The truth about blood worms.

You may feed your fish bloodworms as their main food, because they love it so much. They dart at the chance to eat the delicious red worm. However, do you actually know what a blood worm is, and why they can be dangerous, and what should be fed instead? Well, here’s the cold hard truth.

What are blood worms?
Most blood worms sold today aren’t actually worms. I know it seems weird, as they are so worm looking but they are the small red larvae from midge flies, Chironomidae. There is another type of blood worm that is an actual worm, but is becoming less and less popular to use. It is important to know this distinction, because when choosing the right blood worms to feed your fish.

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Blood worms most common complaint.
Blood worms are super fatty! Just feeding blood worms almost has no nutritious value for the fish, and can lead to them being very inactive, and overweight. Blood worms should be treated as just that. Treats. Using bloodworms solely as a diet can lead to inactivity, overweight fish, and premature death.

The dos and don’ts of blood worm varieties.
There are three main varieties of blood worms sold today, and only one of them is somewhat safe. The only one of these that should ever be fed to fish are frozen blood worms, and of that, only one brand of blood worms should be bought, which is hikari’s frozen blood worms. The reason why these are the only safe ones is, first, freeze dried blood worms have even less nutrients than other blood worms do, as the process of freeze drying removes most of the nutrients in most products. Live blood worms should not be fed because of the anatomy of actual blood worms. Blood worms actually come equipped with tiny hooks throughout them, that have the ability to rip the insides of fish right open. That is also the reason why only hikari’s blood worms should be bough. It’s because they’re one of the only companies who have come out and said they remove the hooks in blood worms.

What to do if your fish is addicted to blood worms.
I personally recommend using Hikari’s vibra bites, as they are made to look exactly like blood worms, and have much more important nutrients than blood worms do. I am just completely endorsing Hikari. If you’re looking to stick with live food, live black worms are an amazing alternative to blood worms, and have much more needed nutrients.

The future for blood worms.
Only a few select companies that produce blood worms will exist soon, as the information that blood worms can be harmful reaches the public. The main company will likely be Hikari, as they currently are the only company making blood worms safe.  It is important for people to know what they’re actually feeding their pets.