Marianne Posted February 20, 2009 Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 I've been feeding my splendens and smaragdinas freeze dried bloodworms pretty much every day, but then someone in a different forum said freeze dried shouldn't be fed other than as a treat because it can cause constipation due to absorbing water and swelling. Is this true? If so, what can I feed them every day to keep them conditioned? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Posted February 20, 2009 Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 I can't confirm or deny it's a problem....but it would be easy to fix....stick it in water a few minutes before feeding There is also a fair bit of talk on forums about bloodworms....they have a row of small hooks each side of their body Theory is they sometimes get caught in a fishes gut or tear the lining allowing bacterial diseases to occur....but I don't know that it is a fact I feed NLS pellets for small fish and colourbits as a staple diet.....mossie/fly larva,grindal,white or black worms as a treat I'm also using a small orange pellet produced for Aquaculture....they are betta bite size.....seem ok??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marianne Posted February 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 Well if it's not really a problem I'll prolly stick with the bloodworms for now. I have some betta pellets which I got for my fighter but they are too big to fit in his mouth. Pretty silly. The smaragdinas could prolly eat them but don't know if they would see it as food. I might try it tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckie Posted February 20, 2009 Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 FWIW I have always fed my fish bloodworms, both frozen and FD, and now I feed FD blackworms. I have never to my recollection had a problem with bloat - and I have a good memory. I can't recall ever trying the mushy pea thing except once, on a fish with dropsy rather than constipation (it didn't work, but back then I hadn't realised it is kinder to euthanise a dropsy fish ASAP). Anyway IMHO these foods are fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marianne Posted February 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 Good to know:) I was worried for a while... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callatya Posted February 21, 2009 Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 As with all dried food, if you feed them an absolute bundle of it and the gorge whe it is dry, it will increase in size in the gut. Same thing can happen to dogs, horses etc, and with them it is the same as fish - primarily a problem with processed foods. Given the amount of water FD worms take on and the squishy nature of them when they are wet, providing you don't feed a bunch at once, you should be fine. To be honest, I'm more worried about pellets for stuff like that. If you get ones that are high in cereals they can almost double in size and are far less squishy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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