Feeding garden worms to fish

bearman88

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Would it be safe to feed my mixed reef fish a garden worm every now and then?

Literally talking about a garden worm you find in your backyard.

Maybe if I kept it a very small piece like a half inch long?
 

Reef Devils

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Would it be safe to feed my mixed reef fish a garden worm every now and then?

Literally talking about a garden worm you find in your backyard.

Maybe if I kept it a very small piece like a half inch long?
I don’t know but I am curious to see what other say. Following
 

littlefoxx

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I wouldn’t think so as that’s usually used as bait for freshwater fishing but I’m also curious to see what people say! Be interesting to see what the fish would do if it’s safe for them to eat! I’ve just never heard of anyone giving saltwater fish an earth worm but freshwater fish like them!
 

Paul B

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I worry about the worm contaminating my tank with something weird.
I don't know about that as I have no such worries. I worry about nose hairs and a uni brow but not worms. :oops:
 

Trixter227

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I assume the contaminants from the ground. I would assume the dirt, fertilizer, pesticides and all that will travel with the worm isent beneficial to the tank.
 

BeanAnimal

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I used to feed an Oscar earthworms as a regular part of its diet. The fish grew to the size of a shoe box and lived for over 15 years.
 

BeanAnimal

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that is awesome!
It was like a dog or cat. Like to be touched and petted. You could literally put it in your hands and it wouldn’t freak out… at least with me or my father. It would lunge at and bite others who put their hands over the tank. It would go to whatever side of the tank you were sitting near and “sit” with you. It played with “toys” that I would drop into the tank, pushing them around on the gravel and flinging them upwards into the water, sometimes out of the tank. I had piranhas in a nearby tank and when they were active, Oscar would go nuts swimming back and forth. Oscar he got very sick ( I lived out of town) and was 80% dead, not swimming or breathing. My father got antibiotics ( this was early 90s) and literally spent days with no sleep manually moving Oscar back and forth in the water to keep the gills full. Feeding him from a syringe, then earthworms when he got stronger. The fish lived for years after that. He ate worms, apples, bananas crickets, crawfish, peanuts. Just about anything. Was not fond of fish food. It also like our dog and would get excited when it was in the room.
 

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