feeding frontosa tubifex worms

[nate]

i just read that it would be harmful to feed tubifex worms or any worms to most of the african lake cichlids including the frontosa.
i was wondering if anyone had heard anything like this before. i've been feeding my africans and my siamese tiger these worms for a while and i recently added a frontosa to the tank and i'm a bit concerned.

thanx.

 

[VoodooChild]

The only thing I could think of would be that worms would be tough on the digestive tract, which bloodworms are, but even then, with the exception of mbuna and some tropheus you generally are ok. Tubifex aren't too much of a kick in the gut so I wouldn't worry about it. After three years I haven't lost an African and I feed bloodworms once a week and have sporadically fed tubifex and blackworms throughout their keeping. What was the source of the information?

 

[mogurnda]

Back when I worked at an LFS that specialized in Africans, blackworms and tubifex were thought to be implicated in bloat. Maybe because of the bacteria they bring from their foul environment, maybe because they're fatty, maybe because they carry parasites, mostly speculation. I have avoided them for all my Africans, just to be safe. Bloodworms, which are really insect larvae, were thought to be fine, and I feed those all the time.
Is there any scientific basis for my behavior? Not to my knowledge.

 

[nate]

i found the info on ****************

later on last i found a web sight that was all about fronts and they endorsed the feeding of worms.

my only real problem with the worms is that i've had no luck feeding my siamese tiger anything that isn't kicking aka worms and feeders. the point being that when i feed the tiger theres no way to stop the front from getting some.

guess i'll just have to keep my fingers crossed ya know.....