White worms?

[JRMalick]

I see that lots of people feed their discus blackworms, red worms, beef heart, etc. What about white worms? Are they appropriate for discus, too?

[chrisb01]

Come to think of it, aren't white worms the same as micro worms?
If they are, they might be great for Discus fry. I know they are for Guppy fry.

[lipadj46]

I see that lots of people feed their discus blackworms, red worms, beef heart, etc. What about white worms? Are they appropriate for discus, too?

They are small that is the only reason I think you don't hear about them too much. For fry I'm sure they would be great.

[jimg]

They are a good conditioning food. they are very easy and bug free to raise. imo good for snacks

[JRMalick]

Thanks for the answers. I already culture them for other fish, so I figured I might as well give them to my Discus occasionally. But, I wanted to check with the "experts" first.

[judy]

How about nutrition-wise? How do they stack up against live blackworms? I can raise lots and lots of white worms easily, but the blackworms are a bit fussier, so if the nutritional value is fairly close, I would love to be able to feed my guys white worms as part of their staple diet-- they LOVE them! mmm...wiggling tiny spaghettis!

[Moon]

Come to think of it, aren't white worms the same as micro worms?
If they are, they might be great for Discus fry. I know they are for Guppy fry.

White worms are not micro worms. Micro worms are very small and do not get larger than 1mm in size and used as first food for very small fry.
White worms are larger about 15mm and great food for discus.

[judy]

waa-hoo. i got a bucketful... and they multiply fast! sooo much easier than running down to Fish Gallery for a quarter pound of blackworms every week. and cheaper (I still will feed blackworms, just not as often!)

[jimg]

Judy I would feed just as a treat or such, I was told by AL Johnson who is very knowledgeable about discus nutrition that they were like giving them donuts, but I also heard from others that they were high in nutritional value. Like many things there are always different opinions. I looked for tests done on them but never found any solid info, just opinions. I had them but only fed 1-2x a week. I found just as good or better results with good flake food and worms as a snack.

[Second Hand Pat]

How does one start a culture of white worms. I am not even sure where to get them?

[judy]

I got a starter pack (dirt, peat moss, worms) from another aquarist here, but as I understand it, the worms themselves can almost always be found along the bottom outside edges of a compost bin or pile. just harvest some of those or do a callout to other local fishkeepers to see if they have any, put them in a pail with a mix of moist peat and soil, top with a slice of bread or cracker that's been soaked in milk or yogurt, top that with a piece of glass or acrylic, and you will be able to lift the glass and harvest the worms. or you can scrape a narrow-tined fork across the top of the culture and harvest them that way, or, if yours do what mine do, which is climb up to the sides of the bucket, run the fork around the sides to collect them.
keep covered (with holes for air) in a dark, cool spot, ideally 50 to 60 degrees.

[Second Hand Pat]

Thanks Judy, keeping them at 50/60 degrees will be a little hard in Fla during the summer. Best inside temp is in the 70s and no basement.

[judy]

bar fridge, set as warm as it will go...