I do the same thing- I chop the worms whole- straight out of the compost box (a 20 gal Rubbermaid bin in the kitchen) and then feed them to the fish- I remove most of the soil off the worms, but I don't get too picky out it. I figure that the gut load of the worms is good for the fish (i.e.. extra nutrients and vitamins etc.) When the fish get worms for more than a few days in a row they seems to spawn almost on command. My butterfly rams spawn like clockwork (every one or two weeks) when they get worms as a supplement to spirulina flake and bloodworms. Red earthworms (red wrigglers) are the easiest live food I have used yet. The great thing about them is that they are not messy like you would expect from chopping them up- all the blood and goo from chopping coagulates with their body slime and the food is actually quite clean and is eaten up readily(provided you don't overfeed). You can even freeze it and it still holds together. Oh- like Gabriella said house and patio pot plants love the stuff. Cory ----- Original Message ----- From: gkadar <gkadar@idirect.ca> To: <apisto@majordomo.pobox.com> Sent: February 22, 2000 4:20 PM Subject: Re: Live Black worms and other cultures... > My fish absolutely love the red wriggler worms. The bigger cichlids eat > them whole, the smaller ones, get them cut up. That's a gross job, but a > sharp pair of scissors does the trick. > > I agree with the statement that they are safe seeing as how I know what they > are getting in their diet. It's marvellous because they eat all the stale > mouldy bread, veggie peelings, chopped up plain corrugated cardboard and > every so often I add crushed egg shells to keep the pH from going to acidic. > 3 times a year I separate the worms from their castings and use those for my > house plants. It's a really great way to recycle, reuse and have healthy > fish. :) > > Gabriella > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------- > This is the apistogramma mailing list, apisto@listbox.com. > For instructions on how to subscribe or unsubscribe or get help, > email apisto-request@listbox.com. > Search http://altavista.digital.com for "Apistogramma Mailing List Archives"! > ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is the apistogramma mailing list, apisto@listbox.com. For instructions on how to subscribe or unsubscribe or get help, email apisto-request@listbox.com. Search http://altavista.digital.com for "Apistogramma Mailing List Archives"!