# how do i feed neon tetras live worms?



## Jeremy93ls (Feb 20, 2009)

I have a healthy compost bin loaded with thousands of little red earthworms so i picked out a tiny sacrificial squiggly and fed him to the neon tetra in my 10 gallon tank. The worm was VERY thin and maybe an inch long at best but I cut him in half anyway before dropping him in. It sank straight to the bottom and is still there, several hours later. A few brave tetra poked at it a few times but have since lost interest.

What's the best way to feed my little guys with these worms? Should they be cut up into tiny pieces before dropping them in... and how would that be considered 'live' after such a slaughter?
:sad:


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## crystalview (Mar 9, 2008)

You need to put them in a small tub with water and add floss the worms will crawl through the floss and expell the dirt. The you can feed them oatmeal or a ceral gran to fatten them up if you want. You won't need much but might as well clean a few out. Chop them up and add a small bit to the tank. They may not eat them the first time our now all my fish do. I use a kitchen baster to take out any extra so it won't rot, But I am a little anual.


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## Jeremy93ls (Feb 20, 2009)

That seems like a lot of effort to feed them something they'd eat in the wild without any human intervention. Surely a few grains of (organic) dirt wouldn't hurt, right?

I think the problem is the worms, or pieces of, sink right to the bottom before the tetra even know it. They don't seem to care unless something is floating in front of their face.


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## crystalview (Mar 9, 2008)

Do you only have neons? Most people use the worms on other types of fish. When you chop up a worm (to big other wise for most fish) the water gets cloudy if you don't mind that then just feed them.
My neons like California black worms. I put them in a worm cup and as the worms wiggle free the neons eat them. All my fish ate CA black worms.
Have you tried any of the worm cultures if small fish is what you have? They are easy to keep.


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## Jeremy93ls (Feb 20, 2009)

That's really cool. A quick Google search turned up pages of useful info on California blackworms. I've never seen a worm cup/cone. 

I only have a dozen neons and a few Otocinclus in my planted tank. My goal is to keep it easy to maintain. 

Thanks for the tip, I'm going to do some research on those blackworms.


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## Six (May 29, 2006)

Neons likely wouldn't eat earthworms in the wild. They are much too large. If you fed them white worms they could eat it since they're smaller food. Neons are pelagic and therefore stay in the water column, try feeding them planktonic food like daphnia. 

And yes, iirt isnt going to hurt anything- maybe your aquascaping but certainly not the fish (unless you add dirt that's been fertilized or altered).

GL!


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## catfishbi (Sep 4, 2008)

you can buy some blood worms for them they love it.


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## Jeremy93ls (Feb 20, 2009)

Thanks to all


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## marrow (Mar 4, 2007)

Though it may not apply to neons so well, a method for making worms float is to inject a bit of air into them with a syringe. You might want to try some more neon size worms, such as walter worms, banana worms vineger eels, grindals, microworms etc. They are generally pretty easy to culture.


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