Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Can bloodworms which are used to feed marine life be used as a staple diet for all dendrobates?
Would the meal worms have bacteria that would be detrimental to the frogs?

Just curious, has anyone tried this before?

Iv'e seen it done, and tried it myself but no luck. What I saw was the blood worms placed on a piece of white paper or milk cap and placed in the tank. The frogs see the movement and lap them up. My frogs just ignored them. Dunno why and I don't know what bacterias there would be but I'm guessing that there can be some weather harmful or not was not highlighted by the person who I saw do this.

Maggie

Thanks maggie.

I've tried researching on this subject but just can't find anything that advises this area.

Nonetheless, might just wanna try it.hehe..will keep you posted if it works...

P/S: to those of you who've had experiences (nasty or succesful), pls do let us know before the frogs are fed. Thanks guys.

Ah, before you try that.. I'd like to point out that bloodworms are raised on th waste from living organisms. They are HOT SPOTS for bacteria & parasites. A lot of people have had their aquaria completely wiped out by feeding bloodworms, because they introduced bacteria & parasites.

You have to clean bloodworms by keeping them alive for a week, and changing the water they live in at least once a day, preferrably two or even three times.

A lot of people who keep expensive fish REALLY frown on feeding bloodworms. When I set up my aquarium, the people I talked to all recommended avoiding them, or using frozen, or dried. And I don't think dendrobates would like frozen or dried.

Thanks Redmoon.

However, i would like to share some intersting facts that actually works.

I come from Malaysia and from where i come from, the only feeding method for dedrobates is from culturing fruit flies' larvae. The culture is made from soaking dog biscuits or fermenting a cocktail of yeast, fruits and seeds and let it ferment and subsequently, cultivate larvae. This is so because there are no one in my country that imports culture mediums and proper culture for flies like drosophilia melanogaster.

Are these considered as wastes as well? would the culture be toxic as it is a fermented cocktail?

I am quite confused because why these frogs can feed off something which is so filthy and still grow and live on? Are bloodworms' conditions just as filthy or even filthier?

Hence, i would like to pose 3 questions:

i) could anyone have any reading materials or researches about the different compositions between bloodworms culture and the culture that is maintained by myself as stated above? I would be deeply indebted if anyone could share on this..

ii) does anyone have any reference in detail of what i should get to start a proper culture of melanogaster? Please let me know also who to get it from...

iii) hehe...are there any supplements or products (organic) that would enhance the colours of the frogs ( i have pumilio blue jeans and green black auratus at the moment)...

Thanks guys...all your responses will be valued.

Thanks..

I can't get into the blood worm controversy, since I've never considered them as dart food. They are aquatic, and I shouldn't think they would be convenient to raise or feed. But fruit flies are not raised on "wastes" as was described and do not carry diseases. You can find D. melangogaster, as well as culture media and kits from many sources. Ed's Fly Meat and Saurian are two that support this forum and advertise here. The media is usually a mixture of potato flakes, perhaps corn meal, brewer's yeast, and then you dampen it and add a sprinkle of fresh Baker's yeast. Some of us also ad a wadding of excelsior, which is shredded aspen wood you can purchase in most artsy crafty stores. Contact one of these sources. You can get several types of melanogaster flies, all flightless. There is a choice among "wingless," and a couple of varieties that have wings, but are flightless for various other reasons. You don't want to chance interbreeding them, because the flightless qualities are on recessive genes, so you may have a chance or breeding a certain percentage of fully flighted flies.
Link

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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
5 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
7 D. imitator
6 D. leucomelas
4 D. pumilio Bastimentos
4 D. fantasticus
6 P. terribilis mint and organe
4 D. reticulatus
4 D. castaneoticus
2 D. azureus
4 P vittatus
2 P. lugubris

I forgot a couple of things, and every time I use the "preview" option, my entire post gets dumped, so I'm posting again.

Drosophila melanogaster ARE fruit flies, but we feed the adults, since there are several flightless varieties that are easy to handle.

I'm curious about the Pumilio "blue jeans." These have been virtually non-existent and unavailable to hobbyists here for several years. So if you have the true blue jeans morph, treasure it.

Paprika dusted onto the fruit flies, along with the other calcium and vitamins will enhance yellow, orange and red colorations, as the excess Beta carotenes that aren't converted to vitamin A are stored in the chromophores of frogs, in cell lipids just under the skin. It really works and can't be overdosed, and unlike vitamin A, it is reversible and non-toxic in excess. I don't know of anything that enhances the other colors. You could also try other red pepper powders such as Cayenne or "red Pepper" spice, which is very hot to the human tongue, but my frogs love it. It has the same concentration of Beta carotenes as the milder paprika.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
5 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
7 D. imitator
6 D. leucomelas
4 D. pumilio Bastimentos
4 D. fantasticus
6 P. terribilis mint and organe
4 D. reticulatus
4 D. castaneoticus
2 D. azureus
4 P vittatus
2 P. lugubris

Wow!!!!

Thanks heaps Patty!!

Regarding the bloodworms, i might wanna just give it a try..(under tight monitoring!! -- honestly, through professional judgement, do you think it's worth the try?) and meanwhile will try to sort something from Ed's fly meat and Saurian to get them to send some supply over to Malaysia.hehehe....

Regarding the colour enahncements, will give it a try and see if it works..oh..there is also a type of flower that produces blue dye that is used to make dessert from where i come from..will find out more on those flowers adn let you know the details and see if it helps to enhance blue colouration..

And for the blue jeans..is it really that rare? cos i got the last 3 from the pet store without any problems..
Will send you a picture of my pumilios and maybe you can tell whther it is the true blue jeans morph..(will post the pics by this weekend as soon as i get my camera back..)

Oh also, will send you a pic of my terrarium for you to see whether the setting is condusive for breeding? I have 1 male and 2 females and the male has been calling every day but i still can't find the eggs...i have a bromeliad of considerable size in the tank as well...

Am really anxious to see the results as this will be my first dart breeding and i really wanna make it a success...i also learnt that pumilio are one of the hardest to breed..(crossing my finger hard!!!)

Thanks Patty..(pics will come this weekend...hehehe)

Regards

What I meant about the bloodworms living in waste is that they live in feces filled water. In the wild, bloodworms live in runoff from ponds & such, which are often filled with stagnant water, chemical pollution, and aquatic animal feces. They pick up all of the bacteria & parasites from other animals, such as fish, turtles, birds, etc...

I've never used bloodworms for anything myself, but I do know other people have used them with success for aquatic food.
Dunno if they'd live out of the water long enough for your frogs to eat them, though. Good luck!

Yes, you may have a lot of trouble getting fruit fly and media shipments to Malaysia! For some reason, I blotted out the fact that you are not only FROM Malaysia, but are still living there!! Call it an atrophy of senility.

You might check with the biology genetics department of one of the universities there and see if they are using flightless melanogaster fruit flies in their genetic experiments, and perhaps beg a start from them. There are a lot of fly culture recipes using dried potato flakes that might be easier and less smelly than a dog food formula, but if what you are using works for the flighted fruit flies, it will work for the flightless ones. (Then rather than feed the larvae, you feed the adult flies coated with powdered vitamin/calcium/D3 supplements.)

Another food choice might be collecting small insects with a net locally, provided you can access a pesticide-free area. I do this seasonally here to provide a treat for the frogs, but of course with 30 degrees below zero and 4 feet of snow in winter this doesn't work for a staple diet. Another item you may find would be small termites. You may be able to culture rice flour beetle larvae, springtails (found in the soil under logs in damp woods)or crickets. I'm sure you must have some species of springtails in your area. They are easy to culture in a closed container with a layer of wet organic matter, some charcoal slabs, a sprinkling of baker's yeast and a few grains of raw rice added occasionally.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
5 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
7 D. imitator
6 D. leucomelas
4 D. pumilio Bastimentos
4 D. fantasticus
6 P. terribilis mint and organe
4 D. reticulatus
4 D. castaneoticus
2 D. azureus
4 P vittatus
2 P. lugubris

hi guys

said i was going to post the pics of my blue jeans..

i need some help here...hehehe..

how can i paste the photos whch are to be posted?

can't find anythign to attach it..

thanks guys..