Problems keeping your CBW/Worm alive ???

[phat nguyen]

Hello all,
This is an effort to help those of you having problem keeping your worms clean and alive.
This information was based on my own experience with keeping my worms for the past 2 years with Discus.
* Must start/buy good source of worm. In my experiences, lots of place do mixed the OLD worms and the NEW worms.Get to know the seller and request to buy a fresh batch of worms.
* Pick up the worms within a few hours of their drop-off. Usually, I call and ask for the days and time of their drop-off.
* Wash the worms again with COLD TAP WATER.
* Keep the worms in a large tank ,10 gal or bigger.
* MUST ADD AN AIR STONE in the tank. This will keep your worms alive.
* Do feed the worms with crusted flake every 3-4 days.This will keep your worm thick and strong. In the past I saw smaller worms .
* Change the water every few days.
* Keep the worm in a COOL place. You do not need to put it in the refrigerator and scare your spouse.

I was able to keep my worms alive up to 3 plus weeks and never have DEAD worm in my tank.
I buy about 5-6 lbs of worm every time.This will last me about 2-3 weeks.

Good Luck,
Perry Nguyen

[seanyuki]

Is it better to change the water daily with chilled water?....otherwise the water turns brown easily after 2 days without rinsing .

[phat nguyen]

Hello Francis,
I have not run in problems with the water being more than 1 day old. However,if you want to keep the worms in top condition .... do a WC one or twice/daily with chilled tap water or water from your Frig. ;) ;) ;)

Best wishes,

Perry

[RodneyL001]

Yes, it is a challenge to keep them alive. I like the idea of feeding them flakes after a few days. You do have to rinse them well daily or they will start to smell up your fridge. I bought a little small compact refrigerator to sit on a desk to keep mine in, got it on ebay for $35.00. My wife didn't like me keeping them in our main fridge.

[William Palumbo]

I run my RO waste line in a deep plastic container which contains a long airstone(bar) The container sits in my basement slop sink where the overflow is not a problem. Where I am at, Lake Michigan water is pretty cold most times and the worms do fine. But since using Mal's Freeze dried black worms...am seriously wanting to ditch the live worms all together. No rinsing or fussing with them...Bill

[nikond70s]

i keep mine outside under a tree. change the water every 2-3 days depending on how dirty the water is with RO chilled water. and i throw in pellets like once a week. pretty easy to keep for me.

[tcmemphisbbq]

I just keep mine in the fridge in a tupper wear bowl. I rinse them and drain several times or until waste and die off is cleared before feeding then refill with clean cold water and back in the fridge. I buy them once per week at the lfs. Just has a become a daily ritual with thier morning feeding. :-)

[tcyiu]

Good Luck,
Perry Nguyen

Hey Perry. How ya doing? Since talking with you, I set up a smaller scale version of what you described. Keeps the worms nice and healthy.

These days with cold weather, I keep them outside in the garage. They seem to do much better out there, than in the house (we do keep the house on the cool side).

Tim

[htruong]

Hello all,
This is an effort to help those of you having problem keeping your worms clean and alive.
This information was based on my own experience with keeping my worms for the past 2 years with Discus.
* Must start/buy good source of worm. In my experiences, lots of place do mixed the OLD worms and the NEW worms.Get to know the seller and request to buy a fresh batch of worms.
* Pick up the worms within a few hours of their drop-off. Usually, I call and ask for the days and time of their drop-off.
* Wash the worms again with COLD TAP WATER.
* Keep the worms in a large tank ,10 gal or bigger.
* MUST ADD AN AIR STONE in the tank. This will keep your worms alive.
* Do feed the worms with crusted flake every 3-4 days.This will keep your worm thick and strong. In the past I saw smaller worms .
* Change the water every few days.
* Keep the worm in a COOL place. You do not need to put it in the refrigerator and scare your spouse.

I was able to keep my worms alive up to 3 plus weeks and never have DEAD worm in my tank.
I buy about 5-6 lbs of worm every time.This will last me about 2-3 weeks.

Good Luck,
Perry Nguyen

Hey Perry,

I will get my worms tomorrow for the first time. I will follow this approach. I have one question for you. Do I fill the tank completely full of water?

Thanks for sharing the information.

-Hoang

[Harriett]

I just gave up doing it. Too damn much trouble. Now I get my blackworms from Mal all beautifully freezey dried and requiring no work except to throw them in the tank--my fish gobble them up.
Halleluyah!
Harriett

[phat nguyen]

Hello Hoang,
It is EXTREMELY important to get CLEAN blood worm.Same thing with Discus, you want to get a healthy batch of Discus...hehehehe.
Just add some cold water couple inches above the worm.Make sure to add in the AIRSTONE. This will keep your worm alive.

Best wishes,
Perry Nguyen

[htruong]

... blackworms from Mal all beautifully freezey dried
Harriett

Hi Harriett, Is it as nutritous as the live? Are your fish adult now? My adult discus fine with dry food but the small one are picky but they are crazy when I give them live worms.



Hello Hoang,
It is EXTREMELY important to get CLEAN blood worm.Same thing with Discus, you want to get a healthy batch of Discus...hehehehe.
Just add some cold water couple inches above the worm.Make sure to add in the AIRSTONE. This will keep your worm alive.

Best wishes,
Perry Nguyen

Hey Perry, Very good then. The instructions are very clear. I just wondered what the level of water should be. My fish will thank you for it!

-Hoang

[seanyuki]

Just sharing......Dan is a sponsor here and selling live CBW....I have ordered from him and great person to deal with.

http://www.aquaticfoods.com/blackwormcare.html


Upon the arrival of your Blackworms thoroughly rinse them with AGED PRE CHILLED WATER (40-50 degrees) until their run off water is clear and clean. When placing them in your live Blackworm keeper or other container make sure that your worms are no thicker then 1/2 inch. If they are thicker they may suffocate or try to escape from their container. Keep no more then 1/2 inch of water above them, and do not cover their container they need to be able to breath.

Keep your Blackworms in the refrigerator. They need to be kept between 40-55 degrees. Do not keep them in an aquarium, outside boxes, basements etc. Only in the refrigerator.

To keep your worms fresh they should be rinsed at least once a day. Use only AGED PRE CHILLED WATER when rinsing. Do not use aquarium water, or room temperature water. Only cold 40-50 degree water.

You do not have to feed your worms, they will live off their own body weight. However the longer they are kept they will lose weight. Weekly orders are suggested to insure freshness. Uneaten worms will not foul your aquarium, but do feed according to your fish and aquarium size.






Hi Harriett, Is it as nutritous as the live? Are your fish adult now? My adult discus fine with dry food but the small one are picky but they are crazy when I give them live worms.


Hey Perry, Very good then. The instructions are very clear. I just wondered what the level of water should be. My fish will thank you for it!

-Hoang

[htruong]

Just sharing......Dan is a sponsor here and selling live CBW....I have ordered from him and great person to deal with.


I do the group order with my friend from Dan (heard he's a great guy to do business with)

Thanks,
-Hoang

[htruong]

Most my worms died. I got fresh worms and washed the them with untreated COLD TAP WATER, added air stone...

Does anyone know why the worms die?
The only thing I can think of is the chlorine killed the worm (if this is true, then I should treat the water with Prime next time). Any advices?

Thanks,
-Hoang

[phat nguyen]

Hello all,
There are many different ways to keep/rinse/buy.... your worms.However, this is the way that i currently using and have great success with it. Please try and see through trial and error.
I 've bought blood worm from many different LFS in my area and see a vast different in quality,price and size of the worms.
For prices, there are place that sell $2/ounce , $20/lbs and the cheapest place is $12/lb.
Some place would mixed the left over worm with new worm and that would be the result why your worm died within a short period of time.
I usually buy 5-6 lbs each time. This would last me 2-3 weeks.Although i have to drive 45 min. each way to get good source of worm also i paid $12/lb :D :D :
I keep my worm in a plastic container about the size of 12x24 to accommodate the amount of worm ( 5-6 lbs).
I do wash the worm daily with COLD WATER from the refrigerator. I also kept the worm in the coldest place in the house. My Wife would freak out from seeing the worm inside the fridge.
I also feed the worm with a small amount of crushed flake daily.
Please free feel to PM me if you might have additional questions.

Good luck,
Perry Nguyen :angel: :angel: :angel:

[htruong]

Just want to share with you all my limited experience about this. I believe the chlorine from untreated tap water killed my worms. I still had some left over from the last batch of worms I got. I rinsed them with cool age water and they seem to be ok. Just hate to see someone make the same mistake I do.

Take care,
-Hoang