Keeping blackworms alive

[USMA36]

i recently started feeding live black-worms. All of my fish seem to love them with very little leftovers. My problem is that the only place that stocks them is about an hour away. I’d like to find a way to keep them alive for a month or so. Right now I just keep them in a Tupperware in the fridge, but they don’t last more than 10 days. I rinse them daily. I am using tap water. Should I use RoDi? Should I feed them? I don’t have a place for the Paul B moving water contraption. I a;so read that I need to remove the dead worms or it will contaminate the whole container and kill all the worms. If this is true, how in the word do I know what’s dead and what isn’t? Any advice on how to keep these alive for the longest time possible is we;come and appreciated.

 

[Big G]

Use water that is chemical free. I feed my white or black worms small pieces of bread with a smear of yogurt on one side (place the yogurt side down for the worms to feed). You may see a bit of mold form. Just scrape it off. Keep an eye on the number of worms. If you see them starting to climb the walls of your container, it's time to divide and start another container. Too many and you will get a "crash" and all will die off. A fridge is too cold. A cool place in your garage or shop would be better. For a container, I use one of those plastic shoe boxes with small holes punched in the sides for air flow. I use a mix of plain old dirt mixed with mulch. Works pretty good.

 

[wowkingjames]

Following....

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

https://aquariumtidings.com/how-to-culture-blackworms-black-worms/

https://www.aquariadise.com/set-blackworm-culture/

 

[puffy127]

I use the Blackworm Keepers: https://www.aquaticfoods.com/BlackwormAccessoriesM.html

I've kept a pound of blackworms in 3 of these containers alive for over 6 weeks. The key is not to overload and not to drown them in too much water. I use tap and they are fine.

What kind of fridge are you keeping them in? When I started with blackworms, I would keep them in a small fridge designed for a few soda cans and I couldn't keep them for over 2 weeks. Then I started using a larger mini-fridge and they last much longer.

 

[USMA36]

https://aquariumtidings.com/how-to-culture-blackworms-black-worms/

https://www.aquariadise.com/set-blackworm-culture/

I’d love to culture my own blackworms. The article states not to refrigerate the worms but California blackworms says they absolutely must be refrigerated. Has anyone had success doing this? What container and filter did you use? Did you run into amonia issues? If so what did you do? How big a culture would I need to supplement feeding a 90 gallon reef tank? I feed lrs food but I’d like to feed a lot more worms. My picky eaters love them. I am going back and forth between blackworms and white worms. Blackworms would be much easier to harvest than the white worms which are kept in soil.

 

[puffy127]

I’d love to culture my own blackworms. The article states not to refrigerate the worms but California blackworms says they absolutely must be refrigerated. Has anyone had success doing this? What container and filter did you use? Did you run into amonia issues? If so what did you do? How big a culture would I need to supplement feeding a 90 gallon reef tank? I feed lrs food but I’d like to feed a lot more worms. My picky eaters love them. I am going back and forth between blackworms and white worms. Blackworms would be much easier to harvest than the white worms which are kept in soil.

The refrigeration is for those not culturing them. It's to slow their metabolism so as to not foul the water, so that you can keep them alive long enough to feed your fish. For culturng purposes, when you have filtration, etc. you do not refrigerate them.

 

[Khwee]

Use water that is chemical free. I feed my white or black worms small pieces of bread with a smear of yogurt on one side (place the yogurt side down for the worms to feed). You may see a bit of mold form. Just scrape it off. Keep an eye on the number of worms. If you see them starting to climb the walls of your container, it's time to divide and start another container. Too many and you will get a "crash" and all will die off. A fridge is too cold. A cool place in your garage or shop would be better. For a container, I use one of those plastic shoe boxes with small holes punched in the sides for air flow. I use a mix of plain old dirt mixed with mulch. Works pretty good.

Is it ok to feed fish dead black worms?

 

[SDK]

I keep blackworms in the fridge for months with no issues. In a nutshell, you need the change water to be cold and free of chlorine.

I currently have a water cooler that dispenses cold water and use that for changes. Once the container density drops I can go as long as a week between rinses.

Two other ways I have successfully done it in years past:

Keep a Brita or similar water pitcher in the fridge and use that for changes

Keep bottled water in the fridge and use that for changes.

RODI water will kill them. Also, they are sensitive to dechlorinator when kept in the fridge.

I have been using one of the three above methods for a couple of decades now, so they should work for you as well.

 

[Cell]

I rip up the cheap brown napkins like you get at Taco Bell into strips and put them in a plastic takeout container with holes on top in the fridge and change the water every 3-4 days with refrigerated, aged tap water. Probably not optimal, but they don't die.

 

[Big G]

Is it ok to feed fish dead black worms?

That's a great question. I would hesitate to feed dead worms as unknown bacterias could be forming on the dead worms. Besides, my fish like the squirming worms.

 

[Khwee]

I keep blackworms in the fridge for months with no issues. In a nutshell, you need the change water to be cold and free of chlorine.

I currently have a water cooler that dispenses cold water and use that for changes. Once the container density drops I can go as long as a week between rinses.

Two other ways I have successfully done it in years past:

Keep a Brita or similar water pitcher in the fridge and use that for changes

Keep bottled water in the fridge and use that for changes.

RODI water will kill them. Also, they are sensitive to dechlorinator when kept in the fridge.

I have been using one of the three above methods for a couple of decades now, so they should work for you as well.

Wait... DONT use RODI water? Why is that?

 

[lapin]

Wait... DONT use RODI water? Why is that?

The issue is with DI
RO is fine
De ionized water. It will pull out ions from the worms that they need to live.

 

[Khwee]

The issue is with DI
RO is fine
De ionized water. It will pull out ions from the worms that they need to live.

Ahhh ok. So probably just filtered tap water shouls be cool?

 

[VJM 21]

Ahhh ok. So probably just filtered tap water shouls be cool?

I use RODI. It doesn’t kill them. I rinse them daily with chilled RODI water and store them in a small fridge in the basement. I feed every day, so a container only lasts me 2 weeks at most. Maybe they last longer in RO water, but I couldn’t tell you because they don’t last that long for me.