Blackworms?

[Paul B]

I just love those constant flow contraptions.

 

[DeathWish302]

Paul,

What is your feeding rate with the BW? I have been feeding about 10-15 worms a clown and don't want to over feed these and have a brine shrimp incident. Back in '01 I was feeding brine shrimp to clowns, not knowing it was pure candy to clowns. They refused to eat anything except brine shrimp after about a 3 month period. I don't need/want that to happen again. Just wondered, as I'm still feeling out their limit. The female will completely gorge herself on the worms beyond any point I have ever seen during saturation feedings in the past.

Now if I could get any of my clowns that excited about red/purple algae I would be thrilled....

Thanks!

 

[Paul B]

I think that is too many. Mine get about 3 or 4 worms each, every couple of days. I like to feed something else first or they may not want anything else.
I target feed everything.
If you want something to start spawning you could increase the worms to every day

 

[DeathWish302]

3-4worms!!!....:eek1:.....I have definitely been over-feeding the worms then! I'll cut back to a few worms 3-4 times a week. None are in spawning mode now, so no saturation feedings really required.

Thanks Paul for all your help on BW!

 

[DeathWish302]

Well, I thought I would give an update on my experience. I don't think I would ever need to buy more worms unless they crash when I'm away on vacation or biz travel. There are definitely many more worms than when I started. I did devise my own holding system instead of a 'constant flow contraption'. I found a nice $0.99 container at Lowe's and placed the worms in it for temporary holding. After the 2nd day, I decided I would give it a try with just the air pump. A week later I sanitized the Bio-Balls and that will be the easy to clean floating media that will take the place of the paper towels everyone else uses. As for feeding, they really devour spinach leaves and the red Sea Veggies. They'll eat pellet, but they swarm the vegetation. I make sure there is food at all times, so this may be my current problem with ammonia hovering at 0.05ppm. A Seachem Ammonia Guard a little Brightwell MB7 and a few more weeks will hopefully cure that. Here's the setup....

 

[Paul B]

Death wish, looks good

 

[iFisch]

:thumbsup:

 

[chark]

Do you think it would be possible to set up a small fresh water tank and keep them alive in the tank? Maybe could keep them in a breeder net?

 

[DeathWish302]

Do you think it would be possible to set up a small fresh water tank and keep them alive in the tank? Maybe could keep them in a breeder net?

You could setup a small FW tank with NO substrate. They are impossible to get out of the BioBalls in my setup, so gravel would be a pain. I'm not even certain a breeder net could contain the smaller worms. I have babies that are as small as hair and about 1/4" long. If you have them in a FW aquarium that is a display, I have read that they will take over in the substrate. Best to keep them in an exclusive culturing container IMO. Also, make sure the height of the container is at least 3" tall, otherwise they can crawl out as I found out after the first night I had these in a chinese take-out shallow container.

 

[Paul B]

I'm not even certain a breeder net could contain the smaller worms

It would be very hard to find a mesh small enough to contain the worms, only a rotifer mesh would work.
Wherever you keep them you need shallow moving water, try to keep them as cool as possable, not in a boiler room and they don't need light.

 

[DeathWish302]

Paul - What's the temperature threshold? I've had my worms in the 65-72F range with no problems so far.

I don't really want them to go into hibernation mode as they do in colder water but continue reproducing. If I can get 300+ adult worms, I can then feed 5 worms daily and mathematically never run out over the course of a month if they double in 3-4 weeks as stated. Also forget the toothpick method to scoop these guys up, as a syringe is a MUST!

I love blackworms now!!! :crazy1:

 

[Paul B]

Also forget the toothpick method to scoop these guys up,

I only use a toothpick to clean the gunk out of their teeth :rolleye1:
Thet temperature is perfect. If they get up into the 80s they start to croak faster. They do reproduce all the time but I still need to buy them. My local NY tank is fed mostly worms and I fed them to some of my corals.
If I wanted to keep a larger container I could keep more but I can buy them a few blocks from my house so I don't bother.
I have these things with variuos size acrylic tubes on them. I could not keep a tank without them. I feed baby brine with them, pick up and feed the worms, clean detritus, target feed everything, put water in the hydrometer with it, I use them every day a few times a day.
I buy the bulbs by the case and just bend an acrylic tube and stick it in there. A year or two ago I sold a case here for what they cost me.

 

[DeathWish302]

I only use a toothpick to clean the gunk out of their teeth :rolleye1:
Thet temperature is perfect. If they get up into the 80s they start to croak faster. They do reproduce all the time but I still need to buy them. My local NY tank is fed mostly worms and I fed them to some of my corals.
If I wanted to keep a larger container I could keep more but I can buy them a few blocks from my house so I don't bother.
I have these things with variuos size acrylic tubes on them. I could not keep a tank without them. I feed baby brine with them, pick up and feed the worms, clean detritus, target feed everything, put water in the hydrometer with it, I use them every day a few times a day.
I buy the bulbs by the case and just bend an acrylic tube and stick it in there. A year or two ago I sold a case here for what they cost me.

Can't see the pic at work, but it sounds like a specialized, down-sized turkey baster. I use an Elos test kit syringe for my duties, as they give you a new syringe in every kit. Who really can use 6+ syringes in a year for testing alone???

Have to speed home now to see Paul's invention.....!!!! I love the mad scientist approach of this hobby. The mini mad scientist lab I have is almost as entertaining as the critters in the tank...

 

[Paul B]

You have to be a little Mad Scientist to really get the full effect out of this hobby, anyone can keep fish alive. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha...........
This is a part of my workshop. It's not usually this organized :wildone:

 

[DeathWish302]

Ok Paul.... I give, is it a nasal aspirator??? I cannot find anything similar except baby nasal aspirators at any of my hot spots for these kinds of finds. I'm tired of buying a new $2 turkey baster every 3 months. I've even bought a nice silicone one from Williams Sonoma for a small fortune ($18)....only to have it last 8-10 months before it started going south. I use it for thawing food, blowing detritus off rocks, spot feeding, teaching the clowns a lesson when they get too nippy, pulling water for testing, on and on....

If I could find a cheap alternative and just replace the bulb when it starts to deteriorate that would be great!!! Can you divulge your source?

Thanks!

BTW, like the 'lab'.

 

[Paul B]

Deathwish, send me your address and I will send you one.

 

[DeathWish302]

AMAZING is all I can say!!! This thing rocks! It has more thrust power than a 737 and can double as a surge device if your not careful.

Thanks Paul!

 

[reefstew]

Use the black worms to induce spawning, not as your usuall food .

 

[DeathWish302]

Use the black worms to induce spawning, not as your usuall food .

I currently have a female Tomato that lost her mate about a year ago. I've had a replacement in the tank since April with little (positive) interaction until I started feeding these blackworms. I don't know if they would have started coming around naturally or the worms are inducing the behavior.

So what do the worms do that creates this spawning craze? Is it similar to Cyclopeeze setting them into a feeding frenzy (even when there are only a few pieces) but instead it's spawning?

 

[Paul B]

AMAZING is all I can say!!! This thing rocks! It has more thrust power than a 737 and can double as a surge device if your not careful.

Maybe I sent you the wrong model

So what do the worms do that creates this spawning craze?

The worms don't do anything but they supply the needed oil that all fish need that puts them into breeding condition. Fish in breeding condition, breed.
They do it naturally and they do it all the time. If your fish are not spawning or exhibiting spawning behavior, they are not as healthy as you thing.
(this only applies to fish that spawn on the bottom, not egg scatters like tangs.)