gmerek2 February 22, 2014 Share February 22, 2014 Items: aquarium or bucket, air pump tubing and stone. Rocks from the garden Directions: fill tank with water place air stone at least half way down the water. All the way down May create too much flow in tank causing worms to become free floating. If you feel all the way down is best, usually they find something to latch onto. Water change once a week until things stabilize and algae noted then every other week. 75% is fine. These buggers are hardy as heck. Feed one algae pellet(sucker fish ones) every three days and flake in between as needed. Opinions: lots of people place a filter on their tank. This is not needed and I feel it takes away from food since they eat small chunks of whatever is in the water. Some say they are filter feeders however note the Munching on the algae pellet in first pic. The paper towel substrate method makes a mess and makes it difficult to remove worms. They love the algae, dirt and sand that will build over time (see picture look close)Also love to group under the rock. Don't worry if there is an algae bloom they love it. They do not reproduce super fast. One site says they double in population every 4 months with their method. I would think that my tank is doing better than that but there is no way to tell. I waited the first 3 months out to see if population would decrease. It increased. The past month or two I have been feeding the fish once a week with the worms. The population seems to be maintaining. Even if I were to run out, at least it is fewer trips to the store! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami February 22, 2014 Share February 22, 2014 Nice. Thanks for posting that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave w February 22, 2014 Share February 22, 2014 Gmerek2, Where did you read that their population would double every 4 months? I hope that is true but other things I've read only put their doubling every 8 months or so. Also I read that very shallow cold water is needed for high dissolved oxygen, your aquarium is a lot deeper than what other sites have recommended. And if your aquarium is inside a warm house, then the temperature would also be higher than I've read about on other sites, and other sites say to keep them in the dark rather than lit like your tank. I am not doubting that your system works, because it is obviously working for you. I just ask because your system is different than the classic systems proposed on freshwater forums. I am very interested in how your system works. I will try to post a pic of the rack I built for blackworms, maybe I can take a pic tomorrow. I built a rack for them of about 60-70 square feet after reading Paul B's postings on how much live food helped prevent disease in his fish. Basically I went with the shallow method and put about 6 racks 4" apart in a corner of my fish room. Each rack will only have 1" or 1.5" of water in it, and I'm going to use cold well water cascading down between the trays. I'd be very pleasantly surprised to learn that they double every 4 months instead of every 8. Please keep us informed of the progress of your tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmerek2 February 22, 2014 Author Share February 22, 2014 I didn't look up what I remember reading I'm sure you are right that it's double ever 8 months. They reproduce slow i like to think of it as a worm keeper to save gas and time going to the pet shop and the reproduction a bonus. I don't count or weigh worms so maybe it's just 50% increase. Plus I have been feeding which makes it impossible to count. All I know is that i have not added any worms and that they are reproducing and thriving. I'm sure there are better ways to get better results, but this is no doubt the easy and cheap way as stated in title. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmerek2 February 22, 2014 Author Share February 22, 2014 this is where I got the idea from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBL February 22, 2014 Share February 22, 2014 Great post, I will have to try doing something like this. Thanks for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishie February 22, 2014 Share February 22, 2014 Great post, I will have to try doing something like this. Thanks for sharing! +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
londonloco February 22, 2014 Share February 22, 2014 How about odor, any? "Also love to group under the rock", maybe to get away from the light? I have a 5g tank, I might just try this...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul b February 22, 2014 Share February 22, 2014 Gmerek2. I have been keeping blackworms for fifty years and you taught me something. I like the algae wafer Idea and i will incorporate that in my worm tank. Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JR-Tanked150 February 22, 2014 Share February 22, 2014 Paul b, how have you been keeping your blackworms? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul b February 22, 2014 Share February 22, 2014 (edited) I always keep them in this worm keeper I built. The tray just keeps the water oxygenated and allows more surface area for bacteria. They live in there forever and I never have any dead ones. This design has been tweeked for many years and I have been using this model for maybe 5 years. I put a piece of paper towel in the tray about once a week, sometimes I add some sinking pellets or instant mashed potatoes. They multiply but not nearly fast enough. But I always have enough and I feed them to my tank every day. Edited February 22, 2014 by paul b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enkay February 22, 2014 Share February 22, 2014 I keep my blackworms in a "worm keeper" in the fridge. Usually I have to rinse/change water for the first couple days daily. Once that is done, I rinse them maybe once a week or so. A half pound fits very well in on worm keeper and it lasts me for about a month. Usually I sprinkle a bit of flake food (good use for it as I dont feed it to the fish) and they will consume it in a couple days. They look a lot "fatter" when I do that. Just my two cents! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmerek2 February 22, 2014 Author Share February 22, 2014 How about odor, any? "Also love to group under the rock", maybe to get away from the light? I have a 5g tank, I might just try this...... 5g tank would work great. No odors whatsoever. I run my lights 12on 12off to give them that algae layer they like to stay in and eat. You are probably right they don't like the light because they freak out when the light clicks on. But they have to have the rock to hold onto or else the current from the bubbler will make them fly all over the place. I also do not find any dead ones and reproduction is also slow but steady just nature of the beast. I like Paul's worm keeper good system. I'll have to start feedin them taders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave w February 22, 2014 Share February 22, 2014 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hBhbpja9O70 this is where I got the idea from. I like that video, which like your and Paul B's systems are inside the house and thus fairly warm. This means that the sites that insist on cool water are underestimating blackworm hardiness, which I am glad to hear. Algae wafers sound like a great food, but if they eat bacteria off the rotting paper towels they will eat anything so I will need to price the difference between sinking fish pellets, algae wafers and free paper towels. I think it was a Univ. of North Carolina paper that said it took blackworms something like 7 months to double. So I went with the largest system possible and hope that a bulk buy will last as long as possible. Keep us updated on how this works for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
londonloco February 23, 2014 Share February 23, 2014 I keep my blackworms in a "worm keeper" in the fridge. Usually I have to rinse/change water for the first couple days daily. Once that is done, I rinse them maybe once a week or so. A half pound fits very well in on worm keeper and it lasts me for about a month. Usually I sprinkle a bit of flake food (good use for it as I dont feed it to the fish) and they will consume it in a couple days. They look a lot "fatter" when I do that. Just my two cents! Thanks! How much flake food, a pinch? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wangspeed February 23, 2014 Share February 23, 2014 (edited) I went the easy route. 2-3 portions of blackworms will last in the fridge indefinitely. I just change the water in the plastic cup once or twice a week and add two drops of Selcon. There is some brown paper in there for them too. Since I gave up hope on a copperband, I stopped feeding them. I have no picky eaters anymore. P.s. make sure the container has a lid. They LOVE to climb. I would be in deep poop if they got out into the rest of the fridge. -- Warren Edited February 23, 2014 by wangspeed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime February 23, 2014 Share February 23, 2014 I went the easy route. 2-3 portions of blackworms will last in the fridge indefinitely. I just change the water in the plastic cup once or twice a week and add two drops of Selcon. There is some brown paper in there for them too. Since I gave up hope on a copperband, I stopped feeding them. I have no picky eaters anymore. P.s. make sure the container has a lid. They LOVE to climb. I would be in deep poop if they got out into the rest of the fridge. -- Warren Wonder what I'm doing wrong. I keep mine in a shallow dish in the fridge and change out the water every day, also have a lid. By the end of the week, they are all browned out. Do you just drop selcon in the same container you keep them in, I always soak for a bit before I feed, but that may be an easier alternative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
londonloco February 23, 2014 Share February 23, 2014 I keep black worms in worm keepers in the fridge. I've had the worm keepers for years now...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wangspeed February 24, 2014 Share February 24, 2014 Wonder what I'm doing wrong. I keep mine in a shallow dish in the fridge and change out the water every day, also have a lid. By the end of the week, they are all browned out. Do you just drop selcon in the same container you keep them in, I always soak for a bit before I feed, but that may be an easier alternative. They're dead when they turn gray or white. They move very slowly when they're refrigerated. Are you sure they're dead? I use a typical 1 liter plastic soup container. Like the kind you get with carry out soup. I put enough water to cover them, and punched holes in the lid with a knife. Don't use RODI. I just use filtered water from my fridge. They were super easy for me to keep. The worm keepers are nice, but way overkill if you don't feed worms primarily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime February 24, 2014 Share February 24, 2014 They're dead when they turn gray or white. They move very slowly when they're refrigerated. Are you sure they're dead? I use a typical 1 liter plastic soup container. Like the kind you get with carry out soup. I put enough water to cover them, and punched holes in the lid with a knife. Don't use RODI. I just use filtered water from my fridge. They were super easy for me to keep. The worm keepers are nice, but way overkill if you don't feed worms primarily. Yeah, they turn grey or white fast in my keeper, which is one of those tomato keepers from a grocery store that is plastic and looks like... a tomato. I don't use RODI water, just the same as you, filtered water in my fridge. And like you, enough to just cover them. I think I just got a bad batch, come to think of it, I've not had huge problems before. Lesson learned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul b February 24, 2014 Share February 24, 2014 Don't let them hear any Justin Bieber music, they hate that and just drop dead. They prefer the oldies like Linda Ronstadt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmerek2 August 28, 2014 Author Share August 28, 2014 They are still flourishing and ultra low maintenance. I slacked on water changes and water turned bright green. The worms still seemed to enjoy the water quality. I feed about 15-20 worms a week and population remains steady. I did massive water changes to get the following pictures. In the first pic the worms are munching on algae wafers. Second is to show how much they love the dirt/algae they love to lay in. It accumulates over time and is filled full of worms. Still havnt needed to add new worms! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmerek2 August 28, 2014 Author Share August 28, 2014 Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Decadence August 28, 2014 Share August 28, 2014 This is pretty sweet. Do you think that you would be able to automate this process with automatic water changes and an auto feeder so that all you have to do is harvest? Do you think that they grow any faster at room temperature or colder? I have a small chiller and have been debating growing live black worms again but would like it to be relatively maintenance-free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmerek2 August 28, 2014 Author Share August 28, 2014 Don't make a big deal out of it or you will lose intrest since they don't reproduce fast enough to feed a lot. This is why i kept it simple and cheap.I don't do hardly any water changes any more, only changed the water for the pictures. I don't regulate temperature. No filtration. We don't even use air conditioning in the house unless it hits upper 80s however I do keep them in the basement (current temp 76) In the winter the basement gets cold and they don't seem to reproduce any faster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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