> Can anybody tell me a bit about bloodworms?
Bloodworms are the larvae of Chironomids (genus Tendipes), small midges
who spend most of their time in water building up small muddy cases and
snarfing down vegetable material. They seem especially common in my
daphnia cultures where there are lots of decaying leaves. They leave
their cases on the sides of the barrel or in the bottom mud to hatch
out. On warm summer days, perhaps seeking more oxygen, numbers will be
seen undulating towards the surface - that is the only time I really try
for them.
They can be cultured outdoors if you don't mind sieving, sifting and
washing mud. Their eggs look like 1-2 cm segments of mucus. A fairly
unsatisfactory drawing of that is in Master's Encyclopedia of Lives
Foods, page 269. There the egg mass is appropriately described as
gelatinous. Sometime I will harvest those and place them in fry tanks -
sort of like leaving mosquito egg rafts with fry.
Indoor culture is difficult because they need vigorous aeration. They
also need to be sealed into their container. The hatching flies (those
who go fishing have seen them hovering over the water almost as a smoky
cloud) fly around for a day or two, lay their eggs and die, their
carcasses becoming fish food even then. (What a social life!)
Several falls ago I lugged a couple of daphnia barrels from outside
into the fish room and threw airlines in them. During a January warm
spell the whole house's temperature rose five degrees and I got a
bloodworm bloom. My bride confronted me with a, "I don't know how you
did it, but there are mosquitoes all over the house!" She was only
somewhat mollified with an explanation of what they were, what had
happened and that those particular gnats couldn't bite on us because
mouthparts were not a part of their adult equipment.
Some in that group of beasties must have found odd unused tanks
(usually waiting a complete teardown) because I was surprised to find
large bloodworks in the room even the next winter.
They are a useful and safe food and most fishes relish them. They seem
to be found virtually everywhere there is water in North America - you
will have to speak for Oz. (Some locals question whether commercial
frozen supplies are safe if from polluted waters.) The idea floating
around in old aquarium literature that they can chew their way out of
fish bellies seems to me to be misleading folklore. I hope this is some
small help.
All the best!
Scott Davis