Boston Aquarium Society Message Board

I'm thinking it would be nice to compile a list of LFS around New England that regularly carry live foods. I'm always on the lookout for live foods, but haven't had much luck with the local shops.

Tropic Isle carries adult brine shrimp. They used to carry blackworms, but haven't seen those in at least a year.

Uncle Ned's also carries the brine shrimp.

I used to buy my blackworms down in Providence, I think the shop is called Rhode Island Aquarium but I could be wrong.

However - since I got some white worm cultures going I don't need the blackworms nearly as much.

Also - when he has time on his hands (not often lately!) Alan gets a delivery of live blackworms direct from the source, portions them out, and sells them at meetings dirt cheap (If I remember correctly, he just barely gets enough cash to cover the original cost and feed his fish a few worms for free)

Not sure when he's going to be able to do that again, but somebody else with more time on their hands might want to do the same thing.

_________________
Rich
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Part-time fishguy at Uncle Ned's Fish Factory (saturdays)
_______
Species I am currently keeping/breeding include :
Copadichromis borleyi "redfin"
Labidochromis caeruleus yellow labs
Aulonocara sp. "Lwanda"
Ancistrus cf. cirrhosus "Super Red Ancistris"
Xiphophorus montezumae Montezuma Swordtails
_______
(I'm in the middle of resetting and redesigning my fishroom - so things are kinda quiet)

Well, that's an idea I hadn't thought about. I have bought blackworms several times in the past direct from Aquatic foods. They get much cheaper when you buy in some quantity, though. I was looking for a local source, so I didn't have to order again, but maybe it makes more sense to be our own source.

*ponders* Let me give that some thought.

I think Aquatic is who Alan got his from - I think he ordered the whole pound and sold them in small plastic containers (condiment containers, like ducksauce comes in when I order take-out)
Hopefully he'll chime in when he can.

Depending on where you live, the place in RI might be worth a shot.

_________________
Rich
_______
Part-time fishguy at Uncle Ned's Fish Factory (saturdays)
_______
Species I am currently keeping/breeding include :
Copadichromis borleyi "redfin"
Labidochromis caeruleus yellow labs
Aulonocara sp. "Lwanda"
Ancistrus cf. cirrhosus "Super Red Ancistris"
Xiphophorus montezumae Montezuma Swordtails
_______
(I'm in the middle of resetting and redesigning my fishroom - so things are kinda quiet)

Aquatic foods is exactly who I got them from. I found that about a pound was perfect for what the club would buy. It put a few dollars into the club and I wound up with a portion or two for myself, sometimes not.

_________________
Alan

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alanruben/

Boston Tropical on O'Brien highway in Cambridge always carried live
black worms.I probably bought them a dozen times and had no problems.
The owner Chuck sold the store to one of the employee's.I assume he is
still carrying them.
Like Rich, I have a good white worm culture going and have not bought
any blackworms lately.




Tom

skipton carries Daphnia pulex (I think its pulex. either that or they re small magna), Brine Shrimp (artenia), and ghost shrimp both fresh and saltwater. He's also got some sheepshead minnows in the saltwater section for a buck each that could also be used as feeders.

I've been getting black worms from Tropic Isle, but for several months now they've had leeches in them. I have to rinse, inspect, and clean them up, feed by tweezers to be sure I'm not putting anything but worms into the tank. I've heard its a "normal" problem, and it seems the sooner you get them after they come in, the fewer leeches there are. I rinse, rinse, rinse those blackworms with conditioned water, and hopefully don't have any other life phases of the leeches that can be transferred.

-Jane

PS - I'd certainly buy some of the blackworms if anyone is doing a group order!

_________________
Dec. '09 - 10 gal Planted w/ Black Bar Endler's Livebearers, 10 gal Planted with "mini Mystery snails", shrimp & dwarf cray tank, 5.5 gal Planted w/Celestial Pearl Danios (and hopefully breeding soon!). 20 H planted temp housing for Danio choprae, Panda Cories, Dwarf Crays, Shrimp. 30 gal Planted community tank - under De- and Re-Construction. 10 gallon planted awaiting new shrimps!

Hi,


Lovely Pet's in Quincy should have blackworms.I bought some about 5
months ago.They were good quality and Steve gave me a huge portion.

I don't like using them often due to the obvious problem of disease,but they work well for putting fish in the mood.

I also have white worm cultures going for a couple years.I keep them in the refrigerater and they do fine,although the low temp. keeps their numbers down.I also only use them infrequently......very fatty, but work well for breeding too.

Ned also carrys several live food's.If I remember right-No bloodworms.

Tom

Regarding Ned's-It should read blackworms not bloodworms

The pet shop in Allston carries live blackworms and earthworms for your cichlids.

The price for a portion of blackworms is pretty cheap depending on their freight costs... It can be $2-$4 a portion and a portion is pretty big (lasts me 2 days)

Skipton has some for $4 a portion. I usually buy a portion or two but I don't buy too much because they aren't that easy to keep alive.

Leeches are fun... put them into a small container with water and add salt or drop into a saltwater tank. Its like torture for it.

So does alan still do the worms? I am interested in buying some.

_________________
Eric - Secretary/Bowl Show Chairman

AquaLife on Wickendon St. in Providence carries Blackworms, and cultured Redworms (tubifex). They feed the store fish these live foods as well, which I think improves the health of their fish.

They also have Brine Shrimp most of the time.

-Jane





And

Uh, that IS torture for it! At least in the SW tank, it might get eaten quickly.

_________________
Dec. '09 - 10 gal Planted w/ Black Bar Endler's Livebearers, 10 gal Planted with "mini Mystery snails", shrimp & dwarf cray tank, 5.5 gal Planted w/Celestial Pearl Danios (and hopefully breeding soon!). 20 H planted temp housing for Danio choprae, Panda Cories, Dwarf Crays, Shrimp. 30 gal Planted community tank - under De- and Re-Construction. 10 gallon planted awaiting new shrimps!

is that store near the Providence commuter rail stop?

_________________
Eric - Secretary/Bowl Show Chairman

I consider myself a beginner to advanced FW fish keeping (if that makes any sense?) but why is live food better than frozen? I keep mostly NW cichlids and they devour it leaving very little for the bottom feeders. Would live food be suited for smaller, more timid fish, or fish that are difficult in captivity?
thanks Scott

Hi Scott,
You pretty much hit the nail on the head.
my $.02 :

For some fish, live foods help promote spawning (especially rich foods like whiteworms).
It can also be good for some of the more finiky fish like apistos or gudgeons, who might not eat prepared foods (ie flake, pellets), or wild caught fish who need to be weaned onto frozen food (I'm hopefully getting some South American fw flounders this weekend, and will be starting them on blackworms, then moving them to frozen foods over time).

Many of the smaller live foods are also great for baby fish - especially freshly hatched brine shrimp, microworms, and vinegar eels.

When local stores carry live foods, they're usually blackworms, earthworms, ghost shrimp, or adult brine shrimp (at least in my experience).
Whiteworms, microworms, daphnia, vinegar eels, and grindal worms are usually cultured by the hobbyist (too much work to be profitable to sell retail).
For the bigger SA/CA cichlids, gut-loaded crickets, shrimp, and crayfish are also good treats.

_________________
Rich
_______
Part-time fishguy at Uncle Ned's Fish Factory (saturdays)
_______
Species I am currently keeping/breeding include :
Copadichromis borleyi "redfin"
Labidochromis caeruleus yellow labs
Aulonocara sp. "Lwanda"
Ancistrus cf. cirrhosus "Super Red Ancistris"
Xiphophorus montezumae Montezuma Swordtails
_______
(I'm in the middle of resetting and redesigning my fishroom - so things are kinda quiet)