For most of the people, when they say worms, it means earthworms and earthworms don’t live in the water. You may have seen earthworms coming up on the ground in the rainy season. This is because they can’t breathe properly in the wet soil, and they must come up to breathe, despite the extreme risks that are waiting for them on the ground. You must be wondering if earthworms even have lungs, so how do they breathe? The quick answer is, earthworms breathe through their skin.
But what about fish? And why do fish eat worms?
Coming back to fish, fish are unlikely to encounter any earthworms in their entire life span, but they are quite likely to come across some sorts of worms. Fish are not picky about what to eat. For example, catfish happily eats plants, snails, dead bugs, and even fish eggs. Catfish also eats aquatic worms that are similar to what we call earthworms.
Fishes in lakes eat insects that fall into the water. So, it is very common for fish to eat up things like bees, cricket, and even bread. There is a special paste that you can rub on the bait, and it lures fish by making it smell much more attractive. This unique paste attracts the fish towards the food item pretty quickly.
With all this in your mind, you must be thinking, why do fish eat worms? Eating worms is not a favorite thing for fish. They will eat anything, and earthworms are an all-round substitute for them. Earthworms wiggle a lot in the water as they succumb to suffocation. Some researchers have even used plastic that looked like a worm. Fish loves movement, and most fishermen will even suggest you to use live worms in order to catch more fish. Some people believe that fish like the smell of worms, but this has not been proven until now. This topic remains an interesting one until more research is carried out.