Pros and cons of CA live black worms? How much?

Well, from my own experience.....this is what I learned. You need to buy them from an excellent source. Like straight from the source, no middle man. I bought mine from california. You want to only buy as much as your fish will eat in 3 weeks or so....they begin to lose their body mass after that. Then, the best part is you need to keep them in the fridge and rinse them daily with cool dechlored water to keep the nasties from building up. Then your fish will absolutely refuse all other food and you will truly be in a quandry. My advice is to go for the freeze dried. Aquaticsuppliers sells them...OMG so much easier. My fish love them almost as much as the live....but because they are not live they also still accept flake etc.
I also know that many a fish has been taken down by a bad batch of worms.....you have to get them from a reputable source and be committed to caring fro them properly.
Just a note....if you keep only giving them what YOU want them to eat....they will eventually eat it. They will not starve themselves to death.

Hope that helps.

I personally most likely will never buy blackworms ever again. I fed them once and it killed a lot of my fish. I only suggest cultivating your own. If you must buy from a vendor though, here is what I know:
Pros:
1. They are high in protein
2. Live food will brighten up your fish's colors.
3. If you have sand, you can put the worms in the sand and they will live and breed in the substrate, also burrowing in it.

Cons:
1. With all live foods, there will be a possibility with disease and parasites.
2. Your fish might get spoiled on live food and won't settle for less

As far as keeping them alive in the bag goes, I have heard that you can refrigerate them. Be sure to wash the worms thoroughly before feeding.

You also have a chance of getting leeches in your tank (like monster ones) and the blackworms will live and colonize in your tank if any aren't eaten.

I buy them from my LFS, I usually get a portion big enough to last a good 2 weeks, I rinse and change the water every 2-3 days with RO water. Fish have never had any health issues due to them and everyone from ghost shrimp up love to snack on them. The only tank they ever managed to establish themselves in was a 5g betta tank with just the betta, in my 29 and 40 they don't seem to stand a chance with kuhli's and cories.

The leeches are a natural part of the environment they raise the blackworms in. Even though they sift through etc, etc, every batch I ever bought had some in it. Most people claim they will do nothing to your tank and the fish will eat them. They are very small. I never had an issue with them being a problem in any way. Just kind of gross.

For me, it was just the amount of extra work cleaning them all the time. It was another added thing on top of everything else. At first it doesn't sound like a big deal.....but after a while it just gets old.

Taari said:

You also have a chance of getting leeches in your tank (like monster ones) and the blackworms will live and colonize in your tank if any aren't eaten.

Click to expand...

This isn't quite accurate, they will not colonize in your aquarium.
Actually their not a leech, they are another cold water organism
that grows along with the blackworms in the ponds. Very few arrive with the Blackworms, most will be eaten by all fish. Any that are not eaten will perish in any environment
above 65 degrees. Just wanted to clarify.
There's always Freeze Dried California Blackworms, a lot less maintaining.

Dan
California Blackworm Co.
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?163-Blackworms-Direct

Here is some great information that my be of help.
Kind of a long read but worth knowing and worth passing on.

Dan
California Blackworm Co.


By Al Sabetta

I know that recently we have been discussing the pros and cons of blackworms as a live food. In the past I have received literature from a scientist that specializes in invertebrates and has written extensively on blackworm biology. His name is Dr. Charles Drewes. If you recall my writings on blackworm culture, I referenced him there. Biological supply laboratories also include his research when they supply live worms.

I recently sent him an email to ask his opinion on the disease aspects we have discussed.


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Dear Dr. Drewes,

I raise a tropical fish called Discus as a hobby. The question has been raised by my fellow hobbyists as to whether or not Lumbriculus variegatus can act as an intermediate host for tapeworms to be passed then on to our fish. Also the question was asked if they could possibly ingest eggs of parasitic worms, and gill flukes, and then pass them along to the Discus. I am also a biologist and I have searched the literature and found no research to support this.

May I ask your opinion on this matter? I know from my literature searches that you have researched this organism extensively. Any information you could give me is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.


Sincerely,

Al Sabetta

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Dr. Drewes reply...

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Dear Al,

You are correct. There is no published evidence whatsoever that Lumbriculus is an intermediate host for tapeworms. I suppose that any scavenging organism, including many fish, could inadvertently ingest tapeworm eggs and then, through either predation (being eaten) or by defecation, pass them onto another organism. To avoid that remote possibility, I suppose it might be prudent to let newly acquired organisms (worms and fish) clear their gut contents in a separate container, if you don't know what they have been eating. I continue to glean the Lumbriculus literature but have found no support for the concern and claim about tapeworms. Thanks very much for your message and interest.

Charles Drewes
Professor of Zoology and Genetics


I have received a copy of another letter from Dr. Drewes in response to another hobbyist's inquiry. Here is that letter...

Thanks for your message and questions. I consulted with a professor-colleague here, who is an expert fish parasitologist, and he tells me that parasites (several species of which certainly do infect fish) DO NOT use any intermediate host (such as oligochaete worms or any other species) to harbor and transmit the parasite. Instead, one fish can directly infect another fish by releasing the parasite into the water in its feces and then by another fish ingesting the parasite. So, transmission is like Giardia, in respect, and involves only a single host and no intermediate hosts.

So, your concerns about Hexamita infection occurring from worms themselves is not warranted. Of course, the water that the worms were in might be a potential concern if it was water that came from infected water. To be "safer" when you feed worms to the fish, you could rinse and drain the worms several times in distilled water to help flush away any fish feces. I might add, that if the fish feces were consumed by the worms, then I supect that any Hexamita therein would most likely get fully digested in the worm gut. As I mentioned, there is no evidence of invertebrates being an intermediate host for Hexamita. I verified this information through a search of research publications using the Biological Abstracts database.

In regard to your questions about blackworms and tubifex worms... they are both oligochaete worms, but they are quite different in terms of taxonomy, ecology, and biology. Tubifex is most abundant in habitats where there is silty mud and organic and thermal pollution. Lumbriculus (blackworms) prefer more pristine habitats. Blood worms are insect larvae. See http://www.dph.nl/sub-article/cat-01/bloodworms.shtml

I hope this answers your questions and clarifies things a little. Feel free to share this informatin with your colleagues.


Charles Drewes
Professor of Zoology and Genetics