new Hikari bloodworm??

[vss]

Hi the hikari BW cubes sold in my region recently changed its package, now it has an outer cover. The worms also look different from what I had before. Now they are now much thicker, kinda like male worms, and have something like a black string inside each worm. I checked all the pet stores and LFS in my area, and they have all switched to this new packaging. wonder if this is the same in your area as well or not? and are the thicker worms still good for discus? It has a nice discus shown on its cover, but the change in worm size still upset me a little. Besides Hikari, are there any other brands of BW worth trying? THanks :)

Xiaofei :)

[TURQ64]

I use SF Bay brand 16 oz. flat packs...

[Jhhnn]

The new package is one thing, while the worms themselves are another. I'd think that worm size would vary depending on the season of harvesting, but I really don't know.

The locally purchased SF Bay brand bloodworms I used early on seemed to be larger than the hikari bloodworms. 4" & larger discus didn't seem to care, since either brand disappeared rapidly.

Jehmco offers FBW in 1 kilo flat paks, which I haven't tried. I trust the Hikari brand, and probably won't switch unless the price goes crazy. The 16oz flatpaks are very reasonable from aquatic foods when I buy 10lbs or more, and seem to keep indefinitely in the freezer... I share with Blkrob and this last time with Guyyip, too...

I think I'll order from Drs Foster & Smith this time to get spirulina brineshrimp, too, which Aquatic Foods doesn't seem to carry... it's one way to get more veggies in the discus diet...

[TURQ64]

I've been using F&S for mine; the Jehmco 5 kilo sounds good, but the shiiping difference sent me to F&S....just ordered yesterday!

[saltydog]

I stick with Hikari mainly because i trust the brand and the protein is higher than others i have seen, not by much but every little bit helps. I have seen the new packages too but have not noticed much difference in the worms. I think it says now though that vit C is added. Not sure how much though, never checked because i assumed it was at such small concentration.

[vss]

I use SF Bay brand 16 oz. flat packs...


Thanks Turq 64. I was using SFB worms a couple of years ago. I think its worms are in general thicker. it once caused constipation on one of my most favourite altum flora, making him not eating well for about a month at 3.5 inch size, which pretty much ruins all his potential. afterwards I just stayed as far away as I can from this brand. now it seems Hikari worms are becoming similar to SFB, which really worries me...

Xiaofei :)

[vss]

The new package is one thing, while the worms themselves are another. I'd think that worm size would vary depending on the season of harvesting, but I really don't know.

The locally purchased SF Bay brand bloodworms I used early on seemed to be larger than the hikari bloodworms. 4" & larger discus didn't seem to care, since either brand disappeared rapidly.

Jehmco offers FBW in 1 kilo flat paks, which I haven't tried. I trust the Hikari brand, and probably won't switch unless the price goes crazy. The 16oz flatpaks are very reasonable from aquatic foods when I buy 10lbs or more, and seem to keep indefinitely in the freezer... I share with Blkrob and this last time with Guyyip, too...

I think I'll order from Drs Foster & Smith this time to get spirulina brineshrimp, too, which Aquatic Foods doesn't seem to carry... it's one way to get more veggies in the discus diet...


Thanks John! I hope its a seasonal thing rather than quality control or worm strain issue. I will check my LFS often to see, and hope soon they will get back to the original worm size.

Xiaofei :)

[vss]

Thanks everyone for your input! I guess I will stay away from blood worms for now until I see some thinner worms showing up in the market again. pretty much all my fish love the FDBW, beefheart and colorbits anyways, shouldn't be too big an issue without BW for a while at least I guess.

Xiaofei :)

[Jhhnn]

Thanks everyone for your input! I guess I will stay away from blood worms for now until I see some thinner worms showing up in the market again. pretty much all my fish love the FDBW, beefheart and colorbits anyways, shouldn't be too big an issue without BW for a while at least I guess.

Xiaofei :)

Why? Unless your discus are too small to eat the bigger worms, it shouldn't be an issue. I've learned to trust the Hikari brand, and if the fish like it, I like it too... When I switched from the SF Bay brand to Hikari, it seemed odd that the worms were smaller. I had trouble reconciling smaller worms with premium brand, but it all worked out.

[vss]

Why? Unless your discus are too small to eat the bigger worms, it shouldn't be an issue. I've learned to trust the Hikari brand, and if the fish like it, I like it too... When I switched from the SF Bay brand to Hikari, it seemed odd that the worms were smaller. I had trouble reconciling smaller worms with premium brand, but it all worked out.

Hi John I had some bad experience with SFB thick worms. it ruined my most favourite fish. i did a very small feeding with the new hikari last night and my fish do not seem to like it as much as the previous type. several fish chew the worm in and out a couple of times, looks like having difficulty swallowing it. at least they are not quite used to it yet i think...hope there will be thinner ones available again, otherwise I'd rather feed them something else. I was so scared by my previous experience that I don't want take even 0.1% chance to have problems from the bloodworms. I will doublecheck the stores tomorrow to see if they have thinner old type hikari worms in other types of packaging or not.

Xiaofei :)

[Kingdom Come Discus]

Are the Hikari flat packs the thin or thicker worms now? The Hikari Cubes I got the other day were very thick,thus I don't like and neither do the fish.

Any input would be greatly appreciated,

Thanks,

[Orange Crush]

Are the Hikari flat packs the thin or thicker worms now? The Hikari Cubes I got the other day were very thick,thus I don't like and neither do the fish.

Any input would be greatly appreciated,

Thanks,
The 4 oz flat packs I bought were the thinner ones.

[Samsmobb]

Working at petsmart and try sf n hikari BWs, Ive noticed the flat pack for San Francisco and cubed hikari to be the thickest and hikari flat pack to be thinnest.

[Kingdom Come Discus]

Thanks guys I will pick up a four ouncer today and chime back in on what I find.

[Kingdom Come Discus]

I landed a 16 oz flat pack today from a LFS and they were the small worms and the fish loved them.
Thanks again to those who chimed in.

[Kingdom Come Discus]

I bought ten 16 oz flat packs last week and they are the fatter less appealing type. I suppose the one I picked up a couple weeks before was old. The fish don't go crazy for them like they did for the smaller ones. Come on Hikari!!!!

[Orange Crush]

I bought ten 16 oz flat packs last week and they are the fatter less appealing type. I suppose the one I picked up a couple weeks before was old. The fish don't go crazy for them like they did for the smaller ones. Come on Hikari!!!!
I wonder if they use different sized worms for the 4oz flat pack and the 1# flat pack because I bought the 4oz one recently and it was still the smaller ones compared to the hikari cubes. Hmmmm....

[Kingdom Come Discus]

Just got this in from Hikari. Same day response....Impressive!!!!

Kraig - thank you for taking the time to contact us and for your support of our products. The size of the worm is a direct result of a poor harvest in 2011 which has created a worldwide shortage of blood worms. To try to maintain some level of product flow we allowed the size of the larger packages to extend beyond our normal range. We hope that 2012 brings a more predictable supply so we can return to our normal size range for these products. In the interim you might consider using the 4 oz or cube sized packages as this worm should be smaller than the 16 oz size. Sorry for the inconvenience.
The Hikari Customer Service Team

[wavesurfer]

Just got this in from Hikari. Same day response....Impressive!!!!

Kraig - thank you for taking the time to contact us and for your support of our products. The size of the worm is a direct result of a poor harvest in 2011 which has created a worldwide shortage of blood worms. To try to maintain some level of product flow we allowed the size of the larger packages to extend beyond our normal range. We hope that 2012 brings a more predictable supply so we can return to our normal size range for these products. In the interim you might consider using the 4 oz or cube sized packages as this worm should be smaller than the 16 oz size. Sorry for the inconvenience.
The Hikari Customer Service Team
Wow great customer service by Hikari indeed! Impressed! :)

[CrazyAngels]

Wow, that was sure impressive response time. Thank you for sharing.

[Kingdom Come Discus]

No problem. I was very impressed too!!!

[gaboon]

Now that is what i call customer service and honestly!