Possable way to enhance live Blackworms

Paul B · Jan 29, 2016

As I have been mentioning for decades I feed my fish live blackworms every day and IMO is the reason all my paired fish are spawning, I have never posted on a disease forum and I don't have to quarantine. I think I have found a way to make a great food even better. I have been experimenting and discovered that the live worms can live even if covered in fish oil instead of water. I really don't see how they breathe in there but I have kept batches of them alive for seven hours so far and think they only die if they dry out as they do overnight. When I study them through my antique microscope, the oil infused worms have much darker insides which I "assume" is from the fish oil penetrating the worms exterior or being ingested by the worms. I really don't care how the oil gets into the worms but I always want fish oil to get into my fish so I have been doing this every day to a portion of the worms I feed my fish.
After I soak them for a few hours I need to rinse the worms off or the oil will form a layer in my tank and the skimmer will stop for an hour. To remove the oil I put the worms in fresh water and wait for the oil to rise. Then I pour it out and re fill it. I do that a few times and then feed my tank. Remember, this is only an experiment.
I love it.

fragit · Jan 29, 2016

Where do you get live blackworms?

justaDutchguy · Jan 29, 2016

Hey Paul, i can't somehow reply to your private message, the universe is telling me something there i guess. I have still to order your book, pregnancies and 2 baby's make for little tank time.
I was wondering what the scientific name of blackworms are as i would love to get/breed some but under the name blackworm, nothing shows up here in Europe. Anyways, hope you, your family and the book are doing good.

mtfish · Jan 29, 2016

Lumbriculus Variegatus

Wiz · Jan 29, 2016

After rinsing them the darker insides remain?

Paul B · Jan 29, 2016

mtfish said:
Lumbriculus Variegatus

Sounds good to me.

Wiz said:
After rinsing them the darker insides remain?

Yes it does because it is inside the worms as I can see through my microscope. They could just be constipated I really don't know which is why I said it was an experiment. Eventually I will cut open a worm to see if it is oil or last night's dinner.

Fragit, here in New York and many places pet shops sell live blackworms

MamaLovesHerReefTank · Oct 5, 2016

Hi Paul. I just read through every page of your tank's 40th birthday. It took a few days as work got in the way.
Feeding live black worms (might freeze them first) intrigued me so when at my LFS on the weekend, I asked if he carried any. He said not to feed the tank with them as they will give my livestock worms. I tend to only listen to him with one ear as he really just wants to sell $30 frozen pe-mysis that in his opinion is the best food available. My question is this. Neither of the 2 LFS here sell the live black worms. Are they the same as earthworms? We do have a worm farm here as my husband used to buy the worm "poop" for our flower beds. Would these be the same thing? I don't have as many options here in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.

lnevo · Oct 5, 2016

They aren't earth worms, completely different. And definitely listen with 1/2 an ear next time

ebushrow · Oct 5, 2016

Lori LeBlanc said:
Hi Paul. I just read through every page of your tank's 40th birthday. It took a few days as work got in the way.
Feeding live black worms (might freeze them first) intrigued me so when at my LFS on the weekend, I asked if he carried any. He said not to feed the tank with them as they will give my livestock worms. I tend to only listen to him with one ear as he really just wants to sell $30 frozen pe-mysis that in his opinion is the best food available. My question is this. Neither of the 2 LFS here sell the live black worms. Are they the same as earthworms? We do have a worm farm here as my husband used to buy the worm "poop" for our flower beds. Would these be the same thing? I don't have as many options here in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.

Hi, they are not the same as earth worms....and PE mysis is known to cause fatty liver disease in fish due to the high protein content and oils. I am outside of Detroit and there are 1 or 2 places that sell them here....but I don't know about transporting them across the boarder :-(. If you think you can I can pm you the stars names.

Also, no worries about giving them internal parasites...the black worms are fresh water and do not last long in saltwater, so parasites are not likely.

MamaLovesHerReefTank · Oct 5, 2016

ebushrow said:
Hi, they are not the same as earth worms....and PE mysis is known to cause fatty liver disease in fish due to the high protein content and oils. I am outside of Detroit and there are 1 or 2 places that sell them here....but I don't know about transporting them across the boarder :-(. If you think you can I can pm you the stars names.

Also, no worries about giving them internal parasites...the black worms are fresh water and do not last long in saltwater, so parasites are not likely.

I am going to keep searching here and surrounding areas. I will look into bringing them over the border. I know we can bring livestock over as we have already inquired. Could you pm me the names please? We actually cross over a couple times a month so if they aren't too far away, it might be worth going. Pretty much everything the LFS tell me I research it first.

MamaLovesHerReefTank · Oct 5, 2016

lnevo said:
They aren't earth worms, completely different. And definitely listen with 1/2 an ear next time

I research everything they tell me before making any decisions.

justingraham · Oct 5, 2016

Yes I can not find these black worms either.
Paul how do u store them when not in fish oil?
When I think of worms I think of earth worms
I'm trying to give my fish the best life possible
So after I find the worms I'll need to find some super models to feed my fish seems like it works for u

MamaLovesHerReefTank · Oct 5, 2016

I've been searching for almost an hour online and the only thing I can find is australian black worms. Are these the same. To order from U.S it will cost a fortune just for shipping.

DracoKat · Oct 5, 2016

Paul, I am on LI too. Can you tell me which stores carry the black worms please?

BetURWrasse · Oct 5, 2016

I get mine from California blackworm company. Order with their container for storage in the fridge.

jd371 · Oct 5, 2016

DracoKat said:
Paul, I am on LI too. Can you tell me which stores carry the black worms please?

I did see a sign for Blackworms at Aquarium Village, but I haven't bought from there yet because I'm still going through the ones I ordered from here.
https://www.aquaticfoods.com/BlackwormCareM.html

DracoKat · Oct 5, 2016

I tried a few times at Aquarium Village and they never seem to have them in (That's my g0-to store)

lnevo · Oct 5, 2016

AV used to have them, I'm surprised they stopped...Mutts and Butts in Merrick carries them.

DracoKat · Oct 5, 2016

I think they were out? not sure if they stopped or not, they didnt' say otherwise.

Paul B · Oct 6, 2016

Aquarium Village rarely carries them. You can get them in Fish Town in Flushing on Francis Lewis or here on Franklin Ave a few blocks south of Hempstead Tpke. I forgot the name but I am there a few times a week. Manny there almost always has them.
You can use earthworms but make sure they have no insecticides or weed killers in them. They are a very good food and can be frozen and chopped.
Blackworms are water worms and different than earthworms.
I keep them in a worm keeper that I built but I am having trouble with photobucket and it won't let me post a picture right now. I also wrote an article about it but am not sure if I am allowed to link to it here