My Attempt at Culturing Blackworms

[blazn]

I've been raising black & white worm cultures since last July. I've setup a similar environment for my black worms as the OP: 10 gal tank with 6-7" of RODI water and about an inch of gravel across the bottom, kept at room temp in the basement. I run a single sponge filter and a second air-stone, which supplies enough oxygen to the tank. You know when there's not enough oxygen for them, as they'll frantically attempt to climb out of the tank.

Once I learned how much and how often to feed (easy to overfeed them), I only need to change out the water once a week (90%+). I feed every other day and the days they aren't fed, I stir the gravel completely to induce breakage of the worms into multiples, as they don't multiply biologically very fast. I feed Hikari sinking pellets to both types of cultures. I keep java moss in the tank with the black worms, as the plant life is supposed to be beneficial to the worms.

Since I also culture white worms, I alternate feeding my fish between the two. So far, I'm maintaining/increasing numbers of both types of worms. I find keeping both types of cultures to be easy and definitely worth the minimal time investment.

The fish love the worms! Not only are they able to eat live food, which mimics more of a natural environment, they benefit greatly from the nutrients. I also feed the standard: LRS, pellets, nori and occasional baby brine shrimp. All of my fish are nice and chunky, definitely eating well!

 

[Miami Reef]

@blazn Every word you said was gold! I 100% agree!

Now, I am only growing whiteworms. They are producing FAST!!! They also have a very minimal footprint and IMO are healthier to fish (higher protein and fat).

 

[blazn]

@blazn Every word you said was gold! I 100% agree!

Now, I am only growing whiteworms. They are producing FAST!!! They also have a very minimal footprint and IMO are healthier to fish (higher protein and fat).

Yes, white worms do multiply pretty fast, especially when compared to black worms. Probably because of that, they eat more and I feed mine daily (black worms every other day). I place a strip of plastic mesh on top of the substrate and place the food (wafers) on the mesh. I've learned to feed in the mornings to have worms on the mesh for the evening meal, as you don't want to have to dig them out of the dirt and wash them prior to feeding, if you can help it.

You may already be aware, but one thing I learned while researching white worm cultures is to "re-culture" them about every 2 months, in order to dilute the waste buildup, as well as to handle the increase in numbers. So, when I "re-cultured" them, I split the culture into 2, which provides some "insurance" in case one goes "south".

I also read that white worms may provide a higher fat content than black worms. So, it was recommended not to feed them too extensively/heavily, as they can end up eating too much fat.

Good luck & culture on!!

 

[Miami Reef]

Yes, white worms do multiply pretty fast, especially when compared to black worms. Probably because of that, they eat more and I feed mine daily (black worms every other day). I place a strip of plastic mesh on top of the substrate and place the food (wafers) on the mesh. I've learned to feed in the mornings to have worms on the mesh for the evening meal, as you don't want to have to dig them out of the dirt and wash them prior to feeding, if you can help it.

You may already be aware, but one thing I learned while researching white worm cultures is to "re-culture" them about every 2 months, in order to dilute the waste buildup, as well as to handle the increase in numbers. So, when I "re-cultured" them, I split the culture into 2, which provides some "insurance" in case one goes "south".

I also read that white worms may provide a higher fat content than black worms. So, it was recommended not to feed them too extensively/heavily, as they can end up eating too much fat.

Good luck & culture on!!

I agree! And yes, I did read about the reculturing. The white worms produce ammonia which overtime build up. You can tell when the culture is about the crash when most of the white worms climb to the sides of the container (to basically get away from the soil).

Changing soil every 1-2 months for whiteworms is WAYYYY easier than doing water changes every 1-2 days for blackworms!

 

[Danoag]

Yes, white worms do multiply pretty fast, especially when compared to black worms. Probably because of that, they eat more and I feed mine daily (black worms every other day). I place a strip of plastic mesh on top of the substrate and place the food (wafers) on the mesh. I've learned to feed in the mornings to have worms on the mesh for the evening meal, as you don't want to have to dig them out of the dirt and wash them prior to feeding, if you can help it.

You may already be aware, but one thing I learned while researching white worm cultures is to "re-culture" them about every 2 months, in order to dilute the waste buildup, as well as to handle the increase in numbers. So, when I "re-cultured" them, I split the culture into 2, which provides some "insurance" in case one goes "south".

I also read that white worms may provide a higher fat content than black worms. So, it was recommended not to feed them too extensively/heavily, as they can end up eating too much fat.

Good luck & culture on!!

Where do you get your black worm?

 

[blazn]

Where do you get your black worm?

I purchased black worms from an individual on a local FB reef group. Otherwise, the only main source of black worms that I'm aware of is:

EASTERN AQUATICS
PHONE 717-368-8203
[email protected]
https://fb.me/EasternAquaticsBlackworms

 

[Miami Reef]

White worms are a HIT!

 

[Kmst80]

I've been raising black & white worm cultures since last July. I've setup a similar environment for my black worms as the OP: 10 gal tank with 6-7" of RODI water and about an inch of gravel across the bottom, kept at room temp in the basement. I run a single sponge filter and a second air-stone, which supplies enough oxygen to the tank. You know when there's not enough oxygen for them, as they'll frantically attempt to climb out of the tank.

Once I learned how much and how often to feed (easy to overfeed them), I only need to change out the water once a week (90%+). I feed every other day and the days they aren't fed, I stir the gravel completely to induce breakage of the worms into multiples, as they don't multiply biologically very fast. I feed Hikari sinking pellets to both types of cultures. I keep java moss in the tank with the black worms, as the plant life is supposed to be beneficial to the worms.

Since I also culture white worms, I alternate feeding my fish between the two. So far, I'm maintaining/increasing numbers of both types of worms. I find keeping both types of cultures to be easy and definitely worth the minimal time investment.

The fish love the worms! Not only are they able to eat live food, which mimics more of a natural environment, they benefit greatly from the nutrients. I also feed the standard: LRS, pellets, nori and occasional baby brine shrimp. All of my fish are nice and chunky, definitely eating well!

I got black and white going too.
What do you feed the blackworms? I drop spirulina pills in and a day or so later i blast them with the turkey blaster.
Just wondering if there is other food sources.
Same with white worms, what do you feed them?
So far i only gave them dry dog food, mine didnt touch the bread.

 

[blazn]

Kmst80 - I feed both my white & black worm cultures Hikari Sinking Wafers. The white worms are voracious eaters and I feed them daily what they'll consume within 24 hours. The black worms don't eat as much, as they don't reproduce as fast (must break them to enhance numbers), as well as it's easy to pollute the water, so I've found that feeding them every other day works well. There are plenty of food options, but I like feeding the worms food that the fish would eat (such as you using spirulina pills), as I fell that is beneficial, plus these small wafers don't get moldy quickly, like bread/yogurt/etc, which is often recommended for white worms.