I'm not bottom posting because the comments in this message don't tell
you what I originally posted.

So, after reading all the comments from you learned folks,
I got the 5 gallon bucket in question and I vacuumed the sludge from
the bottom, wasting maybe 1 1/2 gallons. I filled it up with some Cl-
free water and put in 3 fish. They ate everything I could see moving
in a few days. Since then I am giving them a little fish food on
occasion. I have not aerated the water or put in a filter and they
yet live, odd. Also, I do not see any new worms. I don't know if the
bugs are not laying eggs or if they just eat the bugs when they get
big enough. 'ell if I know. But they have done well for about 3
weeks now.
I'll probably sequester these 3 for the rest of their life rather then
risk putting them back in my tank. I am sure there is no reason to
worry though my wife swears the fish are now infected with The West
Nile Virus.

RC




true but with healthy fish in good condition
I recon the risks of live food
are out weighed by the benefits

No doubt... especially if it is not the exclusive food source--variety is
the spice of life--but Koi-lo's assumption that the risk is absent so long
as the larva are not in close contact with another sick animal is just
plain wrong.


No need to convince me friend,
for I am semi-wise in the vector and digenetic trematode worlds.
Parasites out number us all by a large factor
every food source for your fish carries with it some risk, be it brain
eating prions or salmonela
stuff from outdoor ponds and insect ridden buckets is just extra filthy
doesn't faze me
although it's a wild sight to look thru a m'scope at a slide of water from a
snail breeding pond.
there be some critters in there I tells ya and f'ed if I could ID many
I'm sure some of them are nastys
but yea those trematode things they is funky
jump animal to animal like ninja chimps and often can spawn at several life
stages
bloody animals are filthy things
at least fish aren't quite as bad as dogs tho
:-)