Richard Sexton wrote:
As for worms, tetra delica bloodworms have min 0.9% and I found an
article at
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/c...35746/ABSTRACT
showing freeze dried earthworms at 0.8%, waxworms at 1.2%, and mealworms
varying widely from 0.8% to 1.4% phosphorus depending on the strain.
Hikari reports 0.1% phosphorus max for their freeze dried bloodworms and
tubifex, but that does not appear to be compatible with living worms, so
I doubt their number.

So...you're probably feeding medium phosphate level food, around 0.8% to
1% if your worms are similar to others. As for amount, dunno. I
haven't seen you feed but I know how much a hungry killi can eat!


The funny thing is the Ammano shrimp eat more white worms than the
killies do.

Yahbut, tubifex eat sewage and presumably there's tons of phosphates
in there. Wouldnt this all really depends on the amount of phosphate in
pumpernikle bread I feed the worms?

Not so much. The worms have to build DNA, RNA, cell membranes, and all
the other chemicals that contain phosphate from the bread. They will
retain the phosphate and other valuable minerals from their diet and
excrete the excess nitrogen and fiber. If you were phosphate starving
your worm cultures, they would not grow and reproduce well.

There may be some bread (relatively low in phosphate) in the worm's
digestive tract when you feed but the worm itself is the phosphate source.

--
__ Elaine T __
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