Are freeze dried worms more dense in nutrients and calories than frozen?
I imagine the process of freeze drying shrinks the worms so they are more dense? I'm sure different brands have different volume per cube so there's no way to know exactly what the comparison would be. Has anyone had any experience with frozen versus freeze dried comparison.
If someone else posted about this, please send me a link to the post if possible.
I usually feed 10 cubes of frozen bloodworms (approx. 19 grams) per feeding. I switched to freeze dried black worms. When I soaked them it looked like 5 freeze dried black worm cubes were about equal to 10 frozen bloodworm cubes. I wonder if I feed 10 black worm cubes per feeding will it definitely be a larger volume and bulk them up more?
Re: Are freeze dried worms more dense in nutrients and calories than frozen?
While bloodworms are about as high in protein as blackworms you are paying for a lot of water with the frozen. As far as I'm concerned there is no advantage to feeding frozen so why pay for the water. 10 blackworms cubes is a LOT of blackworms. I feed no more than 2 or 3 cubes at a time and 1/2 cube in some of my say 1" to 2" tanks. A tank with 10 to 12 4" discus will get no more than 3. Feeding more food at one time will not bulk up your fish. They can only eat so much.
Re: Are freeze dried worms more dense in nutrients and calories than frozen?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Larry Bugg
While bloodworms are about as high in protein as blackworms you are paying for a lot of water with the frozen. As far as I'm concerned there is no advantage to feeding frozen so why pay for the water. 10 blackworms cubes is a LOT of blackworms. I feed no more than 2 or 3 cubes at a time and 1/2 cube in some of my say 1" to 2" tanks. A tank with 10 to 12 4" discus will get no more than 3. Feeding more food at one time will not bulk up your fish. They can only eat so much.
Thank you Larry! This is very helpful to me. :o
Re: Are freeze dried worms more dense in nutrients and calories than frozen?
Is there a good way to get them to sink? I soaked them for 10 minutes in Garlic Guard and water and squished them until they look like a liquidy paste but they still float. My discus refuse to eat anything floating at the top of the tank.
They liked it when I stirred them up with an aquarium pump. The water fogs up quite a bit though. I just wonder if there's a trick to getting them to sink.
I'm going to keep a close eye on my water quality. I'm not sure how the "fogging" is affecting my water. I'm used to bloodworms which are super clean. My ammonia, nitrate and nitrite have always been 0.
Re: Are freeze dried worms more dense in nutrients and calories than frozen?
If you are going to use cubes then just stick them to the side of the tank. Press really hard and they will stick. Your discus will then peck them apart. Sometimes violently, lol. I prefer the loose but more people seem to use the cubes. My discus all eat from the top of the tank where they are floating with no problem at all.
Re: Are freeze dried worms more dense in nutrients and calories than frozen?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Larry Bugg
If you are going to use cubes then just stick them to the side of the tank. Press really hard and they will stick. Your discus will then peck them apart. Sometimes violently, lol. I prefer the loose but more people seem to use the cubes. My discus all eat from the top of the tank where they are floating with no problem at all.
Thank you Larry. I will try sticking them to the side. I think my discus are just used to the sinking bloodworms. Maybe in time they will start eating from the top.
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Re: Are freeze dried worms more dense in nutrients and calories than frozen?
Thank you again for the suggestion Larry. It worked like a charm. I've never seen any of my discus fight and they were fighting over the 2 I stuck to the side. I will have to stick 3 spread out - one each end and the middle.
Bloodworms appear to digest faster. Their bellies looked full but not fat with bloodworms. I'm feeding half the amount of blackworms and their bellies look like they are about to burst.
Re: Are freeze dried worms more dense in nutrients and calories than frozen?
Multicellular lifeforms are typically 70% water. Of course, there are exceptions - jelly fish. In contrast, freeze dried meat is < 10% water.
Willie
Re: Are freeze dried worms more dense in nutrients and calories than frozen?
I use a blue plastic cone feeder with a suction cup. I turn it upside down, stick it to the front and reach in and put the cubes in. They float to the top and the Discus pull them through the holes. No mess, no fuss.
Re: Are freeze dried worms more dense in nutrients and calories than frozen?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
pmkappy
I use a blue plastic cone feeder with a suction cup. I turn it upside down, stick it to the front and reach in and put the cubes in. They float to the top and the Discus pull them through the holes. No mess, no fuss.
Thank you for the suggestion Paul!
Re: Are freeze dried worms more dense in nutrients and calories than frozen?
I just placed another order of black worms 500grams from Simply discus and I ordered the planktoplus pellets. I hope my guys like them!
I'm so happy for this site where discus lovers come together and share their experience of what works for them, the best nutrition for healthy discus. I'm happy to be supporting the site in some way. Hopefully I can become a homesteader soon too.
