[Sakura8]

In light of my own predicament with my betta Train, I feel compelled to warn my fellow betta owners about live black worms.

Last week, I bought what I was told were live bloodworms and fed them to Train. That same night, I noticed he had a very large blockage that was literally making his belly pointed. A week in 3 tsps of epsom salt per gallon and IAL has done nothing to move this mass out of his system. He will most likely need to be euthanized.

Further research on google led me to discover that the worms I was sold were not bloodworms but were in fact black worms. And that's where everything went wrong for poor Train.

Here is what The Betta Handbook by Robert J Goldstein has to say:

"Bettas may engorge on black worms, resulting in gastric distress and sometimes death. Many aquarists cut them into pieces with a razor blade before feeding them to bettas. Black worms that survive partial ingestion can tear the stomachs of small fish, killing them." (pg 93, Goldstein)

If you purchase live worms, do double-check to make sure they are bloodworms. If you intend to feed black worms to your bettas, feed only one or two at the very most and probably do as the book suggests, cutting them into pieces.

I don't want anyone else to have to go through what Train and I are going through. Be very careful when purchasing and feeding live worms.

 

[LittleBettaFish]

I've always thought it was bloodworms that are said to damage the stomachs of fish. I think it's apisto owners that don't like feeding them.

With that said, I feed live blackworms to my wilds, killies and natives, and have done for nearly two years in some instances now. My splendens are also fed blackworms from time to time. My wilds have literally stuffed themselves on blackworms (to the point they look like balloons) and I have never had any harm come from it. This includes juveniles.

Sad that your betta is very sick though. Have you thought about doing a fishy autopsy on him if it comes to euthanasia to see if it indeed the blackworms.

 

[Sakura8]

That's a good idea, LittleBettaFish, I hadn't thought of that. I doubt I can perform an autopsy myself, both because of being squeamish and for lacking experience, but I think my veterinary clinic would be willing to do so.

I'm very glad your fish haven't suffered any side effects from eating blackworms. They must be happy fish, getting to eat livefoods all the time. I fed a single worm each to my other bettas as a treat that same night and now one of them refuses to eat his normal food and instead looks hopefully at me. I guess he's holding out for the live worms.

 

[Olympia]

Any kind of worm that can survive "partial digestion" is a threat. Once inside the stomach they can start thrashing around, doing damage. People are warning about both kinds of worms these days.

Poor Train. It looks horrible.
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[True Indigo]

Great to know and I truly hope the best for your betta. I've looked up the risks of live and frozen food and eliminated what I could of potential problems by just sticking to frozen brine shrimp and live mosquito larvae.

 

[thekinetic]

Good knowledge, take comfort that Train didn't die in vain but so others wouldn't suffer his fate. I'm sure he is smiling for you under that rainbow bridge.

 

[Sakura8]

Thank you for the extra info, Olympia. I think no more live worms for sure. Really bites that I can't culture mosquito larvae.

Thanks, kinetic and True Indigo, I appreciate your thoughts.

 

[lillyandquigly]

so sorry

 

[Rosso1011]

So sorry about Train, Sakura. It really is a tragic fate that you will have had to lose him like this. I am very thankful that you are sharing this information with others so that we can avoid feeding something that can be so harmful to our bettas.

 

[Sakura8]

Thank you, Rosso. I'm glad there is a silver lining to Train's dark cloud. I honestly had no idea feeding live worms could be so dangerous so I definitely want everyone to know the risks beforehand.

 

[Bombalurina]

Poor Train, and poor Sakura. Shame on places that mislable and fail to educate employees.

 

[Sakura8]

Thanks Bomba. Yeah, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have gotten the worms if I'd known they were black worms. And now, no more live worms at all. They get frozen food and they'll like it.

 

[Twilight Storm]

Sorry to hear that Sakura.... I hope Train gets better ASAP. Thank you for the warning about blackworms.

I think I will stick with frozen or freeze dried assorted creepy crawlies to feed to my adults too.

 

[lillyandquigly]

ya same:C

 

[tpocicat]

I've fed black worms to my bettas and community fish for years. I've never had a problem with them. I only feed maybe two worms once a week, and my fish love them.
So sorry to hear about Train *hugs*

 

[Sakura8]

Thank you, Twilight and lily.

Tpocicat, I think Train may have had an underlying issue and the black worms just compounded things. I'm glad to know that your fish enjoy them and can eat them without any problems.

 

[ZubinBetta]

Sakura, can you make this thread into a sticky?

 

[Sakura8]

Zubin, I talked to the other moderators and yes, they said it should be stickied. I think it could be a good place to discuss the pros and cons of feeding live foods.

 

[Atena]

I am so sorry Sakura. thank you for sharing that info, I am new Betta owner and I had no idea. your experience will help many. It is amazing how we can just not think of something and it ends up being dangerous for the fishes. I am heartbroken for you.

*Hugs*

 

[Sakura8]

Thank you very much, Atena. *hugs back* I am glad to know Train's death has a silver lining in that people are now more aware of the risks of live foods. I have to admit, I was pretty dismayed to read that live worms can potentially survive ingestion.