Feeding red wriggler worms to our fish and crawfish?

[Matt Shepherd]

I'm just going nuts with the questions this week, and I really
appreciate all the help I'm getting. As most of you now know, I'm the
proud owner of a blue crayfish and two Figure 8 puffers. The crayfish
is sharing a 30-gallon tank with three very large goldfish (fingers
crossed) and the puffers are in their own 10-gallon.

I also vermicompost, and as a result have tens of thousands of red
wriggler worms seething in their bins in the basement. The question is
obvious: would red wrigglers be appropriate food for either the
puffers or the crayfish?

My primary concern is that worms -- which stay alive underwater for
quite a while -- would burrow into the gravel before the fish/crayfish
got him and would just rot down there, as opposed to being eaten. I'm
not sure the puffers (about 1.5 inches each, maybe less) would be up
to eating a 1-inch worm between the two of them, either.

Thoughts? Has anyone ever tried feeding live wrigglers to crayfish or
puffers?

Thanks!

Matt Shepherd
www.man-man.org

[Cam]

I am certainly no authority on keeping Puffers or Crayfish. I would imagine
if the worms are THOROUGHLY rinsed under tap water ity should be ok. In fact
your puffers would love you for it. Puffers also go crazy for snails, so if
you have any from other tanks then bomb them in with your puffers.

[Sajjad Lateef]

On Thu, 09 Oct 2003 06:33:38 -0700, Matt Shepherd wrote:

> obvious: would red wrigglers be appropriate food for either the
> puffers or the crayfish?

Sure. The crayfish will love them, if they can catch them.

[NetMax]

"Matt Shepherd" > wrote in message
om...
<snip>
> Thoughts? Has anyone ever tried feeding live wrigglers to crayfish or
> puffers?

I'm not certain how crayfish will take to worms. They would need to be
on the small side and possibly in some state of decomposition. The
puffers will enjoy the meal. Either drop a single small one in and let
them play tug-of-war, or chop the worms up into bite-size pieces (there
is a tool for this, or just use an aquarium-only paring knife/cutting
board). It's a bit of a bother chopping them live, and if you are
somewhat squeemish about it, there is probably an easy way to more
humanely kill them before being chopped for food. Search the Google
aquaria newsgroup archives and post back on what you find out.

It is not uncommon to seperate the worms from their food source for 24
hours before feeding them to your fish. This lets them pass out
everything in their guts. If worms will be an infrequent treat and/or you
know there is no pesticides or other harmful compounds in their earth,
then it might be an unwarranted concern, ymmv.

While probably a bit high in fat, worms are a good natural food source.
Just pick healthy looking ones. Don't feed your fish anything you
wouldn't eat yourself ;~)

NetMax

> Thanks!
>
> Matt Shepherd
> www.man-man.org

[Sajjad Lateef]

On Thu, 09 Oct 2003 11:00:14 -0400, NetMax wrote:

> 'm not certain how crayfish will take to worms. They would need to be
> on the small side and possibly in some state of decomposition.

Let me put it this way: If the crayfish can catch the worm, it will
eat it. I have seen crayfish catch hold of live minnows of the same
size as themselves and feast on them. Crayfish aren't scavenger-only
feeders, if that is what you are thinking. They can also cannibalize
each other, if the conditions are right.

[Toni]

"NetMax" > wrote in message
. ..
> It's a bit of a bother chopping them live, and if you are
> somewhat squeemish about it, there is probably an easy way to more
> humanely kill them before being chopped for food. Search the Google
> aquaria newsgroup archives and post back on what you find out.
>


Soak 'em in a pail of water for a couple of days (change the water at least
daily) to purge their intestines then freeze 'em. They're ever so much
easier to chop up when frozen and not wiggling in your hands.


--
Toni
http://www.cearbhaill.com/aquarium.htm

[>]

You should see my crayfish attack a 3" nightcrawler. It is comical to see
him struggle to get the tail in his mouth.

JOhn :-)

"NetMax" > wrote in message
. ..
>
> "Matt Shepherd" > wrote in message
> om...
> <snip>
> > Thoughts? Has anyone ever tried feeding live wrigglers to crayfish or
> > puffers?
>
> I'm not certain how crayfish will take to worms. They would need to be
> on the small side and possibly in some state of decomposition. The
> puffers will enjoy the meal. Either drop a single small one in and let
> them play tug-of-war, or chop the worms up into bite-size pieces (there
> is a tool for this, or just use an aquarium-only paring knife/cutting
> board). It's a bit of a bother chopping them live, and if you are
> somewhat squeemish about it, there is probably an easy way to more
> humanely kill them before being chopped for food. Search the Google
> aquaria newsgroup archives and post back on what you find out.
>
> It is not uncommon to seperate the worms from their food source for 24
> hours before feeding them to your fish. This lets them pass out
> everything in their guts. If worms will be an infrequent treat and/or you
> know there is no pesticides or other harmful compounds in their earth,
> then it might be an unwarranted concern, ymmv.
>
> While probably a bit high in fat, worms are a good natural food source.
> Just pick healthy looking ones. Don't feed your fish anything you
> wouldn't eat yourself ;~)
>
> NetMax
>
> > Thanks!
> >
> > Matt Shepherd
> > www.man-man.org
>
>