The Puffer Forum

Is this a bad idea? I feed live blackworms to my puffers n my betta. All of them weren't eaten. I'm sure some escaped into the sand...what r the dangers? If they breed, how would I get rid of them? I have 4 dps, 1 sap, 1 banjo cat, 2 nerite snails, n 4 amano shrimp in a 20 gallon tank.

It is not a good thing, but is nor horrible either. I use blackworms regularly - as a staple diet for DPs and any Cory cats, or loaches, and frequently for rainbows and some other fish. For the DPs and for Cory cats (not co-housed with the DPs, they get nipped IME) I provide a smallish feeding/water dish beneath the cone feeder to catch any missed worms. That gives the fish an opportunity to get any missed worms without their hiding in the gravel immediately, as they tend to do. The rainbows never miss, and the loaches will dig them out if any escape.

I've had a few blackworms escape and live in the gravel in the past, and I've never had a problem.

Maybe I just missed the post, but has someone mentioned to you that your tank is overstocked, SAPs need schools, and the mix of fish is all-around risky? If so, never mind me.

I have a whole colony of blackworms and snails in my saps tank. He just eats whenever he is hungry, and i never have to feed him.

LilGreenPuffer wrote:I've had a few blackworms escape and live in the gravel in the past, and I've never had a problem.

Maybe I just missed the post, but has someone mentioned to you that your tank is overstocked, SAPs need schools, and the mix of fish is all-around risky? If so, never mind me.

Nope, no one has mentioned that. The tank stays clean tho...ammonia n nitrite r zero. Nitrates go up to 10ppm sometimes when I don't do a water change on time tho. Normally I can keep them under 5ppm. I was thinking about giving the sap to someone else. Any takers?

RTR wrote:It is not a good thing, but is nor horrible either. I use blackworms regularly - as a staple diet for DPs and any Cory cats, or loaches, and frequently for rainbows and some other fish. For the DPs and for Cory cats (not co-housed with the DPs, they get nipped IME) I provide a smallish feeding/water dish beneath the cone feeder to catch any missed worms. That gives the fish an opportunity to get any missed worms without their hiding in the gravel immediately, as they tend to do. The rainbows never miss, and the loaches will dig them out if any escape.

My banjo cat burries him self all the time. There is a good chance he will dig out what escapes, huh?

Mezzovex wrote:I have a whole colony of blackworms and snails in my saps tank. He just eats whenever he is hungry, and i never have to feed him.

That's cool! The same idea has crossed my mind a few times. (Dump a whole bunch in the tank n never worry about it) a few places online didn't advise this tho. Not sure why.

What i need is what r thr risks of having a colony inside the tank? My substrate is sand.

What i need to know is what r the risks of having a colony inside the tank? My substrate is sand.

Try not to feed as much or use the worm cones. IME they can live for a while but can die too. Id just continue to vacuum them out when vacuuming the sand substrate. Really they can only live for so long in all water like 2 weeks for me atleast but Id always vacuum up scraps of them all the time in the gravel. Then I realized i was feeding to much so I cut it back. I dont have a worm cone either i just take the desired portion in my net and hang it in the tank and the worms will slowly squirm out. And not all run and hide all at once. But I dont think your gonna have a colony or anything just clean em out anyways and you shouldnt have any in there rotting.

The risk of having a number of live blackworms in the substrate is that the water depth and food availability for them is iffy. If a colony collapses, the tank can go sour quite rapidly. They are not easy to culture in captivity. NIMFT.

In any tank I fed blood/blackworms in, they are removed with weekly water changes, which always includes a thorough substrate cleaning.

brandy_s.a.p wrote:

LilGreenPuffer wrote:I've had a few blackworms escape and live in the gravel in the past, and I've never had a problem.

Maybe I just missed the post, but has someone mentioned to you that your tank is overstocked, SAPs need schools, and the mix of fish is all-around risky? If so, never mind me.

Nope, no one has mentioned that. The tank stays clean tho...ammonia n nitrite r zero. Nitrates go up to 10ppm sometimes when I don't do a water change on time tho. Normally I can keep them under 5ppm. I was thinking about giving the sap to someone else. Any takers?

They're probably not adults yet. As they get bigger and more territorial, nitrogen and aggression could escalate.

I did some reading on them, and i saw that they could be beneficial to people with sand substrates. They tunnel through the sand and keep the gas pockets from forming. They also eat little pieces of garbage out of the sand. thus keeping your tank a bit cleaner.

brandy_s.a.p wrote:I was thinking about giving the sap to someone else. Any takers?

What state do you live in? Shipping is touchy with the high heat in a lot of the U.S. right now, but if the distance isn't that far to drive.........