Frequently asked questions about
freeze dried worms
Why can't I buy your dried worms in 1kg bags anymore? Due to the high global demand and limited supply currently for our product, we are no longer able to offer our product in 1kg bags.
Are your
worms disease free?
Yes, Australia
has very few if any diseases that are transmitted from water to fish and the
area that I live and grow worms in is away from farming and industrial areas.
The water that the worms are grown in, up to a short time ago, came from the
same water supply that we got our drinking water from.
Is the protein
content the same for live worms and freeze dried worms?
Yes, the only
difference between the two is the water content of the live worms
What is the
nutritional facts of your worms?
These results
were taken from Australian Black Worms (freeze dried type) sent to Analytico, a
commercial lab based in the Netherlands.
Compound
|
Amount
|
Unit
|
Material
|
Lipid
|
7.22
|
%
|
FD worms
|
Ashes
|
5.91
|
%
|
FD worms
|
Protein
|
59.3
|
%
|
FD worms
|
Moisture
|
7.34
|
%
|
FD worms
|
Carbohydrates (calculated)
|
20.2
|
%
|
FD worms
|
EPA
|
4.53
|
% of
total fatty acids
|
FD worms
|
DHA
|
1.79
|
% of
total fatty acids
|
FD worms
|
monounsaturated fatty acids
|
20.9
|
% of
total fatty acids
|
FD worms
|
polyunsaturated fatty acids
|
28
|
% of
total fatty acids
|
FD worms
|
omega 3 fatty acids
|
8.13
|
% of
total fatty acids
|
FD worms
|
omega 6 fatty acids
|
18.3
|
% of
total fatty acids
|
FD worms
|
energetic value
|
1630
|
kJ/100 g
|
FD worms
|
energetic value
|
387
|
kcal/100
g
|
FD worms
|
The following
results were done at “Riverina Laboratories” Albury, NSW, Australia
Crude Protein %
as
received..........................................................................54.52
Crude Fat % as
received.................................................................................11.40
Crude Fibre% as
received................................................................................0.20
Moisture % as
received...................................................................................17.83
Solids % as
received.........................................................................................82.17
Crude Protein %
dry weight basis....................................................................66.35
Crude Fat % dry
weight
basis...........................................................................13.87
Crude Fibre % dry
weight basis........................................................................0.24
How do you freeze
dry your worms?
The
worms go through the same cleaning and purging procedure as if they were going
to be fed live. They are then frozen in 2.5 kg blocks and loaded into the
Cuddens freeze drier. A vacuum pump takes all the air out of the chamber and
then raises the temperature from minus 20deg C to 50deg C . Water will boil at 0 deg C in a vacuum, so as the
frozen worms start to thaw, all moisture turns to a vapour that is then
refrozen on coils inside the chamber. The process is a little bit more
complicated then that, but that is the basis of how it is done. The important
thing about the freeze drying process is that it will remove all the moisture
from the worms without altering the nutritional facts of the product. The whole
process of growing, cleaning and processing the worms is done at the one
location insuring the best possible product.
My fish
won’t feed from the top, how do I get them to eat the freeze dried worms?
With
the cubes, press one against the inside of the tank half way down. It should
stick against the side and the fish will then show more interest in it. Once
your fish get used to freeze dried worms, they usually will take them from the
surface.
Should I
reconstitute freeze dried worms before feeding them to my fish?
No,
just put the worms straight into the water and let your fish feast on them.
Will the
worms swell up in the stomach of fish
No,
they will take water back in but will not increase in size.
|