The ultimate Hobbyist California Blackworm Keeper

[roundfishross]

its not mine but I do believe its kept at room temp

[jimg]

its not mine but I do believe its kept at room temp

this is for breeding them? cold is for saving them? even if it's not yours your answers will do!

[ericatdallas]

I think this seems like a good way to possibly create a mini-culture --- which is exactly what I was thinking, but not sure it's worth the effort.

Speculating on some improvements --- larry started it

It's fun to day-dream about new toys at least :P

-- Instead of marbles, how about egg crate/light diffusers stacked on top? This makes it easier to harvest them from the bottom?
-- A rack system so you can keep two racks
-- WC system and/or continuous drip
-- Java moss to help with nitrates
-- Drill a hole and add a venturi system to get rid of the air pump
-- cut the overflow pipe in half, it doesn't need to reach the bottom, silicone it and let it hang above the surface of the water (additional water agitation)

BTW, please don't take these suggestions as criticism... the author was definitely a lot more creative than I was, hindsight is 20/20, I don't actually know these modifications are for the better, and I'm just having fun thinking about it.

[Darrell Ward]

Jim, I believe this is an alternative way of keeping them, not breeding. I've not tried this, but it looks to be a much better way of keeping them than in cold storage. I see the advantages as being able to keep them healthier much longer, and being able to gut load them before feeding them to fish. I'm definitely going to build one myself, but with a larger capacity in order to keep at least 3-4 pounds at a time. Perhaps with a 55 gal. sump, and much larger tray. That would save a lot of money on shipping costs over time.

[jimg]

Jim, I believe this is an alternative way of keeping them, not breeding. I've not tried this, but it looks to be a much better way of keeping them than in cold storage. I see the advantages as being able to keep them healthier much longer, and being able to gut load them before feeding them to fish. I'm definitely going to build one myself, but with a larger capacity in order to keep at least 3-4 pounds at a time. Perhaps with a 55 gal. sump, and much larger tray. That would save a lot of money on shipping costs over time.

Thanks Darrell I'll keep my eye on this one. I take it keeping them cold was only to keep them fresh?

[roundfishross]

they will divide they really dont breed that I know of (it's a sexual)this is why breaking the worms will speed up the process. the contraption is just a fancy keeper. I'm pretty sure the cold just keeps them from being hungry and fouling the water. ime the tank will get pretty slimy so the water changes are a must. I mainly keep my worms in a setup with water and lots of air because I dont have the extra room in the fridge for several pounds of worms.

[ericatdallas]

Not sure why making a few adjustments to accommodate or modify the procedures outlined on this site wouldn't work?
http://www.simplydiscus.com/library/...cultures.shtml

I suppose you might have population crashes every now and then, but hey, you have a reliable supplier to refill it. Also, not sure what their reproduction rate is, but you might not be able to grow enough to feed all your fish <shrug>. Not sure.

I think with the right adjustments, you could probably keep them long enough to offset some of the cost of equipment. Your reproduction rate might be < 1, but it's a good way of storing a lot of works and maybe getting some additional value out of your order.

I think the worms are already pretty reasonably priced. The biggest draw for me is getting this stuff out of the refrigerator so wife won't complain. I suppose I could always pick up a used mini-refrigerator on eBay too.

[Darrell Ward]

Yes. Water changes are definitely in order here. Even when keeping them cold, which slows down their metabolism, the water gets dirty, so filtration and water changes would be a must on such a system, as would breaking down the system and cleaning it, with bleach perhaps. In between shipments would probably be a good time for this. I agree Eric, the worms are reasonably priced. The big thing is the shipping cost. The advantages of this for me would allow me to buy more worms at one time in order to save on the shipping costs.

[ericatdallas]

I did some reading on it, another plus is you can get rid of scrap veggies (as long as it doesn't break up). Of course, you could always just do red wigglers in that case.

I really think I might have to try to figure out how to do this...

I think I read these guys are very sensitive to chlorine so you should use old aquarium water or RO water right? Would dechlorinating this and then aging it 24 hours be sufficient? Or did I misread, mis-remember this, and they're not very sensitive to chlorine at all?

[roundfishross]

I did some reading on it, another plus is you can get rid of scrap veggies (as long as it doesn't break up). Of course, you could always just do red wigglers in that case.

I really think I might have to try to figure out how to do this...

I think I read these guys are very sensitive to chlorine so you should use old aquarium water or RO water right? Would dechlorinating this and then aging it 24 hours be sufficient? Or did I misread, mis-remember this, and they're not very sensitive to chlorine at all?

cant help you with that one. I have very soft well water.

[Apistomaster]

they will divide they really dont breed that I know of (it's a sexual)this is why breaking the worms will speed up the process. the contraption is just a fancy keeper. I'm pretty sure the cold just keeps them from being hungry and fouling the water. ime the tank will get pretty slimy so the water changes are a must. I mainly keep my worms in a setup with water and lots of air because I dont have the extra room in the fridge for several pounds of worms.

DO NOT BREAK THE WORMS!!!
The pieces will just die and cause the rest of the worms to die from the pollution the dead worms cause.
Black worms are Annelid worms; same family as Earth Worms and they breed sexually although some are capable of asexual reproduction.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annelid

The whole point of the system is to keep larger quantities of them at room temperature but their reproduction rate won't come close to becoming self-sustaining. If you want to have a self sustaining culture, use some sand and the worms which escape in the fishes aquarium will establish colonies and when you hydrovacuum the substrate into a bucket the worms will ball up and may be recycled as food again.

[roundfishross]

DO NOT BREAK THE WORMS!!!
The pieces will just die and cause the rest of the worms to die from the pollution the dead worms cause.
Black worms are Annelid worms; same family as Earth Worms and they breed sexually although some are capable of asexual reproduction.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annelid

The whole point of the system is to keep larger quantities of them at room temperature but their reproduction rate won't come close to becoming self-sustaining. If you want to have a self sustaining culture, use some sand and the worms which escape in the fishes aquarium will establish colonies and when you hydrovacuum the substrate into a bucket the worms will ball up and may be recycled as food again.

actually Larry,
if you do a little research you will find they DO BREAK THE WORMS!!!! at the black worm farm. they reproduce by splitting. the little pieces will not die but instead become theyre own little worm! the worm's sexual reproduction is very little if not all together non existant.

I couldnt find the thread but somewhere here on the forum I have seen pictures of the actuall rake the farm uses to break the worms and I think Al was the one who posted it

[TURQ64]

Leo, how deep is the water in your worm tank??

[roundfishross]

Gary it doesnt really matter. I typically keep it about half full so I dont have to get my whole arm wet to fish the worms out but if they have pleanty of air they will not suffocate in deep water.

[TURQ64]

I'll give it a try today, new order......thanks