Bloodworms

[sarahdu]

I bought freeze dried bloodworms for my newt. I dropped some in but they are very small. Are they supposed to be this small? The container says for tropical fish but are bloodworms for newts and fish the same?

 

[jennifer]

I would recommend frozen bloodworms, not dried. They are the same for fish and newts, but they should be sold from a freezer at the pet shop. Frozen bloodworms are about 1/2 inch (1.5 cm) in length. Perhaps your dried ones had fallen into smaller pieces?

 

[erik]

I have a hard time getting the newt to eat the worms. I mean, he likes them, and he'll grab a large chunk of them, but he won't find the little pieces that float away, but at the same time, the chunk dissipates as soon as it hits the water.

Will the newts hunt the pieces at the bottom, or should I find a way to give him a large wad of worms?

Did any of that make sense?

 

[TJ]

Try turning off the filter for 15 minutes or so and dropping the frozen bloodworm cube into the least congested part of the tank once the current has stopped. With my axolots, for instance, I always do this, while keeping part of the tank free of objects and places where the food could drift and spoil.

My C.p.sasayamae often don't even wait for the cube to melt.

This one just ate all these worms in a single gulp!

 

[erik]

How big of a cube do you give them?

 

[TJ]

That's pretty much the whole cube in those pics

. That's a 3-gram cube there. Just how much depends on the type of newt and its size, but for adult Cynops I feed one cube for every two newts once every other day. One cube apiece for axoltls. Three cubes for four adult P. waltl. Just see how much they'll eat in 15 minutes or so

Don't see much point in using freeze-dried bloodworm if the frozen variety is available!

 

[sarah]

Everyone told me to get freeze-dried bloodworms and I DID NOT SEE frozen bloodworms

 

[jennifer]

Sarah, it is definately WORTH IT to find a pet store that has either live or frozen food for your newt. Get out the phone book and make some calls to find a place that does. Ask for live blackworms or frozen bloodworms. (I'm assuming you live in the US - those are the most likely things you will find at US pet stores.)

 

[swan]

If your petstore is small, they may even have the frozen worms in the back, out of sight. It's definitely worth asking.

 

[TJ]

This is what they may look like, though they're also sold in single blocks. The cube type I use here is fortified with vitamins.
I'd take with a BIG grain of salt what "everybody" tells you, especially if you're referring to pet shop staff!

 

[gerard]

One more bloodworm option: TetraFauna ReptoTreat bloodworms in a "convenient Squeeze-n-Feed" package.These are marketed specifically for newts, frogs and crustaceans; there's also a tropical fish version, which may be the same product except for the packaging. The worms are in packets and require no refrigeration. They are in a "nutrient rich gel"; kind of a pink putty-like substance. I gave some to my Chinese firebellies. They ate them, although they had a little trouble finding them. The gel has a tendency to squirt out of the newt's mouth, so it's not too tidy. I think this product would be of interest mainly to someone who doesn't have access to a well-equipped pet shop (they can undoubtedly be mail-ordered from That Fish Place or other online suppliers). Also, since you don't need to touch the worms, they might be good for people with allergies to bloodworms.

 

[chris]

i use an eye dropper to feed my newt frozen blood worms, i put some in a small bowl that has water from the aquarium so they thaw, and suck up the bigger ones into the eye dropper one at a time, and drop them by the newt, and repeat until he stops eating. that way there's never any left overs in the tank.

 

[erik]

Wow. That's awesome. I just try to get a good sized chunk in a pair of needle-nosed pliers and hold them in front of the newt. Seems to work, however it's messy and it's often hard to get a good sized chunk of worms.

 

[aaron]

Tim, is that Hikari bloodworms? If so, those are awesome. I normally go through at least one of those packs weekly. Their mysis shrimp is also very good. Cya

~Aaron

 

[TJ]

Aaron, surprised to see you have the same brand over there! Yep, this is Hikari "clean" series of vitamin-fortified bloodworm. The worms are said to be raised in a chemical-free environment at a nature preserve in China, and are put through a 3-step process to kill off any harmful bacteria.

They retail here for 500 yen (around $4.25) for per 100-gram, 32-cube sheet. But I buy them in bulk so they cost me 3,800 yen for 18 sheets, bringing the per-unit price down to only 210 yen ($1.80)!

I actually go through one sheet...daily!

I recently bought the mysis to try it out on my unidentified Paramesotriton, but they didn't go for it. I haven't tried it with my Cynops yet though.

 

[aaron]

Yea, I get them at work when they go on sale for about $2.80 each. They retail at my shop for $4.59. They are also the clean ones with vitamins. I've found that at least the pyrrhogaster go crazy over the mysis shrimp. Not sure about the others though as I haven't had time to observe them eating.

~Aaron

 

[TJ]

Surely enough, the C.e.p went for the mysis, but I wouldn't say they went crazy over it like they do with bloodworm.

I'll try it with my feistier pyrrhogaster tomorrow!

I recently learned I can find live bloodworm at a bait shop near my house but am a bit hesitant for fear of introducing parasites or harmful bacteria. I used to feed them to my fish and newts years ago, at which time they came wrapped in damp newspaper. Any experience using this?

As for methods of feeding, I just plop the cubes into the water whole and never have a problem with leftovers -- maybe because Hikari cubes are so tasty compared to the cheaper brands