BLOODWORM WARNING !!!!!!!!!!!

[jeremy1]

i dont know if anyone has seen anything about this before but.....
apparently bloodworms cause severe allergic reactions in some people.and the longer you use/handle them the more sensitized you become.i found this out as i spent the night in the emergency room last night.the last thing i saw in the mirror as my eyes were swelling shut was better than any special effects in a movie.my actual eyeballs were swelling as well as all the skin/lids around them.

other symptoms are conjuctivitis(pink eye) sneezing,runny nose,hives,and other cold like symptoms.apparently the the poison control center has bloodworms listed in their database from what i found with another hobbyists article on the net.

he had used the tetra brand which had a warning in small writing on the back.i had the ocean nutrition brand which has no precautions.

i hope this can help somebody from going through what i have.and please please please if you have/use bloodworms keep them away from your children.and like mom says wash your hands,or better yet get a suit from the cdc before handling them,lol.
:ty::ty: for reading!!!



Jeremy

[Zippo]

Yeah, that's been around for a long time. I'm not allergic to them but my wife is, so no more bloods for me. Good idea to post it though and glad your better.:rockon:

[Flareside]

there have been a lot of bad reports about bloodworm usage- from the hooks on the worm getting caught in the fish's gut, to the severe allergic reaction that you encountered.

The thing that intrigues me- is that it seems that there are tons of other foods that are better for fish and more importantly- that dont severely harm humans- so why dont manufacturers cease production of this food?

[emartin]

Bloodworms are amazing for certain types of fish.

For african cichlids though they are awful. I don't know how they affect new world cichlids but people say they have no problems.

The reason bloodworms cause allergic reactions in some people is because of the hemogoblin (actual blood) inside them...also hense their name and color

I do agree flareside there are much better alternatives out there... Probably the two best alternatives to bloodworms are Black Mosquito Larvae (just awesome stuff...baby/juvenile fish LOVE the stuff...great protein content as well) and White Mosquito Larvae (aka Phantom Midge Larvae (they actually aren't mosquitos at all) aka Glass Worms).

The problem is finding both for sale. If you know where to find it locally or don't mind common mosquitos breeding in your back yard it isn't a problem...but most people (including me) aren't up to that.

I know ProSalt Brand sells 4oz flat packs of black mosquito larvae, and San Francisco Bay Brand and Ocean Nutrition both sell Glass Worms. I know petsmarts by me have glassworms for sale but way overpriced though (like $6 a cube pack)...

[spyder]

CA/SA love bloodworms. I feed mine Hikari and have handled it with my hands but have no issues.

[jeremy1]

by the way i have dwarf puffers that i was feeding them to.i would toss my mbuna some every blue moon.i feed them spirulina flakes and nls as staples.

[TwoTankAmin]

I can have a moderate reaction. I have used gloves for some time. If I am not careful I get itchy and sometimes blistering on my hands, eyes water and itch and breathing is somewhat impaired. I am usually careful :becky:

However, I feed and may condition the following fish with them: Angels, Discus, Corys, Plecos and Loaches.

Since I don't like doing live food unless its absolutely necessary, I find frozen bloods to be a good part of a diverse diet for the above fish.

[Flareside]

My motoro rays needed to be fed blood worms as the previous owner fed that exclusively. I had no reaction to them myself, but when my daughter was born I moved the rays out. God forbid, I have to give my daughter a bottle and some remnant of the allergen was still on my hands. So safety first .

But really, with the hazzards now know, I wish they would stop producing that food

[CrabbyMatty]

I'm certain I was lucky then in my younger days. I used to collect both blood worms and tubifex worms. I never worried about catching anything from the worms themselves, but if you saw the conditions of the waterways we used to collect them from that gave you a lot of worries. Sadly, the EPA has required municipalities clean up their water spillage a little too much for the worms liking. Just joking here...I love a clean environment as much as anyone. I'm just pointing out that the worms relished in filth. I was friends for years with the guy that has been in business now for decades supplying all LFS with their frozen foods. He and his partner co-owned a LFS where I cut my teeth in the hobby just out of high school.

Oh yeah, almost forgot...

Back in the day, worm locations were the most closely guarded secret going. We'd drive an extra ten miles out of our way just to make sure no one was following us to the spot. Telling anyone about spots could very well have resulted in a beat-down. LOL

[BlondeFishGal]

Since some people love using bloodworms for their fish, and the allergic reactions are not consistent from person to person, I think manufacturers don't feel responsible for removing them from the market. It's just like how some people are allergic to shellfish or nuts or strawberries, etc. The reaction is unpredictable, and if people want to buy the bloodworms, I suspect manufacturers will continue to put them on the market.

Years ago, I head Jack Wattley give a talk and he was warning about feeding juvie discus bloodworms, saying how they could not digest them and often after being fed them their bellies would swell up and they would die right away.

Well, that was enough to deter me from ever buying them. I have no idea if I personally would have a reaction to them or not, but as Les and others have said, there are so many options on the market that to me, it is not worth the risk.

Jeremy1, your ordeal must have been a real scare to you. I am glad you are OK and feeling better!! :runnningaround:

[AlishanAS]

I do have allergic reactions to bloodworms so I make sure to wash my hands after touching them. I try to keep a barrier, usually a couple of paper towels, between my fingers and the bloodworms. I only use Hikari.

They are fed to my Hypancistrus, Peckoltia, cories, CA/SA cichlids, Cyps, Asprotilapia, Synodontis, Empire gudgeons, lamps and neolamps.
I do not feed them to haps, mbuna and Aulonocara.