# Blood Worms



## jkeeler (Aug 25, 2009)

I am new to Tropheus. I picked up 13 (1 inch) Tropheus Duboisi this past weekend. I was talking to the breeder, who has over 50 years of experience on what she feeds her various colonies of Tropheus. One thing that suprised me was that she feeds them blood worms once week. Now I thought that was 'No No', but she swears that they handle them nicely if given once week.

Honestly, I am nervous to try and I am curious if anyone else follows a similar practice? and at what size?

Note: When I say "try", I am thinking months from now when they have grown a couple of inches.


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## firenzena (Nov 29, 2009)

I gave protein as part of mixed diet when I kept a colony of Bulu points with no adverse effects. They were 1 inch when I got them and sold them at 3-4inches with one fatality that I'm sure had nothing to do with diet.
I'd be asking breeder how young she started them on bloodworm.


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## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

I do not risk it. I do not see em as being short of anything without it. Which blood worm do you mean? There are a few things that are covered by this name. I for sure would not trust anything from a pond or anything that grows in foul mud as a food for my Tropheus. Its not so much the protien and richness of the food (And the undigestable bits (claspers?) that I hear can irritate the gut lining (causing sloughing excretion of the protective layer (white poo) leaving the fish more suseptable to bloat) but it is what diseases and bacteria it could carry into the gut of the fish I would want to avoid.

So good luck with it but mine will not see this live food. 8)
I hear some breeders feed all sorts of strange and bizzar things to thier Troph. (Including treating em with Metro every month wheather sick or not and feeding trout pellets first soaked in antibiotics!) If changing the diet I would for sure get my bloat treatments ready first. :wink:

All the best James


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## Pali (Dec 22, 2009)

I have all in all stoped useing blood worms with any of my cichlids, herbivores, omnivores or even carnivores - whatever blood worms is a poor quality food.

I where loosing my calvus blacks one by one some time ago, they are carnivores and should be able to eat pretty much anything. After some time i figures out everytime they got sick it was a day or two after they where getting blood worms, so now I don't use them at all anymore and my crayfish and guppies are the only once i feed blood worms and only till I have no more in stock.

I would not feed my trophs with blood worms either, but maybe if they where introduced to it early they "learn" to handle it. So id say either continue the diet the breeder gave them if you trust her blind or change it and don't go back.

If they are used to it now and then you change there diet for several months and reintroduce them to blood worms, it might have a different effect then you anticipate on there digestive system.

Im with james on this, a stabile diet is much better then 10 different foods and treats + frecuent medication, it's much better to prevent the use of medication with a good food source.


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## NorthShore (Feb 3, 2006)

I have never fed tropheus bloodworms nor do I know any serious keepers who use bloodworms. They are a filthy food item that is better served to carnivores where they get broken down quickly in the guy.


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## jkeeler (Aug 25, 2009)

Thanks for responses and the education on blood worms. I have had Mbuna for the past year, so I have only dealt with flake(from Ken's) and NLS.

The Duboisi I purchased were only an inch in size and fed a flake food diet. Like I originally stated, feeding blood worms contradicted everything I read, so I thought I would bring up the topic. Your responses confirmed that it not a practice that I want to follow.

The breeder is retiring and been raising fish for 50 years, so maybe she follows older practices that have worked for her. Her colonies are wild caught.


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## Cyclesafety (Feb 8, 2010)

Blood worms seemed like a good idea until I got a batch contaminated with camillanus worms. These worms protrude from your fishes' anuses and can only be cured with levamisole.


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https://flic.kr/p/446158228

It is definitely not worth it to introduce blood worms when they tend to bring their unruly friends with them.


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## tony111 (Jan 25, 2009)

Why do you want to feed bloodworms? What is the benefit you hope to gain?


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## Guest (Jul 11, 2010)

I agree with everyone else. I have ONLY fed NLS pellets and Spirulina flakes since my Ndoles were fry. They are now 2.5" + and still growing and might I add, ecstatic at feeding time. I never even wanted to take the chance with any other foods, especially any frozen.

I have 27 Ndoles, bought about 1 1/2 years ago, and to this day, 0 deaths and 0 cases of bloat


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