I am sure this question has been asked a million times before but I didn't find a quick answer when searching.

Are bait minnows safe? I don't have any pet stores around hear but we do have some bait shops, is that risky because of parasites or something? They also had earthworms and I have avoided those for fear of cutting them up, I thought now they are big enough to eat at least half a worm but I was wrong, the earthworms being sold at that shop were as big around as my young male.