Loose or cubed?

[brewmaster15]

Hi all,
I get this question alot. Should I order your loose or cubed Freeze Dried Black Worms? Its really up to you as the customer to decide what works best, but by far 90%+ of my customers come to choose the cubed varieties. These are what I recommend anyone ordering should try as their first order. The reason is you can submerge them and stick them to the glass so it becomes a mini feeding station and allows the discus a chance to find the worms. You can also spread the cubes out if you have several aggressive eaters. Cubes also work best in tanks with over flows. Lastly cubed can be made to have other foods incorporated like our spinach combo. These are all the practical aspects to starting with or using cubes. The slightly less practical reason is its really cool to feed your discus by hand, and cubes make that alot easier!!!

So when would loose be good? Tanks with alot of fry and juvies, tanks with a community situation, such as as tetras and dither fish, and tanks where you have alot of top feeders. A tip to get these to sink is to drop them into the filters return water stream.

Both loose and cubed can be soaked in your favorite vitamin supplement if you commonly do so.

As in all things , its always good to hear from the users, so I would like to ask my awesome customers to share their choice of loose or cubed and why. That would probably help alot of people that are considering one or the other.

Thanks,
Al

Ps... I prefer cubed for the reasons I stated!:o

[AngryBird]

I have tried both and now I only use cubes

When feeding loose worms, as soon as I throw the food in water, fish ate them before they could soak in the water and I see bloated stomach and fish swimming uneasy. If I pre soak, the worms dont stay on top of the water line and a good amount of them get sucked in the filter.

When feeding cubes, I press them hard against the glass to get any air in the cube out. No more bloated stomach problem and like Al said, fish get comfortable eating off my hand and I love it. I dont lose any worm to my filter which is good for my fish and my pocket..

[pauline]

I used cubed for the reasons stated by Al.

[Larry Bugg]

No question about it, Loose for me.

I've never had any kind of issue with bloating and all my fish eat it right off the top. The few times I have soaked it, I don't see much swelling of the worm so I don't see much of an issue there.

The only time I used cubed is with very young fish.

The biggest reason I use loose is because my fish attack the cube so hard that it simply doesn't stay stuck to the side of the aquarium. The only exception to this is with very young fish. If the cube isn't going to stay stuck then I might as well use the loose, lol. I don't worry much about getting them to sink. If I have a tank with fish that have never eaten off the top before then I just swish them with my hand the first few feedings so they sink a little. After one of two times doing this they have no problem at all locating them floating.

[niqhil]

Loose.

My clown loaches pull out the cubes stuck on glass and take them under driftwood.
I haven't noticed any bloating / uneasyness with my discus so far. ( Tank just has discus and clown loaches )

[Ardan]

I use cubed because its easier to count the amount I feed. I use 7 cubes in one tank, 3 cubes in the other tank. If I were to use loose worms I would have a hard time counting enough worms:D LOL Just kidding.
Really I use cubes and just found it easier to gestimate how much to feed. The fish like the FDBW so much I don't think they care.
Great product!

Ardan

[nc0gnet0]

Whatever Al has left in stock.........

[nc0gnet0]

I use cubed because its easier to count the amount I feed. I use 7 cubes in one tank, 3 cubes in the other tank.

^^this^^

[c_sir]

The biggest reason I use loose is because my fish attack the cube so hard that it simply doesn't stay stuck to the side of the aquarium.

Just a suggestion, I actually brake the cube in half with my nail and stick the side that I 'broke off' on the glass. They seldom come off.

[brewmaster15]

Still looking for more comments here guys so if you are a customer please share what you use and why. Thanks!

-al

[judijetson]

Cubed. I use feeding cones because it keeps the food from immediately heading into my overflow box. The presoaked cubes plop right in. I've tried sticking them to the glass but since they're attacked vigorously they don't stay stuck longer than a second or two :D

Sent from my Galaxy Note 3

[MKD]

Cubed for me with above reasons plus I lend it to a friend and know to charge interest when pay back :) . And it's easy to use it with auto feeder.

««««««««««« please excuse smart phone poster error »»»»»»»»»»

[Mike C]

Cubed--for reasons stated!!!!

[Yogibearal]

I tend to use loose. I've tried both as Al was gracious to send cubes with spinach for me to try. My fish prefer the loose, they don't like the cubed much. I think it has to do with the size of the worms in each. With the cubed I noticed the average size of the worms to be smaller and thinner, while in loose form there are larger pieces and they can be swallowed without having to pick and bite off the block so to speak. It's like eating burger meat vs. cube steak. I think my fish prefer cube steak. :) They definitely attack and fetch the loose more and I can always presoak them as well. The smaller sizes in the cube also tend to be missed by the discus and end up as waste on the bottom (PFS substrate) vs getting eaten.

One additional benefit to loose vs cubed for me is that I can help support the underdog in the tank and give a pinch of food to them away from the more aggressive fish, who usually hoard the cube/s without letting others at it. Even if I place the cubes at various locations at once, there is bound to be the one gal discus that is too shy to get it, and the big Alpha male that defends the cubes by swimming back and forth from each cube preventing others from getting at it and being so busy at defending it he doesn't get much eating done either LOL.

My being able to select and choose which fish to feed when, also tones down aggression in the tank, and makes the underdog less fearful. The underdog gets special treatment and the Alpha dog knows it. This also makes the underdog a bit more confident and comes up for food more often and makes the Alpha dog a little less aggressive towards the runt. So although I can tell she's still the runt of the litter, she's not too far behind in growth compared to the others and is no longer hiding in the corner like she used to. Now when the lights go dim she's always at the front of the tank in clear view.

http://i940.photobucket.com/albums/ad241/yogibearal/Mobile%20Uploads/discus4.jpg

Underdog - Runt on the left and Alpha male on the right.

[fishin'fool]

Cubed. just makes life a little easier imo.

[Rudustin]

Cubed for me and my discus. Rufus

[Disgirl]

And to add my 2 cents: I use just loose. My fish rip the cubes right off the glass, and then a few of the largest discus end up gorging themselves on huge pieces they cram in their mouths, they will go hide while they try to swallow. With the loose worms, I spread them out on the water and all fish get their fill that way. My discus are trained to eat at the top, middle or bottom of tank. Wherever the food is, they will eat it.
Barb

[discuspaul]

I go for loose too.
That way everybody quietly gets their fill throughout the tank, and there's no aggression like the pushing & shoving around a cube that the larger/stronger fish inflict on those less fortunate who are somewhat left out.

[krilinkel]

Until recently I was a cube guy. It was easier to monitor the exact amounts fed at each feeding plus it is fun to watch them tussle for feeding position. However, the last time I ordered 400 grams of the loose (Al sent 500 as a kind gesture ... Thanks again!) and I will probably not go back to cubes. It is much easier, for me, to just drop a fistful of loose into the tank. The fish go straight up and eat as ravenously as they did with the cubes. Not sure if they are getting somewhat more or somewhat less at each feeding but it can't be much of a difference either way. With pre-filters on all intake tubes, I do not worry about losses in the filters.

Ned

[jsullins]

I use the cubed as well mainly because if its simplicity and because you can gauge the amount you are feeding better, which I could find bloodworms in cubes instead of loose.

[zimmjeff]

I like the cubed better, but just because when you spill them they clean up easier. Jeff

[brewmaster15]

i like the cubed better, but just because when you spill them they clean up easier. Jeff


lol

[brewmaster15]

Hey one other note, and I've said this before... whether you like the loose or the cube... Your Dogs like either equally well. I just had another customer tell me that their dog loves these and managed to eat 200 grams in a sitting. Harmless to the dog, but very costly on the wallet!

Please be sure to store these out of reach of canines!

-al

[DonMD]

I prefer the cubes also. I've found that for very young fry, the cubes seem to grind up better in a coffee grinder than the loose, the resulting ground up worms seem better. And when the fry are bigger, I slice the cubes into thirds or halves, depending, and smash them against the inside of the glass. They love them. I've taken to feeding these instead of beef heart for the ease of cleanup, etc., although it's much more expensive.

[Disgirl]

Hey one other note, and I've said this before... whether you like the loose or the cube... Your Dogs like either equally well. I just had another customer tell me that their dog loves these and managed to eat 200 grams in a sitting. Harmless to the dog, but very costly on the wallet!

Please be sure to store these out of reach of canines!

-al


And cats love them too, I am speaking from experience =(. Ripped the bag open and gorged on some of them.
Barb

[Second Hand Pat]

I prefer the cubed and do like Don does and cut the cube into halves or thinner to portion feed. Since I order the 500 gram bag I have a small container I use to keep a weeks worth or so and keep the larger bag in the freezer. Should either dog find my small container of cubes it is a little easier on the wallet :) and the dogs tummy.
Pat

[nc0gnet0]

Since I order the 500 gram bag I have a small container I use to keep a weeks worth or so and keep the larger bag in the freezer.

I don't seem to ever have a problem keeping my worms fresh :)

[Second Hand Pat]

I don't seem to ever have a problem keeping my worms fresh :)

Me either :)

[jsullins]

Hey one other note, and I've said this before... whether you like the loose or the cube... Your Dogs like either equally well. I just had another customer tell me that their dog loves these and managed to eat 200 grams in a sitting. Harmless to the dog, but very costly on the wallet!

Please be sure to store these out of reach of canines!

-al
LOL glad to know im not the only person this has happened to!!!

[dghby]

Loose for me, I soak them a bit in water before dumping into tanks. hmmmm, speaking of this I need to order more.

[jmf3460]

loose for me, I like how the loose get caught in the flow and thus spread all over the tank. this gets it to the middle and the bottom for the lower dwellers in my tanks. as well as the corydoras.

[tonytheboss1]

Cubed for my gang. Soaked in vitamins once a week.

[Einarsson]

Cubed. Thing is, you can also just drop the cube on the surface and let the fish hammer away. But if you sometimes want loose worms to spread out, I just squish the cube with my fingers so it loosens up.