Food has a vital role in keeping us fit and active. Likewise, humans, even goldfish, require nutritious food to stay healthy and active. Earthworms hold a good amount of protein and calcium that is necessary for your goldfish to remain healthy. But can your goldfish eat earthworm?
Goldfish can eat earthworms as they are a rich source of protein and calcium that helps to repair the body tissues. It also holds many other nutrients that help your goldfish stay healthy. However, experts suggest feeding earthworms 1-2 times a week as excessive meat can lead to digestive issues.
Let us dive into the article to know more about earthworms. In addition to this, we would also discuss how to build an earthworm farm in your backyard.
Contents
- 1 What do goldfish typically eat?
- 2 What are the nutritional benefits of earthworms?
- 3 Are earthworms safe for your goldfish?
- 4 Can your goldfish eat live earthworms?
- 5 How often can you feed earthworms to your goldfish?
- 6 How to prepare earthworms for your goldfish?
- 7 How can you build an earthworm farm in your backyard?
- 8 Conclusion:
What do goldfish typically eat?
| Goldfish Diet | Serving Quantity | No. of times |
|---|---|---|
| Leafy Greens ( Kale, Spinach, lettuce) | A small piece of leaf | 3-4 times a week |
| Boiled Carrots | 1 small slice | 3-4 times a week |
| Zucchini ( Blanched) | 1 small slice | 3-4 times a week |
| Bananas ( Chopped) | 1 small slice | 2 times a week |
| Mosquito Larvae | 12-15 | 2-3 times a week |
| Pellets | A pinch | 2 times a day |
Also read: What Do Goldfish Eat?
What are the nutritional benefits of earthworms?
Earthworms hold many nutritional benefits required by your goldfish to stay healthy and active. Some of them are below:
Protein
Earthworms are an excellent source of protein. Goldfish require protein for the growth and development of their body.
Therefore, we want you to know that the younger goldfish need about 45% protein, whereas the older goldfish diet should hold 30% protein. Therefore, protein should be a significant part of your goldfish diet.
Calcium
Earthworms are also a good source of calcium. Goldfish require calcium for bone development as the bone consists mainly of calcium phosphate.
Therefore, your goldfish diet must contain a good amount of calcium.
Magnesium
Earthworms also hold a decent amount of magnesium. Magnesium plays a vital role in supporting the immune system of your goldfish. Therefore, your goldfish diet must have a good amount of magnesium.
Amino Acids
Earthworms are also a good source of amino acids. Goldfish requires amino acids for the proper growth and maintenance of their body.
In addition, goldfish need amino acids to build new proteins as the deficiency in protein can lead to weight loss and reduce the growth of your goldfish.
These were some of the nutritional benefits of earthworms to your goldfish.
It would be advisable to add many greens to your goldfish diet as they are easily digestible, like boiled broccoli and diced boiled potatoes. However, your goldfish must have a varied diet and not just one type of food.
Are earthworms safe for your goldfish?
Yes, earthworms are safe for your goldfish, and even you goldfish are fond of eating earthworms. You can feed earthworms to your goldfish 1-2 times a week as a treat.
Goldfish are omnivores animals, and they can eat meat, but they do not have a stomach. So excessive feeding of meat can lead to digestive issues for your goldfish.
Can your goldfish eat live earthworms?
Yes, your goldfish can eat all kinds of live foods as long as they can swallow them. However, if the earthworms are giant, then your goldfish might not be able to feed on them.
Therefore, it is advisable to provide small earthworms that your goldfish can eat easily. You must serve earthworms as a treat to your goldfish, and it should not be a part of their regular diet.
Your normal goldfish diet must contain all the greens and flakes.
Also read: Can Goldfish Eat Bloodworms?
How often can you feed earthworms to your goldfish?
You can feed earthworms to your goldfish 1-2 times a week as a treat. It would be advisable not to feed excessive earthworms to your goldfish as it can cause harm to your goldfish.
Goldfish do not have a stomach, so digesting excessive meat is not possible for your goldfish.
Your goldfish diet must contain all greens, flakes, and pellets.
Also read: What Happens When You Overfeed Goldfish?
How to prepare earthworms for your goldfish?
You can prepare earthworms for your goldfish in the following ways:
Rinse them properly
You must rinse the earthworms 3-4 times before providing them to your goldfish. It would be advisable to place the earthworms in a large container of dechlorinated water and rinse them properly until the water gets clear.
Slice it off
If the earthworms are giant, before providing them to your goldfish, you should slice them off into small pieces so that your goldfish can gobble them, as goldfish can’t swallow giant earthworms easily.
Serve the meal
Lastly, you can now serve them to your goldfish after chopping off the earthworms. You must take care of the quantity as excessive meat can lead to digestive issues for your goldfish.
These were some steps to prepare earthworms for your goldfish.
Earthworms are a cheap food source for your goldfish as you can raise worms in your backyard. Let us discuss how to build an earthworm farm in your backyard.
How can you build an earthworm farm in your backyard?
Some items that are required to build an earthworm farm are as follows:
- Worms: We want you to know that Eisenia fetida is the most common earthworm used for vermicomposting.
- A drill: A drill will be required to mark holes in the bucket.
- Two plastic buckets: You must ensure that the plastic buckets used for raising worms must be at least 12 dips. You must ensure that the box must not be transparent as the worms like it dark.
- A brick or small flowerpot: A brick or a small flowerpot will be used to place in the undrilled bucket.
- Household food waste or old newspaper. Some household food waste or newspapers will be required to prepare the bedding for earthworms.
These are the items required for raising earthworms in your backyard. Let us discuss the method of building an earthworm farm below:
Mark out holes on one bucket
You can mark out a sequence of holes around all four sides at the top of the bucket with a marker. You must mark out approx 20 spots at the bottom of the bucket. Let the other buckets remain blank. You must take one of the lids and mark enough holes so that the bucket will get some air.
Drill out the marked holes
After marking the holes in the bucket, now it’s time to drill out the significant spots. Again, we advise you to use a 3/32 drill bit for the lids and the sides and 3/16 drill bits for the bottom.
Stack your buckets
After marking out holes in the bucket now, it’s time to stack your bucket. For example, you can place a flowerpot or brick in the undrilled bucket and stack the drilled bucket on the top. It will make some space for the liquid to flow out of the top bucket into the bottom one.
Make the bedding
After stacking your bucket now, it’s time to prepare the bedding. You can use shredded newspapers for bedding, or a few dried leaves can work too.
It would be advisable to avoid things that contain glossy color printing or leaves with a strong scent or a lot of volatile oil.
Once you have completed your bedding, you can wet it down until it forms a wet sponge’s texture. Your bedding must be moist but fluffy.
Put some earthworm food
After preparing the bedding, it’s time to layout some worm food. You can use table scraps, but remember not to add any oil or animal products like meat, bone, or fat.
You should also avoid dairy products like yogurt or butter. Instead, you can use citrus as, according to studies, the blue mold that naturally forms is good as it inoculates your bucket with valuable substances that help the earthworm perform its task.
Put the wriggles
You can bury some food scraps and let your worms loose on them after setting up your bucket. Unfortunately, earthworms mostly prefer the dark, so they will start to bury themselves in your table scraps.
Insert them in
To prevent earthworm escapes and fruit fly infestation, we advise you to take some wet newspapers and place them flat on your bedding.
In addition, it would help if you tucked the newspapers around the corners and formed a seal to keep your earthworms safe.
Place them to work
We would request you not to expect too much for the first few weeks as the earthworms are getting over the trauma of the new house.
However, once they get settled in their new place, they can consume food equal to their weight in a day. Therefore, you ensure to put various scraps so that the little earthworms will have something to munch in. You can feed your earthworms every few days.
To avoid nasty smells, you can bury your food scraps below some bedding and vary the place of the food throughout the box.
Finally, harvest your earthworm compost
Now, finally, it’s time to harvest your earthworm compost. Once your earthworms have completed the task, you will discover vermicompost in the bucket.
Vermicompost appears dark brown and looks like coffee grounds.
We want you to know that in some days, the earthworms will start working in another place of the bucket so that you can take out the finished compost.
You can also remove the top bucket and pour out the juice that accumulates in the bottom bucket. It is a high-energy drink for your plants.
These were some methods of building an earthworm farm in your backyard.
Conclusion:
- Your goldfish can eat earthworm as it holds many nutrients that help your fish to stay healthy and active.
- You should not feed excessive earthworms to your goldfish as it can cause harm to your goldfish.
- It would be best to serve earthworm as a treat to your goldfish, and it must not be a part of a daily diet.
- Your goldfish can eat all kinds of live food as long as they can swallow them.
- Goldfish are omnivores animals so that they can consume meat, but they don’t have a stomach. So excessive feeding of meat can lead to digestive issues for your goldfish.
Reference: ResearchGate