Storing Live Bloodworms

Hello, This is the first time I have bought a portion of live blood worms for my tropical fish. Naturally they won't consume the whole portion I purchased. Is storing the worms in the refrigerator for a few days acceptable or is there a better way to keep them alive until feeding them to fish. Thanks,

Is it tubifex that you are talking about or bloodworms? I know you have writtern Bloodworms but then most of us have confusion as to which worms are these...The worms sold in LFS are tubifex under many names. So, I would tell you how to store tubifex alive for 6 months. First of all precautions. The worms tubifex or blood worms are a source of many water borne diseases so you should avoid touching them hands. Use gloves or tweezers to handle them. Also it is advisable to put a drop of antiseptic in the water containing the worms. Betadine(an antiseptic available in my region-look for something similar in yours). Now take a shallow tray. Put the worms in this tray. and place this tray under a tap where water drips drop by drop so that the water is refreshed. Well I use a different method to achieve this. I take a container..( 1/2 litre ice-cream plastic container) and fill it with water. Fill it with tap water. Now I put a wick (any cotton cloth will make a wick)in the container and then place it in such a way that water trickles in the tray. Its difficult to explain with pictures. But i feel u can try this..its fairly easy. U can now feed the worms fish food pellets.once in few days. Also you should see that the water doesn't become cloudy. To filter out the dead ones from the live one. take a plastic sieve. put the worms in this and take a nap.the live ones will drop down in the tray and the dead ones will not. DONOT USE THIS SEIVE ANYWHERE ELSE. this way they can stay alive for 6 months.

Hi Justin, I purchase my bloodworm on the day my fishshop gets them from the supplier so they are fresh and wriggly! Yes I keep them in a dark fridge and they can stay good for up to 10 Days. I also would recommend buying a wire mesh loose tea strainer to give them a good rinse out under the tap before feeding time. That way you get rid of the water in the packet which could harbour parasites.Although you could still transfer a disease this cuts down the chance considerably. If passing on a disease worries you then buy the frozen blister packs of treated bloodworm. Not as much fun though as the fish go mad for the real live wrigglers! Best of luck

I keep my worms in the fridge in a covered cup (filled with water) for several weeks. I try to replace 100% of the water 3 or so times a week. If I let the water changes go too long I'll see a bunch of dead ones. These ususally float to the top when I make the water changes. I've never feed them.

Hello again and thanks for the informative tips from all. This was (is) my first experience with keeping live food for my friends. The fish go nuts for these things, and they're good for scaring off the mrs. as well, hehe. Take care.

There is a product call the worm keeper... More than likely it's the same method your LPS uses... Here's a link...
http://aquaticfoods.com/accessories.html#Worm%20Keepers

Johnny

My wife gave me my own bar fridge just for fish supplies....

I've been LOOKING for one of those! Thanks!