Feeding earthworm ok?

[rcdude]

OK..I'm going el cheapo here.

We have a lot of rain here recently and I noticed a lot of earthworm come out due to the flooding. I actually fed my fish an earthworm. :D The snail and hermit crabs get to them and devoured them quickly. :p Am I being too cheap here??? :o

[AzaZeL]

I don't have a great answer but a few things to think about. Earthworms are in the ground. So are all of the other nasty things that come with rainwater runoff. No telling if they have parasites in the organs that could contaminate your tank. You may have gotten a worm that was ok. Maybe they are all ok. Who knows. I would clean them really well and freeze them. I would think that freezing temperatures for a while would kill most/all of the parasites that could be breading in the organs inside of the worm. Just a thought. I have no evidence to back up my theories.

-Az

[butrya03]

i used to feed live earthworms to my jack dempsey pair back in my cichlid keeping days with no ill effect. had them for several years and eventually gave them away. im not sure what the difference would be sw to fw other than sw fish might have a more sensitive digestive system. might be a little too messy for a saltwater ecosystem as well.
just my 2 cents.

[Hop]

I have fed many an earthworm to my freshwater fish over the years. Never really thought about it for any of my SW fish.

[WaterKeeper]

I don't think they would be much different than feeding any other live food. If the fish and crabs like them, why not? I'd siphon out any that are not eaten after a few hours as they do decay pretty fast at normal tank temperatures.

[returnofsid]

I highly doubt they have most of the nutritional needs that saltwater fish need. Feeding "land critters" to saltwater fish isn't something I'd recommend, just as I wouldn't recommend feeding FW fish parts to SW fish. I don't even buy into the concept of prepared foods, that you can purchase, that are made for FW AND SW fish. There's just no such thing.

Those types of foods just don't have the types of proteins, fats, vitamins and trace elements that SW fish need. Here's a couple good links on proper foods for SW fish.
http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27014
http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30026

[WaterKeeper]

Well I wouldn't feed earthworms exclusively but they do have nutritional value. They have about the same nutrition levels as fish meal so commonly used in flake and pellet foods and have even been advocated for use as a human food supplement. Here is an abstract Earthworm Meal (http://scialert.com/asci/related.php?artid=20409).

:lol: Anyone remember the urban legend of Wendy's using worms in their hamburgers. ;)

BTW-snails and hermits eat almost anything. Throw a piece of raw zucchini into the tank and watch them chow down.

[IslandCrow]

BTW-snails and hermits eat almost anything. Throw a piece of raw zucchini into the tank and watch them chow down.

Good going, WK. You realize you've just inspired droves of kids who won't eat their vegetables to sneak their zucchini into the fish tank.

[D_Hood87]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14534250#post14534250 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by IslandCrow
Good going, WK. You realize you've just inspired droves of kids who won't eat their vegetables to sneak their zucchini into the fish tank.

Now my little girl will want to know why she can't get on RC anymore...I'm not kidding, I can't let her see that...haha j/k