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hello. Has anyone tried to feed earthworms or house flies to their. I have read some articles on it but never have talked to anyone doing this.
thanks for the info

I have fed my cichlids earthworms on occasion but be sure to wash them before feeding them to your fish. You can cut the larger worms into smaller pieces for smaller fish. Earthworms are probably the best live food you can feed your fish if you insist on live food. Hope this helps.

Is there any risk of disease from feeding this way?

Most cichlids love earthworms other fish eat them as well if they're small enough.

Is there any risk of disease from feeding this way?

Probably no more risk than any other type of live food is my guess.
I keep a worm farm and breed my own which is great because I'm able to grab smaller,thinner worms and thrill my cories with them

since the question pertains to cichlids I've moved your thread here to Cichlid Central.

I have fed earthworms to many different Central and South American cichlids. If you have Africans, you should post what species you have to make sure worms would make an appropriate diet. Also, some CA/SA cichlids can be sensitive to high proteins. Worms shouldn't be fed everyday, imo. They are better as a once or twice a week treat. Also, if you're taking the worms from the yard, it's important that there have never been any pesticides or other chemicals used in the yard. If there have been pesticides or other chemicals used then the worms could kill your fish. I buy my worms at pet stores or bait shops.

Jason

I have aulonocara (sunshine and hansbaenschi)
I feed them most cichlid flake, cichlid spirulina stick, also supplement with zucchini, freeze dried blood worms, frozen brine shrimp.
thanks for info.

[span class="edited"][Edited by 2004-08-22 03:17][/span]

Yeah my fish like worms...
They don't seem to go for house flys though...I've thrown some in a few times but they don't even go near them..not sure why..maybe it's because of their wings and stuff..or maybe they're just too crunchy and hard to eat..even my oscar didn't show any interest. Some other people might have fish that eat them though...

When i fed earthworms to my fish, I'd be very careful they are clean. Make sure you get them from a spot that have no contaminants. I would leave them in a bucket with 1/2 inch of water overnight so the dirt would come out.

I really wouldnt say earthworms are that great, since they do come from the ground and most of that stuff will go into the aquarium.

Blackworms,tubifex, and bloodworms are better, since they are usually commercially farmed.

Africans usually need a low protein diet, and tropheus must not have any protein in there diet.