why u should get sculpin(for the bottom) and a bunch of the daces i just caught. they are psyco!! both of those fish eat worms like crazy(plus the dace was pellet trained in about 3 days)
 
They were wild caught and are about 6". Of course later when I was adding a little extra gravel to the tank they tried to eat that. I guess they're so used to pellets at this point that food should only be round in their minds.:screwy:
I'll try again tonight at their regular feeding time and see if they react any different. I thought it was hilarious though.
 
I heard you cant feed them what you caught them with, did you catch them with worms?
 
No I used bread since they were so tiny.
I tried again closer to feeding time and one took it and seemed to enjoy it. Later though when I tried again they got so worked up over who was going to eat first that they scared the pleco who then freaked them out and everybody hid in a corner.:screwy: They're weird.
I gave up them for the night and tossed the worm into my mini catfish tank where it was promptly devoured by my Hoplo.
 
Patience Thalanson, they will come to the worm when they are ready!
As a small side note, what is your aquascaping like? If they have cover, they are more likely to be comfortable. Also, is it in a high traffic area? Until they are tame, they might need some seclusion. Mine are alway's at the front glass now, and when were in bed watching tv they are all congregated in the corner staring at us. Kinda weird.
 
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=282352
Pics are in there. They have cover. Though I wouldn't mind some floating plants or something.
They hang out at the front staring at me when I'm lounging around the room but if the light is on in the room they get a little weird, or if I move really really quickly or make too much noise with the lid they get skittish. Typically once they see the red hikari bag all bets are off and they're right up front.
 
i saw the pics and you should proly get some plants, IMO annarachis would look great with those blue gills

you could try this: cut the worms into pellet sized peices and maybe they wont be afraid of it and go after the worm. they might not like the textrure or something but its worth the try, but this method might cloud your water a bit
 
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