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Earthworms Lumbricus terrestris

There are many species of earthworms in the class Annelida. Many of them are suitable for the hobby, others, like the more than 3 meter large Megascolecides australis from northern Australia, are not.

Fish can be fed well on earthworms, especially larger cichlids and small predators like Channa Gachua love earthworms. In fact they are such a good food source that no deficencies occur even when fish are fed solely on eartworms for a very long time. Eartworms can be kept in a small box filled with earth, in the refrigerator at 3-5 degrees for months.

Eathworms can also be fed to smaller fish, if you can chop them into little parts. Corydoras go crazy as soon as they even smell a tiny bit of eartworm. Prior to feeding the earthworms should be rinsed in a bit of water to remove sand and soil.

Earthworms can be bought in some aquarium stores, but are more frequently available at angling stores. You can also catch them yourself, earthworms surface at night in humid circumstances, where they can be caught if you use a flashlight. The other methods are to simply dig for the animals, or to place a spade vertically in the ground, and to tap it backwards. The vibration of the soil will cause the present eartworms to crawl up out of the soil to flee the "threat".

References: None.

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