Glassworms
by Nick Ternes
If you made it into the box sale room at the show in November, you saw 1 cup
portions of glassworms for sale. I picked up a portion to try out in the fishroom. Most
of the fish loved them. A few didn’t like them much (Rivulus xiphidius and Epiplatys
bifasciatus much to my surprise) and some fish would eat them well for a couple of
days and then ignore them for a couple of days. (This group included Aphyosemion
congicum and Scriptaphyosemion geryi) For the fish that eat them daily, they’ve been
a great conditioning food and alternative for blackworms or frozen bloodworms. For
the fish that eat them sporadically they are nice because they are slow to pupate (they
are midge larvae) and stay in the water column.
My 1 cup portion lasted me 10 days of feeding my 65 tanks before they were
gone. I ordered a gallon in January. Keeping glassworms alive is very simple. They
like it cold. I keep mine in the fridge. Large quantities can be kept in the garage. I had
some surplus in the garage here and they froze last week. I thawed them and very few
had died. It’s a good idea to rinse them and give them new water one or two times per
week. These are much easier to care for than blackworms! ...