RE: Blackworms was: garlic beef-heart.

["Nick Ternes" <woodland_gardens at hotmail_com>]

>Hi Kean, I can't say what causes the dropsey. I think it's the >overfeeding 
>of one rich food that messes up their systems but it >could be bacteria or 
>both.  All I know is that the problem goes away   >(except with Fun. 
>arnoldi) when one chops up the worms and only feeds >a moderate amount no 
>more than 4 times a week within a twice a day >feeding schedule and if one 
>keeps the fish away from high >temperatures. I try to limit blackworms to 
>just a conditioning food >for breeders and as a grow out food for older fry 
>but some fish simply >fall in love with them. The hobbyist just has to 
>resist overfeeding >them because of their ease, availablity and acceptance 
>by the fish. So >I guess I would say the problem is a human one and not a 
>wormy one. >They are a great and necessary food (good egg production) but 
>in >moderation and chopped.

Dropsy is a bacterial infection from which afflicted fish generally don't 
survive.  As blackworms are great disease/parasite carriers, they could 
certainly be causing it.  If your fish eat a lot, get swollen and have 
problems swimming, but then get better as they digest their food, it's 
probably a swim bladder problem agitated by over-eating.  (my bettas get 
this often.)  There are definitely many better live foods we can be feeding 
our killies.  White worms, grindal worms, choped earthworms, bloodworms, 
mosquito larva, fruitflies, glassworms, multiple daphnia species, and the 
list goes on and on.   Having said this, I do use blackworms, but my killies 
and other species of small fish rarely see them.  Blackworms happen to be 
the favorite food of my freshwater stingrays and it's hard to get them to 
eat other foods.  Especially my female.  They get fed 2 or 3 times per day, 
1 of which is blackworms.  My killies get a small amount of blackworms maybe 
once per week.  My A. australe orange don't even seem to like them, and much 
prefer white worms, daphnia magna, and mosquito larvae.

Nick Ternes
woodland_gardens at hotmail_com

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