Can I feed my fish earthworms??
- Thread starter Lynn
- Start date
Lynn,
Avoid feeding your fish any terrestrial or freshwater foods (including things like lettuce, goldfish, etc...) whenever possible. The nutrient composition of these foods is not likely to be beneficial (and in some cases may be harmful) for your fish.
Chris
Avoid feeding your fish any terrestrial or freshwater foods (including things like lettuce, goldfish, etc...) whenever possible. The nutrient composition of these foods is not likely to be beneficial (and in some cases may be harmful) for your fish.
Chris
The only thing terrestrial that i cant help feeding puffers is snails. I dont know if its bad, but the puffers in the LFS love them, and the owner never catches me lobbing them in. I guess i shouldn't do it, but the crunching sound is so awesome. Infact from today, i will stop feeding the LFS puffers snails.
hi.
Earth worm is good for fattening up fish (freshwater) like catfish. Probably not a good idea for marine fish... unless you want to degut the worms to get rid of the dirty inside :lol:
I am not disagreeing with what SeaMac says, but the very same argument is used by some people I know to persude me from eating meat, fish, and drinking wine and cow milk. I guess he can extends his argument to New World plants like corn, tomato, and many others.
When I first see the term terrestrial, I thought you guys are talking about something from outer space... :wink:
Earth worm is good for fattening up fish (freshwater) like catfish. Probably not a good idea for marine fish... unless you want to degut the worms to get rid of the dirty inside :lol:
I am not disagreeing with what SeaMac says, but the very same argument is used by some people I know to persude me from eating meat, fish, and drinking wine and cow milk. I guess he can extends his argument to New World plants like corn, tomato, and many others.
When I first see the term terrestrial, I thought you guys are talking about something from outer space... :wink:
People say you shouldn't feed freshwater organisms to saltwater fish, but I don't know if there is any solid information to back it up. Compare a cod and a catfish filet- is either one more salty tasting?
Worms seem like they might be fattening, but as a dietary supplement they might be ok. I think you can purge dirt from them by putting them in fresh water for a while.
I doubt if worms travel too far in an their lifetime, so if you are not using herbicides and pesticides they should be ok in that respect.
Worms seem like they might be fattening, but as a dietary supplement they might be ok. I think you can purge dirt from them by putting them in fresh water for a while.
I doubt if worms travel too far in an their lifetime, so if you are not using herbicides and pesticides they should be ok in that respect.
I used to feed starved earthworms to my puffers and triggers. I went about placing them in a shallow container with water filled up slightly wetting the worms. Rinse worms and the container for 3 days before I feed the worms to the fish. The idea is try to rinse out as much gut content as possible.
However, I must point out, the worms are only used as treats, but not staple. I believe in variety, and the earthworms are just part of that. Besides, I am too lazy to dig up worms. They are most convenient for me after days of rain.......which is a rarity in itself in Southern California.
I must say, the triggers loves'em.
However, I must point out, the worms are only used as treats, but not staple. I believe in variety, and the earthworms are just part of that. Besides, I am too lazy to dig up worms. They are most convenient for me after days of rain.......which is a rarity in itself in Southern California.
I must say, the triggers loves'em.
No lettuce?? I've been using Romaine lettuce for over a year. My tangs grown a bit and eat a whole lot. When I dont feed them lettuce they start picking at my corals. I've tried everything and they will not take anything but lettuce. I've never had a problem as far as sick fish, ect. Thats just me though.
Mouses story above reminds me of when I was a kid- a nearby grocery store had a couple of angry dobermans they used to let loose in the store at night for burglary protection (ahh, the old days). I would go in and the butcher would give me a huge box of bones, free, for my dog. I would go out and feed em to their dobermans, who always looked hungry to me.
Oops, thought I was in the sump...
Oops, thought I was in the sump...
I guess I should have been a little clearer...my point was:
Why feed freshwater/terrestrial foods to fish when there are similar inexpensive marine alternatives that are readily available, like dried nori, shrimp, scallops, etc.. at you local grocery store? I don't think that all of the foods cause health problems for our fish (but like I said they are more than likely not optimal...like the lettue thing for example), although I too have heard/read that feeding lionfish a diet consisting of only goldfish can lead to fatty change of the liver (look it up in a medical dictionary... "steatosis"). I don't know if this is fact, but like I said, if you can avoid it why not?
Also, the problem I guess is really feeding anything in excess...which would be the case if the fish's diet consisted almost solely of one or two items. This may not be your plan Lynn, so some of what I've said may not apply.
seven ephors, I see what you are trying to say...sort of. There is already significant research though that shows that there are specific beneficial effects of humans consuming fish due to the omega fatty acids that are almost exclusively found in fish oils. So people should be encouraging you to consume fish, and not "dissuading" you. OTOH, if someone had evidence for example that a certain goldfish protein was beneficial for lionfish, then I'd be all for feeding it to them. Also, cow's milk isn't the optimal choice, especially for toddlers, children and young adults, but we haven't come up with a substitute that is both better AND cheaper. I think there was a decent article about it in Scientific American (or it could have been Time...I can't remember), but that was about a year ago already.
Why feed freshwater/terrestrial foods to fish when there are similar inexpensive marine alternatives that are readily available, like dried nori, shrimp, scallops, etc.. at you local grocery store? I don't think that all of the foods cause health problems for our fish (but like I said they are more than likely not optimal...like the lettue thing for example), although I too have heard/read that feeding lionfish a diet consisting of only goldfish can lead to fatty change of the liver (look it up in a medical dictionary... "steatosis"). I don't know if this is fact, but like I said, if you can avoid it why not?
Also, the problem I guess is really feeding anything in excess...which would be the case if the fish's diet consisted almost solely of one or two items. This may not be your plan Lynn, so some of what I've said may not apply.
seven ephors, I see what you are trying to say...sort of. There is already significant research though that shows that there are specific beneficial effects of humans consuming fish due to the omega fatty acids that are almost exclusively found in fish oils. So people should be encouraging you to consume fish, and not "dissuading" you. OTOH, if someone had evidence for example that a certain goldfish protein was beneficial for lionfish, then I'd be all for feeding it to them.
Also, cow's milk isn't the optimal choice, especially for toddlers, children and young adults, but we haven't come up with a substitute that is both better AND cheaper. I think there was a decent article about it in Scientific American (or it could have been Time...I can't remember), but that was about a year ago already.Sponsor Reefs
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