chazycraig Posted July 8, 2013 Report Share Posted July 8, 2013 hey ive lookin into these and i want some to grow/breed in my tank to feed the fish. only issue is it seems that they have a pretty good chance of killing the fish due to a living condition. so who knows where and how many i should get to put in my tank? has to be GOOD quality to minimise the risk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donny@ageofaquariums Posted July 8, 2013 Report Share Posted July 8, 2013 (edited) Setup a seperate tank to grow blackworms. Anything else is madness. Edited July 9, 2013 by Donny@ageofaquariums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Posted July 8, 2013 Report Share Posted July 8, 2013 Perhaps you have confused black worms with tubifex worms Black worms are cultured in clean cool running water Tubifex worms are found in septic environments Both need to be cultured in the absence of fish Whilst tubifex worms were a common live food many,many years ago....black worms are a much cleaner, healthier option Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chazycraig Posted July 8, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2013 i tried google and one source said they dumped alot into a tank (basically too much to be eaten in one go). so this is not a good idea? wats the minimum size tank i should use for a separate culture and any more info/advice would be great? also i got a small kiddie pull out the front that i currently use for mozzie larvae and water fleas, could i use that instead of another tank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donny@ageofaquariums Posted July 8, 2013 Report Share Posted July 8, 2013 (edited) I wouldnt use less than a 2x1x1 foot (60L) tank to culture black worms. Edited July 9, 2013 by Donny@ageofaquariums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquatic Paradise Posted July 8, 2013 Report Share Posted July 8, 2013 Okey dokey time for some myth busting.... please note, I write this with slight hesitatation due to the chance of people killing large numbers of fish if they do not do it correctly, but I feel it necessary for people to make their own decisions. Typical rule of thumb says they need to be kept in cool water with lots of oxygen and clean from much ammonia and nitrates, this is a good rule of thumb, however if you treat them like most living aquatic creatures, particularly fish, then you should be fine. Under the right circumstances you can keep at least half a kilo (500cc) of live blackworms in a 4 x 18 x 18 tank with even the most fussy fish such as discus, even at a temp of 29c. Why do I say this, because I successfully did it to bring back 2 wild caught discus from someone who almost let them die from intestinal worms. I treated the 2 adult discus for intestinal worms in a seperate tank, then introduced them to to the 4ft tank which had been running for a couple of months with a canister filter. After a couple of days they still were not eating premade foods and so I got 500cc of clean healthy blackworms (when you pick them up make sure there is not milky looking water in with the worms) to the tank, the tank had about an inch of 16/30 white sand for the substrate. As soon as I added the worms the discus started to slowly eat some of the worms but most of them went into the sand. Over the next 2 months I did not feed the discus but instead fed the worms with sinking pellets and the discus loved being able to eat whenever they felt like it, the discus cleaned up most of the worms, put on a lot of weight and also grew in size. In the end they were very healthy fish which I was then able to train onto dry foods. Ever since doing this over 5 years ago I have always tried to keep a healthy small colony of live blackworms going in my tanks (generally just with delicate fish) because I have had so much success with them. A word of caution: Again I refer to my earlier comment, treat them like most living aquatic creatures, particularly fish, then you should be fine. 1. This means DO NOT put dying worms in you tank, this is like putting a bunch of dead/dying fish into your tank, 2. The worms will add bio-load to your tank so account for this with the number offish you have and more importantly the amount of filtration, 3. DO NOT put dying worms in you tank, this is like putting a bunch of dead/dying fish into your tank, this is by far the biggest issue with 'live' blackworms and if I had a dollar for every time I saw a shop tell someone that the worms are fine and not to worry, when in reality they were selling their customer a bag of ammonia... deep breath, deep breath... Lets just say do not buy dead/dying worms and DO NOT put dying worms in you tank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grubby Posted July 8, 2013 Report Share Posted July 8, 2013 I wouldnt use less than a 2x1x1 foot (60L) tank to culture black worms. How do you culture them ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HannibalsMum Posted July 8, 2013 Report Share Posted July 8, 2013 i tried google and one source said they dumped alot into a tank (basically too much to be eaten in one go). so this is not a good idea? also i got a small kiddie pull out the front that i currently use for mozzie larvae and water fleas, could i use that instead of another tank? i didnt like the way my tank smelled when i had some uneaten black worm in my tank. at that stage i had largish pebbles that the loaches found difficalt to dig down into. now i have changed to gravel an they are happy as pig in mud. how ever i havent tryed again. have a look in the gunk at the bottem of you kiddie pool, i had found blood worm at the bottem of my bowl... the fish went mad for them. depite what people think blood worms arnt feed on blood, that is the adults. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chazycraig Posted July 8, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2013 thx for the info aquatic paradise and hannibalsmum, love hearing first hand experience. yeh i find blood worms every now and then, but im looking for a more reliable food source that doesn't need to be as fussed over. plan on putting them into dirted tank(s) would that cause issues with them? and i see as a very critical question; where do you get quality black worms? went to city farmers and was told Pisces ones aren't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donny@ageofaquariums Posted July 8, 2013 Report Share Posted July 8, 2013 (edited) Any worms are quality if they are fed well and come from good water. You just need a live starter culture! I have raised them using many different methods but I prefer the old school method of brown paper strips and boiled potato the most. Consider chasing down the culturing live food book by hellweg if you want to get into raising live food for your fish. Edited July 9, 2013 by Donny@ageofaquariums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HannibalsMum Posted July 8, 2013 Report Share Posted July 8, 2013 i got mine from pet city in mt gravatt. they seemed ok. from what i know they have to be kept in clean water an able to breath from time to time. also if you have java moss in your tanks they will give it a good old clean for you. but that i learned as a newbie. i had kept mine in contaner in the fridge an rinced everyday to get the old water out, and also the dead worms to. when i was looking into black worms on what to feed an care for them, i did see some worm containers, they had some kind of matting that they lived on an you could lift it to get old/dead worms that fall thu an to clean the water. but i wouldnt really know as i'm new to this myself.. its just what i found out. i tent to look at more tan one site to get a broad idea of what to do then ask experts or more experanced people to nut out the finer details. someone will bound to pop thier head in here an guide you the right way. good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
floppingflamingos Posted July 8, 2013 Report Share Posted July 8, 2013 If you cut them in half you get two for the price of one. This is the best time of year to get some while its cold. A lot of suppliers struggle with keeping them cool enough in the post. So the quality at your lfs isn't as good. Also the live worms will always group together, so it's fairly easy to separate them from the dead ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donny@ageofaquariums Posted July 9, 2013 Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 (edited) Yep I fragment them with a coat hanger. I oxygenate the tank the same amount I oxygenate super overstocked fry tanks. As in a heap of air powered filters. People who know me well......... know I am not a fan of daily water changes on anything so yea cycled filters for the win! Edited July 9, 2013 by Donny@ageofaquariums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daydream Posted July 9, 2013 Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 I dont try to culture them but have them in almost every tank.when I set up a tank they are the fist live thing added about 2-3 weeks before anything else.They serve more than just food, scavenger,cleaner of leftover food also aeration and cleaner of substrate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saffa Posted July 9, 2013 Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 We at EXTRAVAGANT BETTA'S use live food for our betta, killifish and fancy guppies, it is easier to buy blackworm weekly and keep them in the fridge, rinsing them and doing water changes daily. Find in the hotter time of the year and around public holidays as the quality of the blackworm certainly isn't as good as the colder months of the year. These worms are very susceptible to water quality, temperature and water changes. Tried to do the aerated aquarium setup and the coathanger cutting to divide the worms to grow our own but found it not worth the effort as they require constant water flow, clean water and chiller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquatic Paradise Posted July 9, 2013 Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 If you are able to pick up from the airport or get a reliable courier to deliver them in short amount of time then you could get them straight from the source blackworms.com.au This is who AI and I think Bay get theirs from and I have always seen them arrive in good health. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
