Can I Feed My Betta Earthworms?

Heya, I've been thinking about it since the LFS biologist told me one can use these worms as a good source of live food for my betta.

I got some in my plant vases, on which I rarely use pesticides or fertilizers, so they are chemically safe to eat... But they also have earth inside them, and I don't know if this dirt would be bad for him if he ingested it.

Do you guys have any insight about that?

Tank you

 

I wouldn't, mainly because it'd be easy to get worms from an area that's been treated with chemicals and such. I'd stick to frozen worms, or live foods bought at the store.

 

I’ve fed baby earth worms to fish before, the larger ones are just too big around to be swallowed by a small betta. I live in the middle of nowhere so I’ve no worries about harmful chemicals.

Dig around and get the little ones about an inch long and use those. You can kill them by running hot water over them (very fast) and then “squeeze” the solids out of the digestive tract by running them through your fingers.

 

If their small enough it's a great snack for them. Sometimes if the fish get 'spoiled' with live foods they won't want regular flakes.

 

I wouldn't, mainly because it'd be easy to get worms from an area that's been treated with chemicals and such. I'd stick to frozen worms, or live foods bought at the store.

The worms I have in mind are pretty much organic, I say, it's been a *reeeeally* long time since I used chemicals on those plants, so poisoning is probably not to worry unless those substances are still toxic in really low concentrations

 

The worms I have in mind are pretty much organic, I say, it's been a *reeeeally* long time since I used chemicals on those plants, so poisoning is probably not to worry unless those substances are still toxic in really low concentrations

If that's the case, I'd follow the instructions that Demeter gave above. Just be sure to rinse well!

 

I’ve fed baby earth worms to fish before, the larger ones are just too big around to be swallowed by a small betta. I live in the middle of nowhere so I’ve no worries about harmful chemicals.

Dig around and get the little ones about an inch long and use those. You can kill them by running hot water over them (very fast) and then “squeeze” the solids out of the digestive tract by running them through your fingers.

Ohhh thank you bro, I am keeping one of them in a pot with moist toilet paper so it would poo its poo and still be alive when I feed it to my boy

If their small enough it's a great snack for them. Sometimes if the fish get 'spoiled' with live foods they won't want regular flakes.

Lol, good thing I have plenty o' wormies... Maybe I can even start a farm

 

So I recently moved to Binghamton, New York (some consider it to be upstate) and it has been raining the past couple of days. Maybe I have not noticed it before but, there are literally thousands of worms everywhere. They are all over the sidewalks, in the dirt patches and in the massive puddles. As I am astonished about all the worms, the most I have seen in my life, my mind came across the question of whether or not I could feed one to my Betta fish Jeff. So, can I feed my Betta fish earthworms? I am unsure of chemicals used in the area as I know from my preliminary Google search, that is an important factor. I also know that size may be a complication. So that leads me to my second question of whether I can chop up the bigger worms and keep them alive? Jeff has never had live food before so I thought this might be a special treat. He eats dried bloodworms as a snack on occasion. Plus, I think it would be pretty cool to do. Thank you for time! What do you guys think?

 

So I recently moved to Binghamton, New York (some consider it to be upstate) and it has been raining the past couple of days. Maybe I have not noticed it before but, there are literally thousands of worms everywhere. They are all over the sidewalks, in the dirt patches and in the massive puddles. As I am astonished about all the worms, the most I have seen in my life, my mind came across the question of whether or not I could feed one to my Betta fish Jeff. So, can I feed my Betta fish earthworms? I am unsure of chemicals used in the area as I know from my preliminary Google search, that is an important factor. I also know that size may be a complication. So that leads me to my second question of whether I can chop up the bigger worms and keep them alive? Jeff has never had live food before so I thought this might be a special treat. He eats dried bloodworms as a snack on occasion. Plus, I think it would be pretty cool to do. Thank you for time! What do you guys think?

Lol! A Bettas stomach is about as big as it's eyeball so I'd say, if you can chop them as big as his eyeball, he'd be able to eat it. As far as keeping "chopped up" worms alive-unlikely. Personally, considering pesticides etc. Especially in residential, lawn covered places-I'd save the worms for fishing, not for my Betta.

 

So I recently moved to Binghamton, New York (some consider it to be upstate) and it has been raining the past couple of days. Maybe I have not noticed it before but, there are literally thousands of worms everywhere. They are all over the sidewalks, in the dirt patches and in the massive puddles. As I am astonished about all the worms, the most I have seen in my life, my mind came across the question of whether or not I could feed one to my Betta fish Jeff. So, can I feed my Betta fish earthworms? I am unsure of chemicals used in the area as I know from my preliminary Google search, that is an important factor. I also know that size may be a complication. So that leads me to my second question of whether I can chop up the bigger worms and keep them alive? Jeff has never had live food before so I thought this might be a special treat. He eats dried bloodworms as a snack on occasion. Plus, I think it would be pretty cool to do. Thank you for time! What do you guys think?

I’m sure you could cut them up and feed them to him but the big question is what have the worms been eating and what have the traveled through? Even a small amount of fertilizer can crash your entire tank and kill the inhabitants. A really good option for free live betta food would be mosquito larvae. A lot of people will leave buckets of water out and wait until the mosquitos lay their eggs. Scoop out some of the babies once they’ve hatched and add them to your tank! Betta fish love them. Just keep the bucket away from your house or dump it before they fully transform.

 

I’m sure you could cut them up and feed them to him but the big question is what have the worms been eating and what have the traveled through? Even a small amount of fertilizer can crash your entire tank and kill the inhabitants. A really good option for free live betta food would be mosquito larvae. A lot of people will leave buckets of water out and wait until the mosquitos lay their eggs. Scoop out some of the babies once they’ve hatched and add them to your tank! Betta fish love them. Just keep the bucket away from your house or dump it before they fully transform.

Yeah, keep it about 200 yards from your house (that's the range of mosquitos) and warn your neighbors you're growing mosquito larvae.

 

It would be safest to not feed him the worms. You would have to chopp it and freeze most of it, and it will make the tank water really dirty. If I had an oscar or something I might be more tempted.

 

Do any pet stores around you sell live black worms? They are really easy to keep. If you had a culture of black worms in a fish bowl that's more then enough for a betta. Only feed one or two at a time.

 

Yeah, the fertilizer is a really big concern but also any possible parasites the worms might have, I just wouldn't take the risk.

 

Anything from outside your home can contain parasites. Be very cautious if you consider doing anything like this!