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Is this bloodworm anygood? or does it have to be the gamma stuff

http://www.aquarist-classifieds.co.uk/p ... 2&de=16484

Hi shell231,
I would suggest you read the the posts on Feeding. There is a lot of info on bloodworm both good and bad.
I personally still feed bloodworm but a lot less frequently than before, but always irradiated. Remember, even irradiated bloodworm , thawed then refrozen even before you get hold of it, can go "off". Reasons have already been stated many time before.
Regards,
Des.

try live food, you cant go wrong with it, alltho is a little more expensive

http://www.fishandfins.co.uk/live-aquarium-food.htm

hamish99,

Do you use these livefoods?. If they are working for you thats great, But do you know how many "bugs" these pond livefoods carry?. I wouldnt use them with my zebras. I have lost many a fish in the past from using these foods and havent called the fish undertaker in, for a very long time , since I stopped using these livefoods !!!!. Is this a risk worth taking with fish that are nearly nigh on irreplaceable.The only live foods I use though not necessarily for zebras , are microworm, grindalworm and whiteworm that I culture myself, and sometimes use mosquito larvae from a tub in the garden .


Des.

Even though newly hatched artemia are good for fry, I mainly see Zebras as scavengers? They don't look like very efficient hunters, and I have noticed that they like their foods better when it's been in the tank for a while. The squash I give them gets more and more popular as the hours pass, and after about 6 hours they seem to think it's just right.

But, when that's said, this does not mean anybody should leave the food in the tank to pollute the water! Clean water is very important for them.

It would be interesting to hear if anybody is giving them live food? Anything that moves and need to be caught I mean? In regards to bloodworms, I almost stopped entirely giving them that after reading about too many unfortunate incidents related to this...

Apart from the freshwater black worm culture I had a while back I honestly can not remember the last time I fed live foods from an unknown source. Personally I would strongly advise against live foods unless it has been home grown, even then I would exercise caution. Look after your cultures and ensure that they are well maintained.

As i only have 1 zeb at present what should i feed him i have been doing frozen bloodworm the last 3 night and all of it is gone by the morning. what would be a good food for just him on his own for now?

Hi Shell,

There's several threads about foods, like this one for instance

Feed a variety of different sinking foods, with the odd veggie thrown in, and he should do fine. There's several different frozen foods you could try as well, like brineshrimps for instance. If its sinks the Zebra will in most cases eat it. Mainly proteins but eqaully important, a smaller dose of greenery, seems to be to right thing to do.

Adam
How did you find the live blackworms from http://www.blades-bio.co.uk/home.htm when feeding them to your zebras.
I am thinking of using them when i do a week of daily water changes.

McEve
I also found that my zebras seem to like the food after it has been lying in the tank for a while.
I only have three zebras in a 4ft tank with decent filtration and not much decorations, and have removed the gravel, so when i remove uneaten food i get it all.

Mine are certainly not like usual Tropicals, hardly any food left before it lands on the bottom of the tank.
Infact i am finding, one night the food is all eaten, the next night it is hardly touched, then on the next night it is all gone again.
It is making me think about feeding them every second night

AndrewC,

Its good to hear that you have removed your gravel.
In a previous thread ,you were adamant that gravel could be used if a gravel cleaner was used regularly.
It is best not to take any unnecessary risks, with our precious zebras , wouldn't you say?
My zebras have taken after me ( since I love my food) and eat daily anything I put in for them.
I know Adam has stated that he gives his zebras one day a week without food, and finds them chewing on the bogwood on this day. I wonder whether this is because they like the wood, need some fibre or are just plain hungry.

Des.

Des
I vacumn the gravel in my other tanks weekly, including a moderately planted tank (which is probably detrimental to the plants), to keep them as clean as possible for the corys i have.
When i first started keeping corys, i wasn't too strict in cleaning the gravel, after reading that it is better for the plants that way.
But then, some of my corys lost their barbels and died, as they can not eat when they lose there barbels.
It was then i found that gravel has to be cleaned regularly when keeping corys, to protect their barbels, and have done so ever since.
And kept thinking, if the gravel is clean enough for my corys, it should be clean enough for my Zebras.
That was before i found out they can be such picky eaters.

Thanks, i'm glad you said that i would be far better without the gravel
As there could have been some unexplained deaths in this tank, now that i see their eating habits

Do you know how Zebras eat in the wild, as they do not seem like predators to me, more scavengers , though goodness knows what they are like when the lights are out