Try freezing them first. I've never tried it before, but i was told that it works just fine. Supposed to make em easier to cut to.
need help with feeding earthworms
- Thread starter sixpack_ey
- Start date
put the worm container in your freezer overnight, then defrost them in the fridge or something. once defrosted they will all be dead and you can still fish them outta the dirt.
dont freeze the worms.your ray appreciates a bit of fight when he chews it up trust me its more natural.Plus i bet when you freeze them you loose some nutritional value.A sharp pair of sissors works great to cutt them.just hold the work above the tank cutt and drop at the same time.
Be cautious about any plans to put them in a jar with alcohol etc, you dont know how much of it will get into the worms system, and therefore into your stingray.
On the subject of freezing, whats more humane, a simple cut to kill, or a slow freezing death?
Just bear in mind how many trillions of creatures die every single day in the wild, often in nasty ways... doesn't make it ok, but it might ease your conscience
On the subject of freezing, whats more humane, a simple cut to kill, or a slow freezing death?
Just bear in mind how many trillions of creatures die every single day in the wild, often in nasty ways... doesn't make it ok, but it might ease your conscience
Throw in some frozen bloodworms and some massivore pellets into your tank and see which one they prefer eating, the easy to swallow bloodworms or the massivore pellets which take forever to soften up. Either way, a frozen or cut up worm will just be slurped in without chewing. Why would freezing lose nutrients? COOKING results in loss of nutrients, not freezing...Your method of cutting worms is the best method of screwing up your water...calgaryflames;3980362; said:
Gshock;3982495; said:
If a ray can't eat a whole worm, then its easiest to cut it into several smaller pieces. I do it every day (just hold the worm over the tank, and snip bite size chunks off with a pair of scissors - dedicated to that task, of course).
They aren't gonna foul the water up at all if you only put in as many as the ray will eat. I cut up 3-4 worms, then watch till they're all gone, then cut up 1-2 more, if they eat them all, then 1-2 more and that's it. I don't leave cut pieces of worm laying around the tank. Doesn't foul the water up at all.
Last night I put two canadian night crawlers in a cup of water (rinsed them off first) and cut them up. I dumped it all into the tank. I was grossed out to see all the blood at the bottom of the cup. He ate most of the pieces. What he didn't eat I removed within thirty minutes. But, it seems to have had an effect on the water quality somehow. The nitrites are at .25 ppm. Not sure if this was due to to the worms or not. Everything else is good: ammonia is 0, nitrates are 5ppm, and ph is stable at 7.6. Temp is 80 degrees. The stingray is acting different today. He has been pretty active but today is halfway burried. I haven't fed him today because I didn't want to spike the nitrites any higher. I did a 20% water change. I added some nutrafin cycle. The tank seemed to be fully cycled before adding the ray and water parameters were a-okay for three or four days.
I cycled the tank by using seeded filter media out of another established tank, adding 100 danios and tetras. Also used nutrafin cycle. After a month the water was testing 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, even after a feeding. I waited another week, took out most of those liitle fish, did a 40% WC, and added the ray the next day.
I cycled the tank by using seeded filter media out of another established tank, adding 100 danios and tetras. Also used nutrafin cycle. After a month the water was testing 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, even after a feeding. I waited another week, took out most of those liitle fish, did a 40% WC, and added the ray the next day.
you still have to feed it even if the water isn't perfict...add some hydroponics to the set up it will be fine...your bactiria hasn't caught up to the rays out put yet...keep on the wc's daily till the filtration catch up...
