Red Wigglers...

[daninthesand]

if you place a piece of fruit like a half apple on the surface of the "mud" (and no other food in the bin) the worms will collect there and all you have to do is lift the apple and scoop out dozens of worms. Having two or more bins makes this more effective, depending on how may worms you need. Harvest from under the apple from bin 1, then do bin 2 next time and so on untill you get back to bin number 1. Its best to not otherwise disturb the bin contents except for lifting the apple. IE don't mix up the bin contents when searching for worms.

It works really well for me....hope this helps.

Daniel

[Worm Woman]

Great suggestion Daniel. Worms love apples. I also agree with having more than one bin.

The worms will also congregate around the food. Bury food under bedding in a certain spot. Wait a day or so, many of the worms will be gathered to dine. Simply scoop out the whole mess, place in a pyramid shaped pile under a bright light. The worms will go into the pile away from the light. Wait 10-15 minutes, most of the worms will be on the bottom. Remove food, bedding, etc. until left with a mass of worms.

How many worms do Discus eat? Are Discus fed worms daily or as a treat?

Thanks,
Cathy

[jeep]

Hi Cathy,

Thanks for the tips, and Dan as well...

I'd like to feed my discus at least 1 meal a day (3 or 4 worms per adult) no matter how many I have. At this time it's only 16, with more on the way.

I know it depends on the environment and the amount of food, but how fast do worms reproduce?

Brian

[Worm Woman]

Hi Brian,

Once the worms are established in the environment and if the conditions are right (temp, moisture, air circulation), the worms will double in number every 90-120 days. The eggs or cocoons take about 3 weeks to hatch, then up to 10 weeks to become sexually mature. When they have reached maturity, they mate often and have a cocoon every 7-10 days.

Keep in mind, the worms do not like to be disturbed.

Cathy

[jeep]

Sorry to ask such basic questions here...

When I received 2lbs of worms, I seperated them into 2 shoe box size containers. 1. because I'm limited on space and 2. because I'm trying to use only one cuture at a time while the other multiplies. eventually I want 3 bins going.

Are these bins too small?

How deep should the bedding be in order to not disturb the worms?

Thanks,

Brian

[ronrca]

We are really fortunate that we have Cathy on Simplydiscus! Thank you Cathy for your time and information on red worms! I have learned so much already! Thank you!

My concern has already been raised! How many lbs of worms do I need to feed my discus 3x/week without depleting the squirm? Of course this is specific to the individuals needs! Perhaps we can limit it down to 1 adult discus and 1 2-3" discus!

As previously mentioned, 1 adult discus eats around 3-4 worms. Fed 3x/week, 1 adult discus would then eat 9-12 worms/week. Now we need to determine how many worms are in 1lb (approx) and given the reproduction time of 90-120 days, we should be able to calculate the lbs of worms needed to sustain a weekly feeding! Then multiply by the number of adults you have and that should give a good starting size that you need. Can this be determined?

Now, we can do the above with a 2-3" discus that eats what.....1-2 worms perhaps?!

Jeep: Shoe box is too small. I use the Plastic storage bins from Wal-Mart about the size of the fish shiping box. Sitting on a stool at a 30 degree angle. Red wrigglers are surface feeders. 6-10" deep is all you need. They don't like to go below that. Make sure you have a drain hole for the vegie juice. Don't drink it. Use it to water your house plants.

I've read fruit fry are Vinegar fry. They will drown if a container with vinegar are placed inside the worm bin. Can someone varify this mehtod. Can Vinegar harm the worm if accidentally spill inside the bin?
Jimmy.

[jeep]

Jimmy, I'll stay away from the worm juice ;D

[Paulio]

Hmmmmmm Vinegar eh? If it works I dont think the vinegar would hurt them. I mean, they eat fermenting material and live in very acidic soil. Vinegar is pretty weak acid.

Paul

[Worm Woman]

I agree with Jimmy, a shoe box is too small for 1 lb. of worms. The rule of thumb is one square foot of surface per pound of worms.

I've also heard about putting vinegar in a container in the worm bin. Haven't try it myself. I think the vinegar may harm the worms if it spilled right on them. However, the worms would likely stay away from area until it dissipated.

There are approximately 800-1000 Red Wigglers in a pound.

If my math is correct based on Ron's estimate of about 12 worms/week per adult Discus. 144 worms to feed one adult Discus for 3 months and approximately 72 for 2-3" Discus. So approximately 1/4 lb. of worms to feed one adult Discus and one 2-3" Discus for 3 months. In order to sustain a squirm of worms to feed one adult and one 2-3" Discus, I suggest starting with at least 1/2 pound.

Cathy

[gump]

I love this thread!!!!
That seems like alot of worms!!! So if someone had 20 discus, you should start with 10 lbs!!!? It's been a long time since I've done any linear algebra questions!!LOL
Pierre

[daninthesand]

fruit flys? No problem. Take care of 'em with this....

http://forum.simplydiscus.com//index...=12942;start=0

I don't have any fruit fry right now. I'll try vinegar when I have the next infestation and report to you. Another area we can also discuss is the white mite often appear along with the worms. Are they friends or foes? What are their main function in worm bins. I found them breaking down the hard to digest part like the cellulose and skin of the fruit before the worm can consume them. Am I correct? How do you make use of them. I use them to feed the fry. They love them and small enough for their little mouth. I just open the lid and shake them loose on top of the tank.
Jimmy.

[ronrca]

It takes around 3 weeks for babies to 'hatch' and 2-6 worms are born. Given that, when 3 months rolls around (12 weeks), 4 hatching periods will have gone by. Therefore we can assume that 8% of the squium is 'mating' at any given hatching period and an average of 4 worms are produced! However, since worms do not follow a calendar, lets assume that 10%/week are reproducing.

So the equation would look something like this perhaps:
Total worms/8% = number of worms reproducing in one hatching period/10% = number of worms reproducing per week * the average number reproduced by a worm (4). This number needs to equal or be higher than the number of worms being fed.

So, lets say we start with 400 worms (0.5lb)!
400 / 8% = 32 / 10 = 3worms reproducing/week * 4 = 12!

Your squium is staying around the same size! Now we throw in some varibles like:
- we fed 14-15 worms a couple of weeks
- average number of worms reproduced is under 4
- average number of worms reproduced is over 4

Better to start with more than 400 worms!

Wow! Now what if you have like 40-50adults! Yikes!
btw, how many containers would 10lbs of worms be?

Just having some fun! Hope it makes sense and the calcs sort of work! LOL!

[gump]

LOL... Thats more like it Ron.
I was going to start a fish room but maybe I'll start a worm room first! Once thats up & running ( no water or air to hook up!!) & producing worms, then I can start the fish room!! J/K.
Pierre