Blackworms vs beefheart

[JustinKScott]

Are blackworms a good substitute for beef heart for juvies?

(they also get prime reef during the day)


Jks
---------
60g waterfall tank
80g high tech planted (2.7w/g t5ho, pressured co2, EI ferts)
90g bare-bottom Discus growth tank w/ 8 juvies
55G bare-bottom tank w/ 7" adult Discus
Angelfish breeder

[Lenin]

I've feed mine almost exclusively blackworms, live, frozen and freezed dried and all look thick and big, I raised some that were smaller than quarter size with great results.

[Wes]

The only thing, they may get hooked and only want black worms. I picked up a second hand fish, not from Pat, and it took me a couple months to get it to eat good. All it wanted was black worms. I do prime reef first thing. OC formula 2 , for the veg, when I get home from work. A couple hours later shredded beaf heart. they get blackworms just before bed. I belive in varied diet.

[Jason K.]

blackworm's are a great source of nutrients... but as Wes said a varied diet will produce the best result's. are you just substituting the heart with worm's or thinking of feeding the worm's alone?

[Melissa]

As an experiment with a group of fry one time, I fed live black worms exclusively and I saw phenomenal growth in the group... Although, after a certain point they were 'too fat' and seemed to develop protruding bellies- kind of looked like a deformity for a while but they eventually grew out of it. My guess is maybe the live worms are a little too fatty to be fed exclusively. As mentioned above, a varied diet is best.

Also if feeding live worms you have to consider the risk of parasites or diseases... But the biggest plus between feeding live worms vs. BH mix was that the live worms left no mess. BH fouls the water so quickly and can be a PIA if you're feeding it several times a day.

If you do end up feeding live black worms, get them from a reputable source like Dan, one of our sponsors. It's important to keep the worms clean. HTH

Edit: Also, I wanted to add I had no trouble weaning my juvies from worms onto other things. At a young age when they are growing rapidly, their appetites are tremendous and mine sucked up most foods offered with no big issue. I think adults have a bit more trouble with getting spoiled on live foods.

[Bud Smith]

In raising my juvies from Hans I feed 4 feedings of freeze dried black worms from Al per day and two feedings of beef heart flake with excellent results. I have had them for two weeks and they were 3 inches upon arrival and all seven are 31/2 inches with some approaching 4 inches . I purchase the black worms loose and I like how they fall slowly through the water which they really like. I have always resisted feeding BH because of the mess and cost. Although I am considering purchasing Hans beef heart mix and feeding one or two feedings per day as was mentioned to give a more balanced diet.

[Darrell Ward]

Blackworms have many advantages over beefheart. I haven't used beefheart in a very long time.

[Skip]

I've feed mine almost exclusively blackworms, live, frozen and freezed dried and all look thick and big, I raised some that were smaller than quarter size with great results.

dude.. i bet your SS are bigger then my Spotted :(

[TURQ64]

I'm not much on 'versus' questions, but I haven't fed beefheart in a long time also..All the fish at my place are plenty thick, healthy and active. I feed a lot of items, but there's all three available forms of blackworm involved...

[JustinKScott]

Sounds great! I think they are either tired of the beef heart or just plain don't like it anymore.

I think I'll switch my "meat" to blackworm exclusively, keep the prime reef @4x/day & maybe mix in a pellet into my prime reef feedings.

Thanks everyone from a previously frustrated me and my prissy discus!


Jks
---------
60g waterfall tank
80g high tech planted (2.7w/g t5ho, pressured co2, EI ferts)
90g bare-bottom Discus growth tank w/ 8 juvies
55G bare-bottom tank w/ 7" adult Discus
Angelfish breeder

[lipadj46]

Now that I have 11 pounds of frozen blackworms (that is a lot of worms for 7 discus) I stopped messing with beefheart. I do feed super beef heart flake though as the fish like it and it is convenient. It took my fish 3 weeks to warm up to the frozen worms but now they attack the cubes. The frozen cubes are dense too so they go a long way.

[Lenin]

dude.. i bet your SS are bigger then my Spotted :(

Skip you won't believe it but my bigger ones are those "guppies" you brought me the flachens wow they're beatifull almost always fead blackworms and now they're catching up to the big PE
Sent from my M9300 using Tapatalk

[Skip]

grrrr. :(

take a pic!

[walt3]

69876my fish are almost exclusively fed blackworks. they are big and thick with great appetites. have grown extremely well from purchase date. no mess is a great plus. i dont think i could stand the cloudy water. i have finally got my tank water dialed in and am starting to get the water so clear i cant see it looking sideways through my 75 gallon. very happy. :) i think my filters have really come on line so to speak... lol.

[NewETown]

Where are you guys getting your blackworms? I see a few names but I'm not overly familiar with who those people are yet. Any pointers/links would be greatly appreciated :)

-Everett

[Jason K.]

Dan is a sponsor of this forum... go to sponsor section and find california blackworm Co.

[NewETown]

Thanks Jason!

[JustinKScott]

Two days of blackworms instead of BH; as soon as the worms hit the water the fish race over and devour them!

Yeah! Now these are the discus I wanted all along!


Jks
---------
60g waterfall tank
80g high tech planted (2.7w/g t5ho, pressured co2, EI ferts)
55g bare-bottom Discus growth tank w/ 7 juvies
55G bare-bottom tank w/ 7" adult Discus
Angelfish breeder

[walt3]

exactly!