Worms as food
- Thread starter Paul B
- Start date
Paul B
Premium Member
I have no love for freeze dried anything, but I do sometimes freeze the blackworms when I go on vacation. I have never seen them sold frozen, but maybe they do sell them. Don't get frozen bloodworms as those are common and are beetle larvae and not worms. IMO they are no good for salt water fish even though they eat them.
ReefKeeper64
Wanna be a reefkeeper
I gave them each little Japanese hand fans to keep themselves cooled off and now they're complaining about not having hands or something, can't quite make it out. Down here in Florida 80 degrees is considered cool and that's what I keep telling the worms. They haven't quit their jobs yet so that's a good sign. For others - don't try this at home - I'm a professional. :deadhorse1:
ReefKeeper64
Wanna be a reefkeeper
Worm report:
Every one of my fish have officially become worm connoisseurs. They all go after worms like they're going out of style at feeding time.
The wormkeeper I'm using is a plastic container with a gallon or two of tap water and an air bubbler. I changed out the RO water with plain tap water a couple days ago. I know the tap water contains chloramines (don't ask - LOL) and the worms are still wiggling 2 days later. I'm surprised actually because this was a bit of a test to see just how hardy these live treats really are. I spent all of $5 on the worms a week ago and the fish are still eating live food daily so that's not a bad investment!
Let me know the next time you are headed to Florida. Didn't you say you have a factory down this way?
Every one of my fish have officially become worm connoisseurs. They all go after worms like they're going out of style at feeding time.
The wormkeeper I'm using is a plastic container with a gallon or two of tap water and an air bubbler. I changed out the RO water with plain tap water a couple days ago. I know the tap water contains chloramines (don't ask - LOL) and the worms are still wiggling 2 days later. I'm surprised actually because this was a bit of a test to see just how hardy these live treats really are. I spent all of $5 on the worms a week ago and the fish are still eating live food daily so that's not a bad investment!
Let me know the next time you are headed to Florida. Didn't you say you have a factory down this way?
rhinonm
New member
I used to buy bulk live blackworms and keep them alive just long enough to freeze them in individual ice cubes. The fish do not seem to mind and still go crazy for the frozen ones. I thaw them before serving and the worms looks the same.
I just bought 10lbs from cali blackworm farm pre frozen. They should last me a long time.
kelrn98
Member
I feed my fish live blackworms daily. I originally purchased them to encourage my CBB to eat (he gobbles them up!). All of my fish seem to love them (aside from the mandarin who will only eat copepods. I get them shipped from Cali & keep them in my fridge in RO water. I rinse them & change the water every 2-3 days. My last batch have survived over 4 weeks without feeding. I don't think I have the time, space, or patience to grow my own, so I will keep ordering mine online for now. But my fish will continue to be fed worms daily; they are all fat & happy!
Mental1
New member
I have black worms for my CBB, his tank mate, the matted filefish slurps them too. I tried feeding the other tank worms but the only takers were the wrasses but I will try again. I keep them in a worm keeper I bought from aquatic foods, rinse them daily with ro water, they hang out in the basement fridge with the bird food and they last a long time.
Paul - thanks to you for serving. I was appalled at how you guys were treated and stood up for you all whenever needed. People were confused, or stupid, or both. Thank you and our guys out there now.
Paul - thanks to you for serving. I was appalled at how you guys were treated and stood up for you all whenever needed. People were confused, or stupid, or both. Thank you and our guys out there now.
Paul & All
I purchased some Canadian White Worms in Regina and smuggled them south cross the border....OK I did declare them...as fish food. Seemed to work.
I divided the the container with 3 additional containers and placed them in my North Dakota basement. They have done "all right" But I'm not getting them up on the container or on the food. No Jewish unleavened bread here so I am using whole wheat crackers and dry cat food. I first used Selcon....expensive... as I couldn't get fish oil outside of the gel caps. I finally did find a fish oil supplement for puppies at the local Walmart. Too early to tell if that will help things, so I'll get to my point.
My worms rarely come out of the soil or onto the sides of the plastic container. They stay in the soil, hundreds, heck, thousands of them. Getting enough to feed takes at least 1/2 hour to to clean them out of the soil. Using the plastic mesh and the few worms I find on it are easy to separate....I just dunk it into ROI water. But they are not enough to feed so I am stuck digging for worms. I have tried putting the dirt into water but the worms seem to like it just fine and do not surface. My basement's temp. peaked in August at 66 degrees and is now 64. I am keeping the dirt moist but not wet. I have a problem with mold as I travel a lot for work and seem to change food once a week.
Any help out there?
RJ
I purchased some Canadian White Worms in Regina and smuggled them south cross the border....OK I did declare them...as fish food. Seemed to work.
I divided the the container with 3 additional containers and placed them in my North Dakota basement. They have done "all right" But I'm not getting them up on the container or on the food. No Jewish unleavened bread here so I am using whole wheat crackers and dry cat food. I first used Selcon....expensive... as I couldn't get fish oil outside of the gel caps. I finally did find a fish oil supplement for puppies at the local Walmart. Too early to tell if that will help things, so I'll get to my point.
My worms rarely come out of the soil or onto the sides of the plastic container. They stay in the soil, hundreds, heck, thousands of them. Getting enough to feed takes at least 1/2 hour to to clean them out of the soil. Using the plastic mesh and the few worms I find on it are easy to separate....I just dunk it into ROI water. But they are not enough to feed so I am stuck digging for worms. I have tried putting the dirt into water but the worms seem to like it just fine and do not surface. My basement's temp. peaked in August at 66 degrees and is now 64. I am keeping the dirt moist but not wet. I have a problem with mold as I travel a lot for work and seem to change food once a week.
Any help out there?
RJ
Paul B
Premium Member
RJ, I have no experience with Canadian worms. I don't know what they eat, or drink, or how they spend their time. But I guess with their like of staying in the soil, it will be hard to get them out. I have experimented with low voltage electricity to get my blackworms out easier but they seem to like the shocks. I know it works on earthworms so it may work on your worms. If you have a phone sharger you can put one electrode at one end and the other electrode at the other end and see if, in time they come to the surface. But you will have to ruin the charger for that.
Regarding your theories on worms and the nutrition they provide the fish, do you think gut loading the worms with better food than matza would be worth it? Or is the matza and fish oil good enough? Seems like you have great results with that combo alone, but might you have better (is that possible?) results if you gut loaded the worms.
Paul B
Premium Member
I ran out of Matzo's a long time ago so now they get Cheerios with some fish oil on it. They eat about 15 Cherios a day which equals a lot of worm growth. I feed these worms to my fish every day and they reproduce enough for me to do that.
I don't believe gut loading does anything for anything but feeding the worms allows them to reproduce and get nice and fat.
I don't believe gut loading does anything for anything but feeding the worms allows them to reproduce and get nice and fat.
A new LFS in town started carrying black worms so I'm finally able to feed my FW tank with them. It took about 30 sec for the fish to figure out what they were. Then it was on like Donkey Kong. They love it. I think they may revolt if I go back to feeding frozen blood worms and brine shrimp :lolspin:
For now they're sitting in a bag in the fridge and they have been living for the last few days. I want to set up some type of worm keeper in the future. I'd like to raise them so I don't have to keep buying, but they owner at the LFS is a really good guy so I don't mind buying them for now.
For now they're sitting in a bag in the fridge and they have been living for the last few days. I want to set up some type of worm keeper in the future. I'd like to raise them so I don't have to keep buying, but they owner at the LFS is a really good guy so I don't mind buying them for now.
Worms of the white type
Worms of the white type
I have been culturing white worms for several months now. At first, the worm colonies, purchased in Canada, had little growth. Then, a revelation, my worms must have been immigrants. Populations exploded when I abandoned cheerios, crackers and bread. My worms are from Asia. Rice, Japanese sticky rice to be exact, coupled with a fish oil supplement for dogs, were the secret ingredients for a worm baby boom! Now I have more worms than I will ever need. I am throwing away more than I feed cause the worms will not survive long out of dark dirt. That is my problem.
Unlike black worms, I don't think you can keep harvested white worms in the fridge. You must harvest before every feeding to get live wigglers. Am I missing something? Guess I'm lazy but I only get down to the basement and go through all 5 containers, then spend another 15 or so minutes cleaning the worms more than once a week or so. So my fish get worms only once a week and most of the worms harvested go down the porcelain throne.
Paul, and anyone else raising the white ones, how's it going? Have you figured out how to collect and hold the worms or do you go through the collection cleaning process each time you feed?
My fish like w. worms but don't seem crazy about them. Seems the fish get their fill very quickly so the danger of pollution from over-feeding is very.
real.
So I am asking everyone raising the little fellows about their experiences and advice.
Finally, HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone.
RJ
Worms of the white type
I have been culturing white worms for several months now. At first, the worm colonies, purchased in Canada, had little growth. Then, a revelation, my worms must have been immigrants. Populations exploded when I abandoned cheerios, crackers and bread. My worms are from Asia. Rice, Japanese sticky rice to be exact, coupled with a fish oil supplement for dogs, were the secret ingredients for a worm baby boom! Now I have more worms than I will ever need. I am throwing away more than I feed cause the worms will not survive long out of dark dirt. That is my problem.
Unlike black worms, I don't think you can keep harvested white worms in the fridge. You must harvest before every feeding to get live wigglers. Am I missing something? Guess I'm lazy but I only get down to the basement and go through all 5 containers, then spend another 15 or so minutes cleaning the worms more than once a week or so. So my fish get worms only once a week and most of the worms harvested go down the porcelain throne.
Paul, and anyone else raising the white ones, how's it going? Have you figured out how to collect and hold the worms or do you go through the collection cleaning process each time you feed?
My fish like w. worms but don't seem crazy about them. Seems the fish get their fill very quickly so the danger of pollution from over-feeding is very.
real.
So I am asking everyone raising the little fellows about their experiences and advice.
Finally, HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone.
RJ
