Mysterious GBR Deaths - Bloodworms?

Kivstev

Kivstev

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Mar 19, 2009
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I've tried keeping GBR's for the last 6 months. So far I'm 0/6 as they all died at separate times and usually within a few weeks of purchase. I've tried 2 different breeders with the same results. Usually they lose color, stop eating, and hide. They then die. The longest I've kept them is 4 weeks alive.

Well, I believe I may have figured it out after all these months. Within a few days of eating frozen bloodworms they seem to have problems. I had not fed my last GBR bloodworm for 3 weeks. 2 days ago I fed the tank bloodworm. Today the GBR is dead. This same thing also happened to another GBR a month back. It is too much of a coincidence.

I'm curious if anyone else had noticed this that have had probs keeping these fish? Could it be bloodworm connection? I had seen somewhere online (before I tried keeping GBR's) that some small fish may have probs digesting the bloodworm exoskeleton. Opinions welcome.
 
bloodworm cause of death?

I too have been recently feeding bloodworms to my tanks and have lost 3 corydoras. Could the frozen bloodworms be the cause? Should I defrost the cube first? Or.....could it be the pet laser that we bought for our dog but got the fish to chase it? The water params are normal for me...Ph 7.5, ammonia 0.0ppm, nitrites 0.00ppm, nitrates 0.01ppm. I have not had problems previously and the corys have been in the tank for 6 months.:shakehead:
 
Kivstev said:
I've tried keeping GBR's for the last 6 months. So far I'm 0/6 as they all died at separate times and usually within a few weeks of purchase. I've tried 2 different breeders with the same results. Usually they lose color, stop eating, and hide. They then die. The longest I've kept them is 4 weeks alive.

Well, I believe I may have figured it out after all these months. Within a few days of eating frozen bloodworms they seem to have problems. I had not fed my last GBR bloodworm for 3 weeks. 2 days ago I fed the tank bloodworm. Today the GBR is dead. This same thing also happened to another GBR a month back. It is too much of a coincidence.

I'm curious if anyone else had noticed this that have had probs keeping these fish? Could it be bloodworm connection? I had seen somewhere online (before I tried keeping GBR's) that some small fish may have probs digesting the bloodworm exoskeleton. Opinions welcome.
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I've never had problems with rams and bloodworms. Are these breeders local?
kimba91016 said:
I too have been recently feeding bloodworms to my tanks and have lost 3 corydoras. Could the frozen bloodworms be the cause? Should I defrost the cube first? Or.....could it be the pet laser that we bought for our dog but got the fish to chase it? The water params are normal for me...Ph 7.5, ammonia 0.0ppm, nitrites 0.00ppm, nitrates 0.01ppm. I have not had problems previously and the corys have been in the tank for 6 months.:shakehead:
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How did you get a reading of .001 ppm nitrate? The smallest number most tests can read is around 5 ppm.

I always defrost my cubes.
 
Found this:

There have been some reports of fish with swollen abdomens and obstructions from being fed on bloodworms. The concern seems to be related to the structure of the bloodworms "undigestible" exoskeleton and its potential for creating stomach blockages. "A note of caution here on feeding the larger imported frozen bloodworm. These worms have a chitinous exoskeleton and numerous bristles that are indigestible for fishes with small intestinal apertures. The meaty portion of the worm is readily processed, but the hard bits remain and clog up the stomach in an immovable mass. Be careful not to feed your discus, rainbows and some tetras on the larger bloodworms." ~ Dr Jim Greenwood B.V.Sc. Canterbury Veterinary Clinic Canterbury, Victoria.
 
jpappy789 said:
I've never had problems with rams and bloodworms. Are these breeders local?
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Local dealers. One gets his Rams from Pennsylvania and the Czech Republic. Another dealer won't tell me where they are from. My water conditions are perfect for Rams - just take my word for it as I've researched it enough.
 
I trust you, granted "perfect water" is a bit misleading as there are plenty of people keeping and breeding rams in a variety of water chemistries.

Again, I've never had problems with frozen foods and any of my past/present fish to be honest. Sorry.
 
kimba91016 said:
I too have been recently feeding bloodworms to my tanks and have lost 3 corydoras. Could the frozen bloodworms be the cause? Should I defrost the cube first? Or.....could it be the pet laser that we bought for our dog but got the fish to chase it? The water params are normal for me...Ph 7.5, ammonia 0.0ppm, nitrites 0.00ppm, nitrates 0.01ppm. I have not had problems previously and the corys have been in the tank for 6 months.:shakehead:
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The main problem that I see here is that the cubes are not being defrosted before use in the aquarium. I ALWAYS defrost my blood worms before I feed. If you don't defrost, they can ingest frozen food which sparks health concerns.

I have never had any problems with feeding blood worms, I keep convicts so they are just a little bigger than your GBR's. My suggestion is that you always go for the smaller blood worms. I have found that Hikari is the best as far as size and quality for frozen foods. Their formula is also Bio-Pure so ideally there is no parasites that will be introduced.

If you had problems with your bloodworms before, just throw them out and get something else.
 
Do the bloodsworms have freezer burn or look as though they may have thawed & been refrozen? How much & how often are you feeding FBW? 2-3 times a week is ok, more may cause problems if thats all the rams will eat. I like Hikari because they are smaller & have added vitamins. Do you remove any leftovers?

How do you acclimate the fish? I do it very slowly because my water is often very different than shops.

What other fish are in the tank? Any other losses? What temp? Rams like it a bit warm.
 
I've tried a couple different types of bloodworm and feed sporadically - maybe once or twice a month because of previous concerns. All the food is eaten so there is no need to take out the extra and I do thaw them before before feeding.

Other tankmates include a Bolivian Ram, 1/2 dozen Rainbowfish, Cherry Barbs, a Dwarf Gourami, and a Pleco. All 5 GBRams have died. The lone DG that died seemed to have bloat - a couple of the early Ram deaths had symptoms of bloat as well. The last 2 Rams were doing well until I fed them BW - and in both cases they died within 48 hours of feeding.

I keep the tank at 79-80F.

I acclimated a few GBR's for an hour or so, others about 20 mins. Did not seem to make a difference as they all lived for days to weeks after and ate very well.

Maybe the BW thing just a coincidence, but I don't think so at this time. In fact, the last time I fed the remaining GBR the bloodworm, I told my GF that if the GBR dies within 2 days it's the BW - and it did after being healthy for weeks.

fishorama said:
Do the bloodsworms have freezer burn or look as though they may have thawed & been refrozen? How much & how often are you feeding FBW? 2-3 times a week is ok, more may cause problems if thats all the rams will eat. I like Hikari because they are smaller & have added vitamins. Do you remove any leftovers?

How do you acclimate the fish? I do it very slowly because my water is often very different than shops.

What other fish are in the tank? Any other losses? What temp? Rams like it a bit warm.
Click to expand...
 
Maybe it is the bloodworms, maybe it isn't. I would just try and locate some Hikari Brand Bloodworms if you are going to feed them bloodworms. I would also try feeding some peas to the fish. I feed my cons frozen peas that I microwave for about 20 seconds in a little bit of water and then remove the skin from the pea. Just cut or smash the peas so that the fish will eat it. Peas are good at keeping your fish on a regular "pooping" schedule. Its really good for them and can prevent bloat
 
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