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Allergic to Frozen Bloodworms


novafishy

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Whenever I use my fingers to take out the frozen bloodworms cubes to feed the fish, after about 10-15 minutes or so, even after washing my fingers with soap and water, I get this REALLY itchy sensation all through the fingers which came into or close contact with the bloodworms.

Why is this? what is the ingredient that causes this irritating symptom that has forced me to wear a rubber glove each time I take out the frozen bloodworms?

On the other hand, handling frozen brineshrimp cubes have no side effects.

Anyone else experience the same problems?

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Guys, it is actually a fairly common problem. It is most likely the actual bloodworms your allergic to, nothing that is added.

If I were you guys I would skip them after you finish what you already own, they aren't the greatest source of nutrition anyway wink.gif

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Pam at work also has this problem. She does not use them. There are lots of other good food about. Trial and error with small packets is a good way to find out. Almost everything I have loves Tetra colorbits almost as much as bloodworms.

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what is a better source of nutrition?

Pretty much any good quality prepared flake or pellet will be far superior nutritional balance.

Some good threads on food and nutrition

Recommended Foods

Ingredients to look for

Senstive Tropheus food requirements

I would also highly recommend you have a good long read of all the threads which have been earmarked as valuable in the FAQ Forum

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I think Brine shrimp have very good nutritional value as they have carotene as well as the protein value. Fed with vegie foods as well I don't think you can go wrong.

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I hate frozen bloodworms with a passion. I used to just itch with bloodworm contact, but now if I get it on my skin I welt up within a minute or two. Looks like little jellyfish stinger burns. Which is why I always use gloves when I have to feed with them at work, and I avoid doing that whenever I can. angry.gif

Cheers

Pacco

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Purely a guess here, but I am punting it would be the litle hairs on the bloodworms that is causing the irritation. They get stuck in the skin and cause irritation in some. I dont think blackworms have these tiny cilia. I am a fan of mysis shrimp and brine shrimp too. The mysis make it easier for the bigger fish to get a feed imo, and the krill are even better for the bigger fish. I agree with ant, that brine shrimp have more nutritional content than bloodworms, which are mostly water and a little protien but brine have the other nutrients mentioned as well.

Cheers,

Jason

rolleyes.gif

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Brine Shrimp is 90% water, so little or no nutritional value at all. (the fish DO enjoy the salty taste of them however).

As for Bloodworms, they contain one of the highest concentrations of allergens known to man (if induced they can be deadly). I would recommend only using brands that triple radiate the product such as Hikari premium.

I get massive reactions to all brands of BW other than Hikari, so I think that speaks volumes about the quality that is out there.

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Thanks for the replies and experiences guys, but one thing i'm confused now is the nutritional quality of frozen brine shrimp.

Some ppl say its super high in nutrition and others say they have little nutritional value. Which is it? I know for a fact that freshly hatched bbs have superior nutritional value, but what about frozen brine shrimp?

I feed my fish brine shrimp all the time, and they relish it to death. I also thought that frozen bloodworms such as Hikari, which I'm using, have a high level of protein which is great for fish.

Jason, good guess, and I believe you are correct...need to research further tho...

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I am 90% water too, so are the carrots and lettuce in my garden. Its the nutritional value, and variety of nutrients in the 10% that make the diff imho. Fish love bloodworms too, but are they salty.......Flamingo's exist purely on brine shrimps for part of the year, and they get their amazing colour from them then breed as a result. So there has to be something to them...... dntknw.gif reasearch is never wasted.......good plan..... thumb.gif

CHeers,

Jason

smile.gif

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The brine shrimp that the flamingos eat are full of eggs though which probably explains why the get such nice colours. I suppose the best thing you could do is to forget about the nitty gritty nutritional content of some foods and just feed a variety of them yes.gif .

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I noticed that Hikari also label their frozen brine shrimp having very little protein content, around 6%. I thought I was getting ripped off for such poor food.

What I now go on as to the nutritional value is the Dry Frozen stuff. Protein content is now around the 60% mark. It would seem this is a better comparison to make with Dry flake and pellet food. My view is that the Frozen stuff has water and therefore a lower overall level of protein in relation to the mass.

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I suppose the best thing you could do is to forget about the nitty gritty nutritional content of some foods and just feed a variety of them yes.gif .

Well said, i think this is what matters the most.

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i think the nutrional value of brine shrimp varies depending on whats left in their gut. hungry brine shrimp have far less nutritional value than well fed ones. thats why the best you cane have is ones you raise yourself and feed just before you use them as food for your fish.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I never use frozen bloodworms. Back when I had cichlids I'd use a a vegie flake, another high qualtiy flake, a sinking pellet and color bits. This diet would be supplemented with a mix of frozen foods. Usually brine shrimp, a community or cichlid mix, and occasionally some live blackworm.

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