Blackworm Breeding Tank

[sundog101]

I like feeding blackworms, but hate having to pay a ton for shipping. There are no lfs around that carries them, so I have to order online.

The goal is to set up a breeding tank culture that can supply enough worms to feed a tank at least as snack. I used a medium sized rubbermaid tub and added a sponge filter and an air stone.

In the tub is a layer of burlap with the plants that people use in freshwater tanks (forgot the name). You can't see in the photo, but there are a ton of worms. It's in a corner next to two windows and the plants are growing well. Everything is hidden behind a couch and some plants so guests don't think I'm crazy :D.

You're probably thinking how I'm going to get the worms out of the burlap. Good question... I haven't worked that out yet. Some of the worms like to stay on the sides and eat algae. That makes them easy to suck up. Other than than its pretty tough. So far I've fed them yogurt, yeast, and flake fish food. Also they really like some of the leaves that have fallen off of the plants. I'll see how it goes and try to figure out a better way of getting them out.

 

[laga77]

Good luck with this. I think you might need to change the design to something more horizontal. I have read the worms reproduce by breaking off pieces and regrowing. To do this, they have the worms on flat areas of gravel, where they crawl on the rough edges and tear off ends of themselves. Keep us posted on how this works out.