Harvesting blood worms for aquarium feeding

Is there much of a danger from getting bloodworms from old standing
water in buckets left outside, and feeding these to fish in an
aquarium? I'm unsure if there is a high potential of disease transfer
or some other risk I may not know about. Any advice would be
appreciated. Well, most any advice. I'd like something better than
"If you are in any doubt, then you should not do it."

Thanks
Ron

"Ron Clon" wrote in message
...
Is there much of a danger from getting bloodworms from old standing
water in buckets left outside, and feeding these to fish in an
aquarium? I'm unsure if there is a high potential of disease transfer
or some other risk I may not know about. Any advice would be
appreciated. Well, most any advice. I'd like something better than
"If you are in any doubt, then you should not do it."

Thanks
Ron

I do it but it's only the odd few
hard to raise zillions of the things!
I breed snails to feed me puffer and these buckets often have lots in them.

Ron Clon wrote in
:

Is there much of a danger from getting bloodworms from old standing
water in buckets left outside, and feeding these to fish in an

I'm not certain. You would probably be safe if used in moderation.

If you want a more controlled option you should buy a culture of white
worms and raise them indoors yourself.

"Ron Clon" wrote in message
...
Is there much of a danger from getting bloodworms from old standing
water in buckets left outside, and feeding these to fish in an
aquarium? I'm unsure if there is a high potential of disease transfer
or some other risk I may not know about. Any advice would be
appreciated. Well, most any advice. I'd like something better than
"If you are in any doubt, then you should not do it."

=================
I've fed them to aquarium fish with no problems at all. They're not exposed
to fish diseases unless you also have "sick" fish in the same water with
them. I've also used mosquito larvae I found in standing water outside.
--
KL....
Frugal ponding since 1995.
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(ö ~~~~ }((((({*

Köi-Lö $##$$@$##$$.#$$ wrote in
:

I've fed them to aquarium fish with no problems at all. They're not
exposed to fish diseases unless you also have "sick" fish in the same
water with them. I've also used mosquito larvae I found in standing
water outside.

That is not a correct assumption Koi-Lo. There are plenty of parasites and
viral diseases that use an indirect transmission route through multiple and
radically different hosts. Just because the mosquito larva themselves have
not had direct contact with an ill fish does not mean they are perfectly
safe.

"dc" wrote in message
...
Köi-Lö $##$$@$##$$.#$$ wrote in
:

I've fed them to aquarium fish with no problems at all. They're not
exposed to fish diseases unless you also have "sick" fish in the same
water with them. I've also used mosquito larvae I found in standing
water outside.

That is not a correct assumption Koi-Lo. There are plenty of parasites
and
viral diseases that use an indirect transmission route through multiple
and
radically different hosts.

That would also apply to any of the natural foods you bought at the store,
fresh or frozen. Freezing and drying doesn't always "sterilize" a product.
Transmission of fish disease from a lake or river to a vessel of water
sitting in someone's yard or on their porch would be rather unlikely. Where
would that midge or mosquito have had a chance to bite or come in contact
with a diseased fish? Has it been shown that they can and do carry fish
diseases from one body of water to another? I have hundreds of outdoor fish
(koi, rosy reds and goldfish) and no diseases or parasites in YEARS now.
You can see all kinds of insects and bugs around my ponds and prop' pools
and no disease is brought in.

Just because the mosquito larva themselves have
not had direct contact with an ill fish does not mean they are perfectly
safe.

Nothing is "perfectly safe." Even the pellets and flakes you buy at the
store can be contaminated with insecticides. They can be rancid from poor
storage and handling. Who knows? Mosquito larvae carrying fish disease in
clean fishless water is something I have never even heard of.
In all the years I've made good use of natural fish food I never once had a
problem with fish developing disease in my indoor aquariums.
--

-- KL....
Frugal ponding since 1995.
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(ö ~~~~ }((((({*

"dc" wrote in message
...
If you want a more controlled option you should buy a culture of white
worms and raise them indoors yourself.
==========
White worms are too small for many fish unless there are now a new variety
that a average size fish can even see. They're not the most pleasant things
to raise either.
--
KL....
Frugal ponding since 1995.
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(ö ~~~~ }((((({*

"dc" wrote in message
...
Köi-Lö $##$$@$##$$.#$$ wrote in
:

I've fed them to aquarium fish with no problems at all. They're not
exposed to fish diseases unless you also have "sick" fish in the same
water with them. I've also used mosquito larvae I found in standing
water outside.

That is not a correct assumption Koi-Lo. There are plenty of parasites
and
viral diseases that use an indirect transmission route through multiple
and
radically different hosts. Just because the mosquito larva themselves
have
not had direct contact with an ill fish does not mean they are perfectly
safe.

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

Köi-Lö $##$$@$##$$.#$$ wrote in
:

would be rather unlikely. Where would that midge or mosquito have had
a chance to bite or come in contact with a diseased fish? Has it been

Again, you're being short sighted. A contagion or a contaminant does not
have to originate from a fish to affect a fish. As I said before there are
plenty of parasites (e.g. any number of digenetic trematodes) and viral
diseases that use secondary hosts in order to infect tertiary hosts--a
secondary host could be something like a bird or a rodent.


Nothing is "perfectly safe." Even the pellets and flakes you buy at
the store can be contaminated with insecticides. They can be rancid

The most dangerous products in packaged foods are the preservatives.

So you're changing your statement now. My point with my previous post was
that your statement to the original poster that if food hasn't touched a
sick fish it is harmless is completely false and illogical. Whether or not
it touched a sick fish or not is hardly an issue. Pathogens may be present
in wild foods regardless of where you have collected them. Even if the
mosquito larva had been in close contact with a sick fish it is unlikely
that would change the propensity for transmission to another fish as most
diseases involving multiple species have a much more complex and involved
method of transmission.

In most circumstances a healthy and un-stressed animal has the ability to
resist most of these wild pathogens without manifesting symptoms, but that
does not mean that they do not exist if you don't see your pet food bumping
into sick animals.

"swarvegorilla" wrote in news:44f8a6f9$0$25163
:

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.