Caring for blackworms

[Industrial]

So I would like to start getting some live blackworms for my fish. I never have any luck keeping these guys overnight though.

I usually buy the smallest portion possible and I feed some to all of my fish that night. Then I fill up a gallon jug with tap water turned all the way on cold and dechlor it and rinse the blackworms in a net. Then I divide them up into a couple small containers so they are only 2-3 worms thick and I add that much water as well.

By the next day though, most of them are dead.

What am I missing?

 

[tanker]

1) Worms need air to breath, so do not cover with water. Just some so they do not dry.

2) They like it cold.--I keep in ice-box in plastic container, semi covered.

3) Wash twice a day. I just rinse with cold sink water. ---Turn on cold water and then pour off most of water, but again leaving just enought to keep them wet.

 

[WeedCali]

so wait, these guys can live in your tank but need cold water? how does that work?

 

[stephcps]

Save your self the trouble and buy some Freeze dried blackworms from aquaticsuppliers.com. I did the live thing for 6 months washing them feeding, rebuying....then The owner of Simplydiscus.com started bringing these in from Australia...they are awesome!!! No more of that worm smell and the constant rinsing and cleaning. I love it and the fish love it!!

 

[Industrial]

so wait, these guys can live in your tank but need cold water? how does that work?

Blackworms are very messy and kept in warm temperatures their metabolism goes much faster, polluting the culture much faster. If you have ever left a culture out overnight it smells unbearable. In the tanks, it's usually only a couple and their waste has a lot of water to diffuse through.

Save your self the trouble and buy some Freeze dried blackworms from aquaticsuppliers.com. I did the live thing for 6 months washing them feeding, rebuying....then The owner of Simplydiscus.com started bringing these in from Australia...they are awesome!!! No more of that worm smell and the constant rinsing and cleaning. I love it and the fish love it!!

I am far from a fan of freeze-dried foods. I usually feed live/frozen foods as a treat or just because the fish simply need that in their diet. Fish like catfishes, elephant nose and my dragon goby are all bottom feeders and they would not be able to get the freezedried foods. Plus all my fish seem to prefer frozen over freezedried.

1) Worms need air to breath, so do not cover with water. Just some so they do not dry.

2) They like it cold.--I keep in ice-box in plastic container, semi covered.

3) Wash twice a day. I just rinse with cold sink water. ---Turn on cold water and then pour off most of water, but again leaving just enought to keep them wet.

Okay, thank you!

 

[captmicha]

I think it would just be easiest to breed them yourself. You can guarantee that you're getting a clean product this way. I did this and it was really easy. I got a small tank and an air pump. You put a piece of brown paper bag (no parts with ink or glue) in the water and it breaks down and provides a food source and a shelter for the worms. You can supplement it with an occasional pinch of crushed fish food. Room temperature water is fine. Soaking the worms in a fish multivitamin before feeding is a good idea.

They'll breed in the aerated water and if you have any die off, you just skim those off. I don't remember much dying. If I remember correctly, you just dump most of the water when it gets dirty and that's your cleaning regiment.

They'll live beautifully in this set up and breed so you'll have more. They'll always be fresh for you. And you don't have to worry about leeches or any nasty stuff because you'll be in control of it.

 

[Industrial]

I think it would just be easiest to breed them yourself. You can guarantee that you're getting a clean product this way. I did this and it was really easy. I got a small tank and an air pump. You put a piece of brown paper bag (no parts with ink or glue) in the water and it breaks down and provides a food source and a shelter for the worms. You can supplement it with an occasional pinch of crushed fish food. Room temperature water is fine. Soaking the worms in a fish multivitamin before feeding is a good idea.

They'll breed in the aerated water and if you have any die off, you just skim those off. I don't remember much dying. If I remember correctly, you just dump most of the water when it gets dirty and that's your cleaning regiment.

They'll live beautifully in this set up and breed so you'll have more. They'll always be fresh for you. And you don't have to worry about leeches or any nasty stuff because you'll be in control of it.

That sounds pretty interesting actually. Do I need to check on the tank more than once a day?

 

[tanker]

If you are going to (or plan on) breeding worms, I would recommend white worms. Less messy, breeds faser, and IMO--Smells less.

PS--They are "fattier" then regular worms and if the fish are fed too much white worms they get health issues (like humans on a high fat diet).

 

[captmicha]

Do I need to check on the tank more than once a day?

Nope. I didn't even check on them every day. If the temperature stays stable and if you don't overfeed your culture, I don't see a need to check on it everyday.

Less messy, breeds faser, and IMO--Smells less.

I don't remember the blackworms being very messy or smelling much. It all depends on how clean you keep the water of your culture.

 

[nc0gnet0]

I am far from a fan of freeze-dried foods. I usually feed live/frozen foods as a treat or just because the fish simply need that in their diet. Fish like catfishes, elephant nose and my dragon goby are all bottom feeders and they would not be able to get the freezedried foods. Plus all my fish seem to prefer frozen over freezedried.

Well then you haven't tried the freeze dried blackworms mentioned. They are top notch and the fish prefer them over anything I offer frozen. Trust me, Discus are picky eaters. Live food is nice, albeit 90% water weight. Gram per gram, freeze dried will offer 5x the protein as its live counterpart.

I understand were your coming from, I got a jar of freeze dried bloodworms my fish won't touch. However, the blackworms from aquatic suppliers are top notch bar none. And you don't have to go through the whole PITA process of live blackworms and worrying about introducing bacteria into your tank.