MinxMermaid

Anybody had any experience with Dried Bloodworms for Bettas?

We feed our home bettas nice plump frozen/thawed blood worms every night and they LOVE them!!

I wanted Lemon, at the store, to get some blood worms too as he's only been getting a few Hikari pellets twice a day.

I tried the little gel pack of blood worms, and he loved that, but since he's only one little fish i had to clip and store the pack in the fridge. the next time i got some, the were black and sticky and i was afraid they had gone bad and didn't want to risk it.

Then i got some freeze dried worms the other day. I soaked a few, they don't plump up much, they look more like little dried branches.
But Lemon didn't like them much. he ate a couple of little pieces, then he would suck one up, chew it, spit it out, over and over.

then after a while, he just swam by the floating pieces and didn't even try to eat them.

i ended up scooping them out.

any ideas on how i could get my store betta a little protein. rick says he looks a little slim.

Martinismommy

I just bought some Hikari bloodworms and they are softer than the last ones I had..They seem to like these better they are not like little twigs....Here is what I bought.My boys LOVE them!

MinxMermaid

are those room temp or refigerated or frozen?

where did you get them?

Martinismommy

room temp....

Devon

I use the exact same stuff for my boys every night, soaked in water ahead of time for 5 minutes or so. They LOVE them. Have to be careful though, or they'll start turning their little noses up at anything else.

angelfish220

Just you wait, soon you will get a minifridge just so your little lemon can have frozen bloodworms!

Butterfly

Omega One freeze dried blood worms are pretty good also. It's a good idea to soak before feeding or feed them sparingly. In my experience they are bad to constipate if not soaked. They can be soaked in garlic guard, vita Chem or water.
Carol

COBettaCouple

I feed ours the hikari frozen bloodworms. If you get the sheets, you can break off small pieces to feed Lemon.

You could put a small piece in a little container of treated water. We store ours for up to 5 or 6 days in the fridge that way and feed them at meal times.

chickadee

ALL of my boys eat the same ones that Karen has pictured below as they are smaller for betta mouths and they are softer and all of my boys love them and eat them right down. I use them for them all and have never had a constipation issue with them if they are not over fed and get their peas one time a week as a treat ( not a meal).

Rose

I do not soak mine all the time as my guys prefer them not soaked but like I said they eat their peas and I have never had a constipation issue but they get only 3 per meal 2 times a day except for Diablo as he is under 6 mos old and he gets 2 3 times a day.

Rose

MinxMermaid

ok, where do you gals buy those hikari blood worms?

sounds like those would be a good option for little Lemon.

COBettaCouple

The dried ones should be available from any of the online stores. The frozen ones, I buy locally.

Lonely Angel

Jakey gets dried bloodworms and he loves them! I thaw out the frozen bloodworms for everyone at night, but Jakey refuses the pellets they get for breakfast so I have a jar of dried bloodworms just for him. I sometimes soak them in garlic guard, but I always drop them in one at a time and wait for him to chew each one before feeding the next, so I've never had problems.

If he doesn't like the dried bloodworms (my Ianto would eat nothing but frozen) maybe you could thaw a few frozen ones just before work and feed them to him when you arrive. But if he eats pellets okay he should enjoy the dried worms.

MinxMermaid

i'm gonna try the dried ones recommended, maybe they're better than the ones i got. i like your idea and one above about taking a few frozen from home, but i only go there 2 days a week. i wanted something easy the girls can give him too. or else he'll just have to wait for a TREAT when mom comes to work.
or else i'll have to work more often

chickadee

http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/group/10746/product.web

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...79&pcatid=4279

Take your pick of vendors. I don't think that PetSmart or Petco deal with them locally but you can ask someone who actually shops there. But while I am at it since you are looking for something someone else can feed him and not get in trouble with let me suggest the Freeze-dried Daphnia instead. There is a trick there. Bloodworms can be overfed and you can get in trouble if they get too many. Daphnia is impossible to overfeed as it is really full of fiber. It is a small crustacean and it works like prunes with fish. It is the food you want to give them when they won't eat their peas and it is a food that they should get to increase their fiber intake to keep them "regular". I recommend it to a lot of new betta owners until they get the hang of small feedings or for people who have bettas for small children or for people who are going to be letting others feed their bettas while on vacation. It is excellent to be giving sick bettas as it is easily digested and will not interfere with medication. AND no one can overfeed the betta with it. If they dumped the whole can in the tank it would not kill your betta. Foul the water perhaps but the betta would live. Dump a full can of any other food in there and the betta would eat itself to death. It can eat to its heart content and cannot eat enough daphnia to hurt it. There is so much fiber in daphnia it cannot constipate itself. So if you want something for someone else to feed your fish with, I would recommend the freeze-dried Daphnia (same page as the second link above and same manufacturer) My guys LOVE daphnia days as they get their tummies really full and mommy doesn't care. They also get to go "hunting for their food" as it is powdery and they get to chase it all over the top of the tank and make a game out of it. Just a small sprinkle will keep them busy finding every last morsel for a long time. While I heartily recommend the bloodworms for the protein they offer, if you are going to trust the feeding to someone else or you just want a fun food that is also healthy for them Daphnia is not something I am ever without.

Rose

Martinismommy

PetCo carries this brand.....At least the store where I bought Barney did....I had never seen them before.....I REALLY like this brand!

chickadee

I will say that there are premium brands like San Francisco and OmegaOne and all out there and they are excellent but the reason I buy Hikari over them is because of one thing and one thing only. Their bloodworms are HUGE and my bettas are usually babies when I get them. They cannot choke down a bloodworm that size until they are a year or older and the Hikari bloodworms are more "betta friendly" sized and just as nice for nutrition as far as the looks and reaction of the bettas. Oh I tried the premium ones but they got discouraged because they were too big and hard to swallow and they soon quit trying to eat them so I gave them to a friend who has larger fish. They are a good product and for those of you whose bettas like them GOOD for you! But my guys are not big bettas and they need the smaller foods and Hikari thankfully makes just their size for them. So we stay with the ones that work for us and they love it. Hikari also makes the Freeze dried Daphnia that is such a treat for them that they think they are getting candy and enough to fill their tummies too!

Rose

Martinismommy

Whoops.....I meant PetsMart Jacqi......

COBettaCouple

I also prefer the Hikari bloodworms. I like the size, as Rose mentioned, and their sterilization process. I've never had any problems with their bloodworms and even little baby angels can suck down the small ones.