Live Blackworms

[paul b]

I know I talk alot about blackworms, (I know I talk a lot anyway)

But I have been feeding these things to my fish since Nixon was President, (just after Lincoln)

They are filled with the correct oil our fish need and I personally would not be able to have a tank of breeding fish if it were not for them. Any fish I want to get into breeding condition in a couple of weeks I just feed it live worms. (Blood worms are not worms and it will not work) Live worms are cheap and available in most pet shops, on the east coast anyway.

They only live about ten seconds in saltwater so they need to be target fed.

 

 

But another use for these fantastic oil filled creatures is for feeding corals. I feed these to bubble corals and any type of cup coral that normally will eat. A couple of worms on their disk causes the animal to slowly close up. Of course the fish gobble up the worms fast so I have to trick the coral to close by touching their outer rim. When the coral closes enough so that there is only a small hole left, I shoot 15 or so worms in there. Then the coral closes fully and re opens in about 45 minutes with a big smile on his face. Well somewhat.

Here he is just after a meal.

 

 

This is the same animal, but this picture is old, the coral is almost twice this size now which is about 9" across.

 

 

Of course one of these helps greatly and I could not have a reef without it.

 

I also feed Bubble corals with this method. I just shoot a few worms between some large bubbles and some tentacles start to emerge. Then I shoot a few worms in a few different places. The corals open larger and much better looking.

 

[flowerseller]

I find BW's are excellent for picky eaters as well.

I do however feel they live a tad longer and need to be feed some what sparingly.

By this I mean that they are better fed to be eaten and not left to remain un eaten, then you have fed too much at one time.

JMO

[paul b]

JMO that is correct thats why I only feed with that rubber bulb thing. I would never just throw any type of food in my reef, everything is target fed. I do not use the worms as the only food source. They are fed after I feed something else or some fish will refuse all other foods but the worms. This is also the best food for copperband and long nose butterflies.

I keep the worms in a long shallow container that has shallow water flowing across the worms by means of bubbles.

I also feed the worms to keep them plump and alive. They will get just about any fish into breeding condition in a couple of weeks.

 

Home made worm keeper

 

Edited June 13, 2009 by paul b

[basser9]

I only feed bw to my tank with a little nori on the side........keep them in clean water changed daly.....

[Origami]

Interesting worm keeper. Can you tell me more how it works, and how long the worms keep and under what conditions? It seems, on first glance, that you must have an airstone running down the large tube to create an uplift that pulls water down the small tube on the right, thus setting up circulation. But how often do you have to change water or to clean the worm keeper? Do you keep the worms at room temperature? What do you feed them? I understand the placement of some of the screens in the picture but am unclear about the two screens in the middle of the picture.

 

Now, I've read about keeping blackworms in the refrigerator in clean water changed daily (like basser9's referencing, I suppose), but I'm interested in hearing about your alternative method.

[paul b]

You can keep them in the refrigerator but they constantly degrade there and my wife is not crazy about that.

I keep them at room temperature. You are correct as to how it works, the long tubes are necessary to allow the bubbles to circulate the water, pumps can not be used for obvious reasons. The secret is to NOT clean the worm keeper. You need the bacteria on the sides and the screens to purify the water. It will take a week or two to get the bacteria up to speed.

You can however change the water every few days but it stays very clean. I feed them flakes which they do not eat but they eat the products of decomposition. You can even use paper towels or paper bag material, anything that rots. The screen on the right is over the water downflow tube and keeps most worms from curculation. The other screens are to give the worms a place to hang out in the current or they will all bunch up over that tube on the right. To collect the worms, I just remove one of the screens and swirl it in a container of "Fresh" water, No salt or the worms will die.

I like each fish to get at least one or two worms a day along with their other food. The larger fish get more worms.

Many of my fish I would not be able to keep and none of them would spawn without this food.

[L8 2 RISE]

How did you make this? Is that acrylic or what is it?

[Stephen]

When I kept discus I fed black worms pretty exclusively. It never occurred to me to try them on marine fish. I'll have to pick some up and see what the fish think.

[Origami]

You can keep them in the refrigerator but they constantly degrade there and my wife is not crazy about that.

I keep them at room temperature. You are correct as to how it works, the long tubes are necessary to allow the bubbles to circulate the water, pumps can not be used for obvious reasons. The secret is to NOT clean the worm keeper. You need the bacteria on the sides and the screens to purify the water. It will take a week or two to get the bacteria up to speed.

You can however change the water every few days but it stays very clean. I feed them flakes which they do not eat but they eat the products of decomposition. You can even use paper towels or paper bag material, anything that rots. The screen on the right is over the water downflow tube and keeps most worms from curculation. The other screens are to give the worms a place to hang out in the current or they will all bunch up over that tube on the right. To collect the worms, I just remove one of the screens and swirl it in a container of "Fresh" water, No salt or the worms will die.

I like each fish to get at least one or two worms a day along with their other food. The larger fish get more worms.

Many of my fish I would not be able to keep and none of them would spawn without this food.

 

So how long will they keep this way? Pretty much as long as you keep feeding them? How often do you add more stock and how much do you add when you do?

 

I'm assuming, since you say that this runs clean, that there are no issues with smell.

 

Pretty cool design. Yours or did you find it somewhere? Have you been running this since Nixon, too?

[paul b]

I have been feeding the worms since Nixon but I have made various worm keepers. This one is by far the best.

They were all my design as I have never seen any type of wormkeeper except a screen which lays over some water.

I can keep the worms a few weeks but I don't need to keep them that long. I re supply the thing every week or two. If I needed to keep more worms I can build it larger. The tray part is just something they sell in a supermarket. The tubes are acrylic. It needs to be long and thin to get the water motion over the worms.

 

There is no smell at all, the bacteria on the sides of the container and on the screens keep the water clean

[Sharkey18]

Who sells blackworms in the Northern Virginia area? Would love to try.

 

Laura

[L8 2 RISE]

centreville aquarium...

[Dell2go]

Who sells blackworms in the Northern Virginia area? Would love to try.

 

Laura

 

SuperPetz in Annandale

[stratos21ss]

Nice design Paul. I keep 1-2lb going for discus babies using the screen type containers in a fridge. Would be great if some sort of self-contained design in a 10gal could be arranged. The problem I see though is that a large amount of the worms produce a lot of mess which needs to rinsed away.

[L8 2 RISE]

Mines Nicer:

 

 

Sorry, couldn't help it

[paul b]

Mines Nicer:

 

Yes it is. But mine cost about a buck

 

Just put a lot of air bubbles in there and keep the water about a half inch. It's a little wide so the flow will not be very strong. Don't clean the container either or you will not be able to keep anything in there. Let the bacteria grow and put some plastic screens in.

Looks great.

Paul

[paul b]

Now this is a very cool picture of the fish corner of my workshop.

The big blue thing hanging is the RO/DI water tank. It is high because it siphons to the tank above the ceiling about 30' away.

You can just make out the acrylic DI resins to the left of the blue bucket. There is a homemade float switch in the bucket which shuts off the electric valve to the RO.

The 15 gallon tank is filled with tropical and some local critters I collected in the Atlantic including a few butterflies and that boxfish/puffer/burfish whatever it is.

The long thin horizontal white thing is my new worm keeper which I just built 10 minutes ago. It is the Mother of all worm keepers. The small worm keeper is the acrylic one below it. On the 15 gallon tank is the black and yellow brine shrimp hatchery.

 

Yes, I know, everything is very neat just like the pictures many of you guys post

 

[poor_reefer]

Paul B - Funny, I am reading over your thread after reading the 35 year old reef tank article on RC, which piqued my interest in black worms. I am considering using them to get my clown pair to start spawning. Have you used them with clowns to get them breeding? Awesome set-up by the way. I am in DC, and apparently Congressional Aq. has 'em pretty cheap. Gonna have to pick some up! Thanks for the thread!

[Jager]

any pictures of that "boxfish burrfish w/e it is" paul?

 

be interested to see what species of diodon (assuming) you found living near NY.

[paul b]

Have you used them with clowns to get them breeding?

 

Yes I have and also blue devils and gobies. Anything I have ever spawned except seahorses and pipefish I started breeding by feeding live blackworms

[paul b]

Have you used them with clowns to get them breeding?

 

Yes I have and also blue devils and gobies. Anything I have ever spawned except seahorses and pipefish I started breeding by feeding live blackworms

 

This guy almost doubled in size in the last month, he eats nothing but live worms.

 

[Jager]

heh that is a cute little burrfish indeed. paul I am sure you know this, but those guys will eat anything almost. I have my diodon eating cube shaped foods. 1 because it limits aggression a bit, and 2 the plethora of frozen foods help vary the diet, and keep the teeth in check.

 

you may try freezing some blackworms into a cube shape using eggcrate as he gets bigger. that "teaching" can make them fairly good tank denizens when they start hitting 12-15" and arent chowing down on everything that moves :P

[paul b]

when they start hitting 12-15" and arent chowing down on everything that moves :P

 

Oh, he willl be out of here well before he gets that big. I collect a lot of things but I don't keep many of them. Some of them found a home in the New York Aquarium and many go to aquarium stores or I give them to anyone who wants them.

I know most of them eat anything but this guy was only about a half inch when I collected him and he still does not eat anything else. He probably will soon buit I always have live worms as I have a large worm keeper

[paul b]

that little burrfish has doubled in size so far on a diet of blackworms. Now he also eats some plankton but he gives me dirty looks until he gets worms. He better get a job when he starts eating many more of them.

The butterflies also grew much larger on the same diet

 

Edited October 1, 2009 by paul b

[paul b]

This is my new and improved blackworm keeper.

It holds many more times the volume of water and is operated with a tiny powerhead.