# I killed my fish: Am I overfeeding bloodworms or are they poisoned????



## ilovebunnies (Oct 11, 2010)

This is the second betta fish I've had in two months and I think I killed him. I was treating him for minor finrot by keeping him in 1 gallon with daily water changes, added aquarium salt and kept the temperature at 82*. He was improving, finrot just about went away. Well, I read that frozen bloodworms are good to feed them so I broke off a little piece of the hikari frozen bloodworms and defrosted it in water treated with dechlorinator. 

Not too long after giving him the bloodworms his health went from good to bad. After feeding him the bloodworms I fasted him for a day. It didn't appear that he was overfed, he swam normally. After fasting day, I fed him 2 pellets and he didn't even eat them. Then I noticed that he was gasping for air and swimming to the top gasping for air. So I immediately put him in a cup and floated it so he would stay warm. I watched his final moments, it looked like he was convulsing.  

I think this is what may have happened to my previous betta too. I didn't think it would be a problem to feed a small sliver of a cube of frozen bloodworms, but perhaps I overfed them. What is the proper way to feed frozen bloodworms to a betta? I really thought that wasn't a lot of food but maybe I'm wrong? Or is it possible that there is something wrong with the bloodworms, could they be poisoned????

I feel really horrible.


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## Meg215 (Jan 27, 2010)

Im so sorry about your bettas  So hard watching them go. I'm not really sure but my only thought is maybe at some point(perhaps at the petstore) they were allowed to thaw and refrozen. Maybe they were thawed long enough to go bad. I really have no idea but I've heard you're not supposed to thaw them and refreeze. I have a african dwarf frog and he eats them all the time and occasionally given them to my bettas, never had any problems. :/


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## demonr6 (Dec 27, 2010)

Wow, that is so sad and troubling at the same time. I don't know what to say other than ditch those bloodworms on the off chance that they were bad. I would not risk harming another fish over something that doesn't cost a whole heck of a lot to replace. I feed my fish frozen Daphnia and brine shrimp. Not a whole lot, I take a sliver or two and let it thaw out some then feed them right away.


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## ilovebunnies (Oct 11, 2010)

So was I feeding the bloodworms correctly? I only opened one cube and cut a small piece off and then bagged the bigger portion for later use. Since this is the second betta that has died like this I'm thinking it really was the bloodworms. I think I might contact the company to report it.

Has anyone else had problems with Hikari Frozen Bloodworms????

And yes, I'll either send the bloodworms back to hikari or toss them, I don't want to see anymore fish die.


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## demonr6 (Dec 27, 2010)

more or less that is what I do with the brine and Daphnia. I have little clear plastic containers that remind me of mini petri dishes. I scrape some of each and store them individually in the freezer until I need it. Only enough for a couple of feedings. But I learned my lesson and do not feed them a whole lot now anyways.


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## vaygirl (Sep 10, 2009)

I've always done what you said. Are the worms brown or bright red? In my experience, the brown ones are usually not good anymore. I try not to keep them in the freezer longer then 3 or 4 months which is usually when they start to brown. I'm so sorry.  Don't feel terrible.

Edit: Oh and on amount... I feed mine a total of 4 or 5 whole worms in a feeding and sometimes 3 more at night. They digest it just fine. Kilo gets 6-10 in a day. I've done this for 6 months or so and haven't had any issues with bloating. I don't re-use cubes however. But I have 5 fish that eat them (including my dwarf puffer) so it's easier to get my money's worth.


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## Abby (Jan 13, 2011)

hmm maybe it was the declorinator u added to the water to defrost them would be my guess. I take a small mediciant plastic cup and scoop out water straight from the tank, that way its the same temp and what have you.


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