Can red wigglers like you get from the bait store be fed and even garden worms? We compost a lot, so it would certainly have live bacteria in them!Wanda, I think any type of worm would be fine because it is most important the bacteria in the worm that will keep up the immunity of the fish. I use blackworms and whiteworms and when I am in a collecting mood, earthworms. Blackworms are hard to come by now due to the drought in California. I am surprised people elsewhere don't grow them, it's not lie you have to send them to college or anything but you need a fresh water source.
Before you order worms on line you either need a large refrigerator or a worm keeper like I built. But for a lot of worms it would have to be cycled very well with some dead fish or something that rots, and that may stink. It takes a while to cycle a worm tank but once it's cycled, you can keep worms forever. If I get time I am going to build a much larger worm keeper so I can get them in bulk.
Let me know when you are passing the Statue of Liberty.
I was always afraid to try them in my saltwater. I had freshwater for years and fed crickets all the time to my Archer. He would eat from my hand. That was the coolest fish I've ever had!
Absolutely bacteria remains viable and beneficial even after freezing. We know bacteria survived the ice age and heat is much more detrimental to bacteria than the cold, hence the reason we boil water to render it safe.
We first began experimenting with active bacteria cultures in our foods in early 2013. We simply brought to ornamental fish food what had worked in aquaculture for the farming of fish, shrimp and mollusks for human consumption. In the beginning many people speculated probiotics were a gimmick. Nearly 6 years later with almost a dozen captive breeding breakthroughs occurring while using our foods (http://www.larrysreefservices.com/testimonials.html) probiotics are popping up on other frozen fish food labels. Over the last five years we have done extensive testing on our foods to make sure that the goal of 1M CFU, or Colony Forming Units per gram is met within the typical lifespan of a pack of food. We have had lab tests published on our website as well as other info here: http://www.larrysreefservices.com/probiotics.html
This is a test certificate from one of the first samples of LRS and was used as a starting point to dial back the amount of probiotics needed.
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Maybe @saltyfilmfolks ? Not sure he feeds them to his fish though.
You are correct , they are temperate , not tropical so you'd need cold water to keep them alive.
