Live White worms

[lagatbezan]

You probably shouldn't feed live worms if you quarantine because if you wanted to quarantine the worms for 72 days they would hate you. But for the other 18,000,000 people in the hobby, live worms are the best thing since Face book
(which I feel is the stupidest thing they invented for people with a face, or a book)

Not sure if this was sarcastic or not ;Bookworm
Is there a risk of introducing parasite to your display by using these worms?

 

[lapin]

.......
Is there a risk of introducing parasite to your display by using these worms?

Not really
They live in damp dirt ( potting soil). If that was exposed to the salt concentrations in our reef tank, it would prob kill anything in the dirt. Since you are not feeding your tank the dirt , just the worms you are pretty safe that way tooo. People also feed them to fresh water tanks so interally the worms are pretty clean or you would hear horror stories.

 

[Matt Carden]

Not sure if this was sarcastic or not ;Bookworm
Is there a risk of introducing parasite to your display by using these worms?

He was being his usual sarcastic self about his disdain for the majorities opinion that our systems need to be clean to function properly.

 

[KrisReef]

I just fed my tank Clams, mysis, LRS and live whiteworms which I have aprox a million.
I honestly have no idea how people stay in this hobby without feeding live worms. I have been using worms since they were invented by probably Ralph Nader a long time ago. ;Smuggrin

Whiteworms stay alive in salt water for almost 5 days, Like Duh...Whats not to like. Everything except pipefish eat them, I almost ate them myself a few times when I was really hungry. ;Drool

You buy a starter culture for like $15.00 and from then on they are free except for a little dry cat food or bread and yogurt. But they grow 10 times faster on cat food but I don't think you can feed the worms to cats.

You probably shouldn't feed live worms if you quarantine because if you wanted to quarantine the worms for 72 days they would hate you. But for the other 18,000,000 people in the hobby, live worms are the best thing since Face book
(which I feel is the stupidest thing they invented for people with a face, or a book)

The worms do not bury themselves in the substrait in salt water, I am not sure why. But they stay there and just kind of do the Macarana dance inciting the fish like they have a death wish. Mandarins, scooter bleenies copperbands and just about everything else goes nuts for them and they are a perfect food, especially if you are trying to get your fish and keep them immune from everything except global warming and maybe Kim Kardashian. ;Bucktooth

Here are some Jewish worms eating a Matzo.

Add a spray of parsley to the plate and serve this at room temperature. Your guests will undoubtably be delighted. Thanks for tip Paul!

 

[DanConnor]

I just lay a piece of that needlepoint mesh over the culture- it gets a tablespoon or two of worms on it which I just swish off in a glass of water. Need and clean. Every day.

I feed wheat bread spread with plain yogurt and sprinkled with nutritional yeast.

 

[hans4811]

- good video on this, just like what you do DanConnor. Good info..
Another convert to Paul's method and supermodels !! Although I will refrain from adding a hammer to my display.

So what's better or does it really matter...white worms vs black worms ? Seems like the last time I looked I couldn't find any black worms. Have to go check again.

Can you culture the black worms same as the white worms? That video I attached looks like a pretty simple task for free food.

 

[lapin]

So what's better or does it really matter...white worms vs black worms ? Seems like the last time I looked I couldn't find any black worms. Have to go check again.

Can you culture the black worms same as the white worms? That video I attached looks like a pretty simple task for free food.

Feed both if you can. I get the black ones online.
Black worms are more difficult. They need to be grown in water. When you feed them it fouls the water. So you have to have some way of filtering or changing out the water many times.
I buy 1 lb at a time. Place them in a rectangle tupperware container. Its about 6 x12. You want just enough water to barely cover the worms. They will drown if they cant get oxygen. If they need air, they will bunch up so some of them will be out of the water. I change this water every day. I feed them an old piece of lettuce or spinach that has wilted to keep them alive for a month or so and a crushed algae pellet once in a while. Now for the more difficult part. You need to put them in the refrigerator, no lid. I have 2 mini fridges in my garage just for fish food. At first, I had them in the wine fridge but I got some unwanted feed back..

 

[SCReef'n]

I run my cat food through a food processor ( don’t tell the wife) along with some nutritional yeast. Not the stuff for baking. Then it’s easier to sprinkle around. I have trouble with large food items growing mold.

 

[ReefHog]

How long do the white worms last after you harvest them? And How do you store them. I’ve been feeding live black worms for years. I buy a racquet ball size portion once a month and they last in fridge for that long. I change water every third day. I’m lucky to have several lfs that carry them.

 

[lapin]

White worms
Keep them in damp potting soil. They will multiply if you feed them. They need some space. Like a qt or gallon tupperware container. Air holes are needed so they can breath. Best keep at around 60F but 45F to 85F can be ok

 

[hans4811]

Do the white worms foul your water like the black ones ? white ones seem easier to keep and less work tbh...

 

[ReefHog]

Thank you. I understand how to breed and keep the colony going. What I’m referring to is can they be harvested say weekly or biweekly? If so how would you keep them.

 

[SCReef'n]

Unless your feeding lots of tanks. It’s too easy to grab a handful rinse and drop them in. They will stay alive in water for quite a while though.

 

[Paul B]

White worms live almost 5 days submerged in salt water as I did an experiment.

Throw as many of them as you want in your tank, and the fish can hunt them down and eat them all week.
It's also a great way to feed mandarins and they go nuts for them.

 

[lapin]

Thank you. I understand how to breed and keep the colony going. What I’m referring to is can they be harvested say weekly or biweekly? If so how would you keep them.

Once out of the soil, I cant keep them alive for very long. In water I find they will drown in a day. In air, I find they will dry up.
Paul has a magic touch. Maybe that hammer and beer can helps them live longer in his tank.

 

[ca1ore]

I feed wheat bread spread with plain yogurt and sprinkled with nutritional yeast.

Likewise. Maybe I am not feeding enough ….. or just lack the necessary patience.

 

[DanConnor]

Likewise. Maybe I am not feeding enough ….. or just lack the necessary patience.

It takes a while for the culture to get dense enough so the worms are in big masses. You should have so many worms you don't have to clean the dirt away. I keep 4 going, and when one dies I clean it out and start it on the other end. I feed about every 3 days

 

[ReefHog]

Thanks for all the info. It’s always good to have live food in back pocket for finicky eaters. I’m lucky enough to live in Chicago where I have access to plenty of live black worms. I only have to replenish my stock monthly and my water stays clean in fridge so I just grab a blob once a day and throw right in the tank. Super fast and easy. If my supply ever dries up I’d have to think about the white worms.

 

[Paul B]

Paul has a magic touch. Maybe that hammer and beer can helps them live longer in his tank.

I don't know, everything seems to live forever here. I can't kill them unless I play Rap music, which ain't gonna happen so they will be fine.

 

[ingchr1]

After watching the video posted above I placed a piece of plastic canvas on top of my culture. Well it worked. I don't have a ton of worms in there, but a mass congregated on the canvas. Today I was able to simply pluck them out, no rinsing of dirt necessary.