Caring For Blackworms

[Kombat]

Can someone explain to me how to care for blackworms? I got some last weekend, and I have lost most of the culture down the sink already when changing their water. What methods to you use to change their water and rinse them? I tried using a coffee filter but once wet they get so flimsy, which is how most of my worms ended up down the drain.

Thanks,
Karl

 

[mr.dark-saint]

Are we talking about Tubifex worm? Man I hated to deal with them when I worked in a pet shop. Normally we kept them in the fridge in the lower drawer in a kitty litter pan (any shallow plastic pan will do) it was a pet store so that's what we had on hand . Had to hose their water and pan out every other day (that was bad ) and I never got used to that smell. While hosing out their pan I normally scooped them up and held them in another container (usually a bucket). Re-filled the pan with shallow amount of fresh water and a shot of NovAqua (Pine-Sol would've been better). Then hose the worms out and scoop them with a fine mesh net and plop them back in to the pan.

There is a metal coffee filter that may solve your situation. Like this http/www.fantes.com/images/12978coffeefilter.jpg or a brine shrimp net (that's what we used). Personally i'll die happy never having to see or deal with them .

 

[Inchworm]

Blackworms are very nutritious food for many fish. The key to keeping them alive and well is in buying good ones and keeping them clean.

The problem is just what mr.dark-saint talked about. They are hard to find because they are often neglected by lfs employees, or cleaned incorrectly. It's part of the job few people like to do, so when you buy them it's important to look at them first to be sure they are in good condition. If they are they will be in clean water and active. Try to avoid buying any that have more than a few dead worms in the pan or clumps of white good visable. Buy only enough to last for a few days at a time although if they are in excellent condition when you buy them, they could last up to a week.

When you get them home, take them out of their container and put them into a cup or other container for cleaning. Turn on the cold water tap and let it run until the water comes out cold. Then put the worms under the flow and gently stir them until they are separated. Pour off the water and repeat this process until the water runs perfectly clear. While you are doing this, remove any dead worms and any foreign matter that might be in with them. It might take several rinsing to get them to be as clean as they should be.

When you are satisfied that they are clean, pour them into a container with a lid, leaving just enough water to cover the top of them and store them in the refrigerator.

Every day, before you feed them to your fish, be sure to repeat the rinsing. If they were healthy and you cleaned them well when you brought them home, it will probably only take one or two changes of water to have them clean. Tubifex worms, if you choose to use them, are treated exactly the same way as blackworms.

 

[Kombat]

Pour off the water and repeat this process until the water runs perfectly clear.

This is where I am having problems. How do you pour off the water without losing all your worms?

Karl

 

[Dragonscales]

The best way to keep them alive is to keep an old coke bottle, etc filled with dechlorinated water in the fridge next to the blackworm container so the water changes are the same temperature. Using a (very) fine sieve to drain them helps although having a container with a lid works just as well. Leave the lid on with it open just a crack and tip it slowly until as much water as possible has been drained. The key to draining the water is to do it very slowly so as to avoid making the worms float (by moving very slowly a lid isn't really needed either - patience is a virtue in this case). Then it's just a matter of refilling with the refridgerated, bottled water. Water changes are needed EVERY day without fail as this is a sure-fire way to lose a culture. By placing a few oak leaves or fish flakes in the container for food you can keep a culture virtually indefinitely. I have heard that brown paper can also be used as a food source although I personally wouldn't use it as the others would contain more nutrients which is the whole point of culturing them in the first place.

I used to culture these for my eels but after a while I really couldn't be assed changing the water as religiously as is needed so now I just buy a few dollars worth every fortnight and throw them in my tank where they live quite happily in the sand until the eels pick them out. As it gets closer to summer I usually start culturing them again as the lfs near me stops keeping them due to the hot weather. As summer ends and they start restocking them I stop culturing.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Kombat

I just use a measuring cup with a little spout and let them settle to the bottom after I stir them around.

When I took this picture, I was washing a very poor batch of them. If they had been well kept by the lfs I visited, the water would not be that cloudy.

I use a not too pointy cocktail fork to stir them around, but anything small, that won't mash or stab them will work. They tend to clump together and it's necessary to move them around enough to separate them so the water will rinse each individual worm. Dead ones will be white or transparent and will float to the top when you stir them. If you rinse several times, if there are any dead ones in there, they will be cleaned out.

Healthy worms should look strong and vigorous. They will last longer than ones that seem weak when you get them, but often a good cleaning will perk them up.