Blackworms
- Thread starter wetpets9
- Start date
MondoBongo
Obligate Feeder Obsessed
if you're going to go through the trouble of ordering, you might want to consider white worms instead.
i use black worms because i can get them easily locally, and they're live, so they help entice picky eaters. however their nutritional profile isn't well suited to marine fish, and i've found it hard to keep them living longer than a few weeks.
white worms on the other hand live much longer in salt water, they have a much better nutritional profile (very similar to a lot of marine foods with high HUFAs and lower protein numbers), can be gut loaded with vitamin supplements like selcon, and i've had my two current cultures going for over 8 months at this with very little intervention.
i've gotten all my white worms from Angels Plus:
http://www.angelsplus.com/FoodLiveCultures.htm
i use black worms because i can get them easily locally, and they're live, so they help entice picky eaters. however their nutritional profile isn't well suited to marine fish, and i've found it hard to keep them living longer than a few weeks.
white worms on the other hand live much longer in salt water, they have a much better nutritional profile (very similar to a lot of marine foods with high HUFAs and lower protein numbers), can be gut loaded with vitamin supplements like selcon, and i've had my two current cultures going for over 8 months at this with very little intervention.
i've gotten all my white worms from Angels Plus:
http://www.angelsplus.com/FoodLiveCultures.htm
twon8
Formally registered membe
Blackworms
How difficult is it to culture the white worms?
And what specifically does that entail
How difficult is it to culture the white worms?
And what specifically does that entail
MondoBongo
Obligate Feeder Obsessed
i ordered my starter cultures and that was about it. they came with dirt, so i just dumped them out in to plastic gladware container and leave them in my basement where it is cool. they don't do well with heat, so keeping them cool and moist is a must.
every couple of days i change out the food in the culture, and if they're dry i give them a little spritz with RODI and turn the dirt.
you can use almost anything for food. i have been using unsalted saltine crackers that i soak in selcon. i've seen others use dog food that they've soaked to soften it a little, or even fish food.
the white worms are pretty resilient.
the portions from angels plus were nice. i made two different orders of three portions each, and they held up quite well for several months of feeding my OSFF pair multiple times a day. the cultures were starting to get depleted, luckily just as i was able to transition them to other foods. so now i feed all my fish white worms about twice a week, and the cultures have been producing strong numbers for me.
i've had one of my older cultures crash in the past. i'm still not quite sure why, but i'm thinking maybe i need to add some fresh dirt or something. i'll probably be trying to add new dirt to my two current cultures soon.
Dmorty217
Saltwater Addict
Thanks for this link. Plan on trying some cultures myself
MondoBongo
Obligate Feeder Obsessed
That is correct. I haven't tried the micro worms yet but I may give them a shot at some point too.
What do you consider cool? Is the fridge considered ok? If not, what do you do when summer hit?
I ordered thethe white worms. Is the fridge to cold for them? We dont have a basement just a crawlspace which i could put them in but would rather not if i can find someplace else. I read on another forum freezing a 2 liter and sticking it in the center kf the dirt and the would get as close or as far away as they neede to be to keep comfortabke. Do you think that would work?
MondoBongo
Obligate Feeder Obsessed
I leave mine in the basement. It usually stays about 60 - 65 degrees Fahrenheit down there year round. The fridge might be a little cold for them, but if you email wherever you ordered them from they might know better about the fridge.
