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Blackworm order

H

halak

Members
Since Josh does not carry these yummy creatures any more, I am contemplating placing an order for blackworms from this place:

http://www.aquaticfoods.com/LiveBlackwormsM.html

I will probably have them delivered on 12/30 or 12/31, preferably 12/30. Please let me know if anyone would like to join my order. I will get one pound for myself. Pick-up will be at the edge of Gaithersburg, MD, near Damascus.
 
Becca

Becca

Members
Congressional and Tropical Lagoon sell them. I don't use black worms because I've had a few instances where they seemed to make my fish sick, even when rinsed and maintained properly. Instead, I keep a grindal worm culture and a red wiggler culture.
 
dogofwar

dogofwar

CCA Members
I culture my own red wiggler worms - super easy in a rubbermaid in the garage (they eat fruit and veggie scraps from the kitchen).

Haven't bought live or frozen foods in years...

Matt

halak said:
Since there is no interest I wonder where others get their blackworms.
Click to expand...
 
H

halak

Members
Red wrigglers would be too large for my fishes.
I have pretty much always had and fed either blackworms or Tubifex worms and never had any problems in the last 35 years.
 
Localzoo

Localzoo

Board of Directors
Red wriggles are the way to go. You can even separate and feed vitamin enriched foods etc... Then cutt up and feed them.....the red wrigglers produce quite a few (baby) small worms too.


Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
 
dogofwar

dogofwar

CCA Members
Yes - chopping free worms (or feeding baby ones) > paying for them (and having to keep them in the fridge)...

Matt

Localzoo said:
Red wriggles are the way to go. You can even separate and feed vitamin enriched foods etc... Then cutt up and feed them.....the red wrigglers produce quite a few (baby) small worms too.


Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
Click to expand...
 
dogofwar

dogofwar

CCA Members
When I get some red wigglers from my bin, I grab and handful and put them into a plastic rinse basin.

There are worms anywhere from tiny (small enough for babies to eat) to large (4-5"). I usually just drop them in by size...or chop as fine as I want with a knife (which I assure my wife is ONLY used for the fishroom).

Really small fish (e.g. cichlid fry) pick at the guts of cut or torn worms.

Matt

mchambers said:
Are red wrigglers smaller than the worms you'd find in an outdoor compost bin?
Click to expand...
 
H

halak

Members
Okay, so you could give/sell me some earthworms? I have realized that not all earthworms are created equal in terms of feeding them to fish. Eisenia foetida, for example, is not eaten by fish, and that happens to be the species I could get easily.
 
H

halak

Members
According to Mike Hellweg (Culturing Live Foods, pp. 114-115), the species to feed fish should be Lumbricus rubellus. He mentions that Bimastrus foetida will not be eaten by fish. I have not been able to confirm whether Eisenia foetida is a synonym for B. foetida, but I suspect it is. This is also called the manure worm, and fish won't eat it because of the strong taste.
 
chriscoli

chriscoli

Administrator
Mine are E. Fetida from Uncle Jims Worm Farm. My fish love them! The only fish to turn them down have been sick fish.

One of the reasons you have to make sure you've got a type of worm suitable for vermiculture is that most worms are not social creatures. If you were to go to a bait shop and get a starter of night crawlers, they'd leave the worm bin (which may not be good for your marriage). Make sure to stick with a variety suitable for a highly crowded worm bin.

I love having the worm bin, but to be honest, I also find a lot of utility in blackworms too. I use both. I don't have the patience to dig through and find the small ones and I find that some fish aren't terribly successful at picking at chopped up bits of larger worms.
 
dogofwar

dogofwar

CCA Members
The way I get little worms is by grabbing a handful of worms (with the substrate from the bin) and dropping it into a little basin of water. Swirl it around and the dirt will fall away, pour off the excess water, repeat... and you'll find worms of all sizes.

I tried to culture earthworms - both store-bought and captured from the yard - a few years ago. Long story short, it didn't work.

As you can tell, I'm a big advocate for red wigglers. Been culturing and using them for years!

Matt
 
H

halak

Members
I'm getting some Eisenia foetida from a family member today-this may be the best extended family Christmas lunch if this worm culturing thing works out. :lol:
Thanks for all the tips.
 
chriscoli

chriscoli

Administrator
Agreed, I do the swirl thing too, but I find that the size I need that equals a blackworm is far outnumbered by the bigger worms. And I don't want to deplete the bin of all of the small worms....small worms grow into big worms.

I don't agree that red wigglers are the one stop shop for live cultures. They are a great addition to their diet, but they're not the whole story.
 
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