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I couldn't find where to put this but seeing as i got them for my oscars i'll ask it here.
I got some mealie worms for my oscars to eat and not suprisingly they loved them, however i couldn't get them where i usually do and went else where for them only to be told that i should be cutting the heads of the mealie worms before i feed themt to my fish as if they aren't digested properly they can eat the fish from the inside out. Needless to say i didn't buy them any worms.
Has any one else heard of this or had it happen to them?
Or is it even true?

Sorry if this is in the wrong section

[span class="edited"][Edited by Angel2211 2004-08-15 13:31][/span]

I always fed mealworms/waxworms/meats/earthworms..etc..to my Oscars and never heard that. My Oscars got quite large in the year I had them too, btw. I never fed feeder fish for fear of parasites/disease.

On the topic of mealworms, I'de be cautious. I'm not sure if this applies to fish, but the shells can plug the digestive system of many lizards, which I know from owning a leopard gecko and hearing quite often. It may be an idea to wait until they molt before feeding them to your oscars, but I could be wrong.

[span class="edited"][Edited by 2004-08-15 16:05][/span]

off topic..but how big was your gecko? I even fed Mediterranean geckos to my leopard gecko pair and they never had a problem (they were about 8" w/out tail though.. and ppl feed those mice even,too.

its been a few years since i've had her, i'de say maybe 8 inches nose to tip of tail. It's not any and all things hard, its specificaly the chitin in wealworm shells, usualy king mealworms tend to be the problem.

Years ago I too fed these to my lizards until I was also told they could potentially eat their way out if not digested. They suggested wax worms instead. Never did any research to see if it was true... maybe try a google search? Would be interested in hearing what you come up with.

meal worms? they're just beatle larvae, and from everything i saw, my leopard gecko did a good job of mooshing them with her jaws on the way down.

Thanks every one for your advice, I'm a fair way from where i actually buy them from so i have time to decide if i'm going to feed them mealie worms or not. What are waxworms? I've never even heard of this. I'm currently searching the net though about the HITCH problem oscars have as i'd hate for that to happen to them. I only know about HITCH because it happened to friends of mine and they said it was caused through their food.

Its a 'herpers-legend'....neither mealworms nor superworms eat their way out of anything that has ingested them. The story likely got started when a couple of reptile keepers had a leopard gecko (the species the story started out with) die when they were not about, bt there were some loose worms in the cage...the worms simply took advantage of the opportunity to eat the fresh corpse, and started at the softest bit, the stomach...creating a hole that it probably appeared that they chewed their way out of.

Hoever, mealworms are not particularly nutritious, being largely chitin and moisture....gut-loaded superworms are a bit better, but nothing you want to feed particularly regularly.

I HAVE however, had mealworms eat their way out of those little plastic tubs they come in. Keep them in something stronger or where they can't reach the holes in the lid to chew thru

Thanks for that Toirtis, I was starting to think that the LFS may have been confused. I have read where in a marine tank a bristle worm can eat the mouth of the fish as the fish can't shake it off, and was wondering if this is what he was referring to. When i got my mealie worms for the oscars i had to feed them with a packet of gutload before i feed them to the fish. I don't think i'll feed them to them again though, they seem to love alot of other things now so it isn't necessary but when i first got them they didn't seem to want to eat and the LFS suggested mealie worms (which they loved) and now they eat everything that goes in the tank. They swim around the tank with 3 or 4 sinking pellets in their mouth at a time while still trying to pick up more.. Little piggies that they are. So thanks again.
Also girlunderrainbow i haven't had them chew through the tub but a friend of mine picked one up thinking it was really cute and it bit her. So we were a little bit quicker feeding the fish after that..

ya, the nutrition value on mealworms is low if you feed them pre-shedding, but if they shed for you then its possible to feed them and avoid a good bit of chitin. With that gone, mealworms have a good bit of protine content. If you're feeding them to oscars they'll probably be fine that way, for a leopard gecko I'de reccomend covering them in powdered coral for the extra calcium value (something juvie's often lack in their diet). I wonder about crickets and oscars- my gecko always loved the ones i brought home from the store.

Hmm not sure on the crickets. I'll ask next week when i go over and let you know. Or you could just make a post.

I feed duprasi which are completely insectivore. Meal worms aren't all that useful unless you want to watch the fat content in the animals diet. Another problem with petstore insects is that they feed them on cornmeal 90% of the time. Cornmeal can carry a toxic mold which after enough cornmeal the insect carries it for life. Some more sensitive animals have been dying from this toxin.
http://www.wormman.com does not use cornmeal and has instructions for breeding your own as well as cheap prices and sometimes free shipping. You could easily breed waxworms which are the highest in fat/protein count.

As for a mealworm eating its way out of an oscar or other cichlid that would be highly unlikely. Cichlids chew their food using pharyngeal teeth to crush and grind the food. If anyone has seen an oscar eat a goldfish you probably see the glitter of scales in the tank. That is because the goldfish just got chewed.

Crickets are supposed to be very good for Oscars. Many reccommed feeding crickets over feeder fish, since they aren't as e to carrying diseases. They are also much more nutritious than mealworms (something I learned keeping my White's tree frog). And, I believe Oscars are insectivores, so they'll eat most any bugs.