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Does anyone here feed live earth worms to their plecos? If so, do you prep them in anyway other than washing the dirt off? My question was stimulated by advertisements for earthworm sticks.

I haven't tried fresh earthworms, but I know some people use them. They chop the earthworms into pieces and rinse them off before serving. Don't feed too much or the uneaten portions can foul the water.

Good luck, Eric

Thank you Eric. How do they make earthworm sticks?

I have no idea. LOL

b.reder wrote: ↑20 May 2017, 04:28 Thank you Eric. How do they make earthworm sticks?

I haven't made "earthworm" sticks.... but I do made a lot of homemade stick foods for my fish. I buy about $2000 in fish food a year, so I help with the cost (and get better quality foods) is why I make it. Unless you have a meat grinder (or at least a good sized food processer) it will be imposable to make! All you have to do is follow the basic ingredients in the stick foods (remember the top ingredients have the "most" in it) and go from there. You can use a food dehydrator and a bag with a small hole cut in it to spread it out in stick form..... there is a lot of trial and error in making it but worth it in the end if you are feeding a lot of fish.

HTH,
Chuck

Thought I would add a picture of one of my homemade fish foods and some Corydoras duplicareus..... the red is from some fish food I added because when I ordered it I didn't know it floated and I don't have fish that would eat it otherwise.

I feed my mastiffs on a rotating basis: raw chicken with bones, raw pork with bones, raw beef heart, raw beef kidney, raw beef liver, mackerel, raw eggs, etc. -Thank you chuck!

My kids regularly dig up earthworms and feed them to my fish. My Megalechis picta had a large nightcrawler stuck in his mouth a while before he finally got it all in. I do not chop them up or wash them, although my son does like to pinch them into pieces as he puts them in the tank.

As I discovered recently, if you add live worms to your tank, they can live in there for weeks providing there is plenty of oxygen dissolved in the tank water. Two were put in a quarantine tank and one was still around three weeks later and returned to the garden.

N0body Of The Goat- I must assume that you feed the worms whole? Do you do any pre-treatment?

Hi all,

N0body Of The Goat wrote: ↑26 May 2017, 08:59 As I discovered recently, if you add live worms to your tank, they can live in there for weeks providing there is plenty of oxygen dissolved in the tank water. Two were put in a quarantine tank and one was still around three weeks later and returned to the garden.

It depends upon the species of worm, I think the ones that live in compost heaps are much more tolerant of water-logging than big, soil-living, Lob-worms (Lumbricus terrestris) etc.

I've occasionally retrieved a live earth-worm from the pre-filter sponge, that I think is Lumbricus rubellus. I feed earthworms (and I've cultured L. rubellus), but I don't have any large fish, so I don't feed whole worms and their presence is a bit of a mystery.

I've just found a paper: Ausden, 2001 "The effects of flooding lowland wet grassland on soil macroinvertebrate prey of breeding wading birds" that says:

Some earthworm species were obviously able to withstand long durations of continual submergence. Four species, Allolobophora chlorotica (green morph), Eiseniella tetraedra, Lumbricus rubellus and Octolasion tyrtaeum, were found at the Ouse Washes, which had been completely submerged for approximately 270 days (between September and May) prior to sampling in late May. The Ouse Washes are frequently flooded for durations of more than 120 days during the winter and even for short periods during summer.

cheers Darrel

At least in the US you can often order Lumbriculus variegatus (under the name California blackworm) from lab supply companies that sell live animals. They are commonly used in toxicology testing and so they are widely available, but what makes them useful for catfish keepers is that they are freshwater worms which not only tolerate being submerged but either require or strongly prefer it.

Lycosid- You the man! Thank you.- Barry

Hi all,

Lycosid wrote: ↑06 Jun 2017, 21:37 At least in the US you can often order Lumbriculus variegatus (under the name California blackworm) from lab supply companies that sell live animals. They are commonly used in toxicology testing and so they are widely available, but what makes them useful for catfish keepers is that they are freshwater worms which not only tolerate being submerged but either require or strongly prefer it.

I keep these as well, they are much smaller and thinner than the terrestrial Earthworms.

Have a look at "Colonizing black worms: (https://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/vie ... hp?t=41245)".

cheers Darrel

I quickly found this:
http://aquaticfoods.com/LiveBlackwormsM.html
I'll be placing my first order soon. -Barry

I have a good number of blackworms in a tank I'm cycling now (hence my recommendation of them). There was an initial die-off but the remaining worms seem to be doing well - some are easily 3x the length that any of them were when they arrived. I have a nice chunk of wood in the tank and many of the worms seem to have colonized that. I've also added a pile of larger, flatter rocks (flatter so they can't fall on a fish) which I hope will create a safe zone for the worms once the fish are added. With any luck that will mean that the worms will not all get immediately eaten.

Blackworms are perfectly happy to live in your gravel. They won't drown. They will reproduce, but not fast enough to produce a colony of worms sufficient to keep your corys and plecos fed unless you have a few small fish. But don't make the gravel/sand too deep or else the worms will burrow deep and the fish won't have easy access to them. A thin layer of sand/gravel (about 1/2 inch) is great.

If for any reason the water oxygen content starts to decline (poor circulation, maybe a stalled pump, etc.), the worms will need to emerge from the sand and will stick up into the water like a lawn of grass.

By the way, I've never found a source for live blackworms that is pure blackworms. The worms are almost always contaminated with small leeches and other worms too - some rather long turbellarian flatworms and detritus worms to name two I've seen. I've never observed any of these (even the leeches) to be harmful to the fish. On the other hand, I've never seen the fish actively eat these either. I'd like to think they eat the detritus worms, but I have no evidence.

Also, if you have cory fry or other baby fish in the tank, you can stir up the sand/gravel gently and baby worms will be liberated temporarily into the water - they are great fry food.

Cheers, Eric

By the way, I've never found a source for live blackworms that is pure blackworms. The worms are almost always contaminated with small leeches and other worms too - some rather long turbellarian flatworms and detritus worms to name two I've seen. I've never observed any of these (even the leeches) to be harmful to the fish. On the other hand, I've never seen the fish actively eat these either. I'd like to think they eat the detritus worms, but I have no evidence.

Eric-
Have you used the black worm co. in Fullerton? If so, are their worms contaminated with the other worms that you mentioned?
I would imagine that if there is no host for the leaches, they would quickly die. Did you observe this?

Hi all,

b.reder wrote: ↑08 Jun 2017, 18:28 I would imagine that if there is no host for the leaches, they would quickly die. Did you observe this?

I imagine it is the same in the USA, but the Leeches I get in the UK aren't ones that suck the haemolymph from invertebrates, or blood from fish etc, but ones that ingest small invertebrate worms etc.

I've never tried to get rid of them (but I control them), and I believe it is fairly difficult to eradicate them, if you have snails etc.

cheers Darrel

b.reder wrote: ↑08 Jun 2017, 18:28 Have you used the black worm co. in Fullerton? If so, are their worms contaminated with the other worms that you mentioned?
I would imagine that if there is no host for the leaches, they would quickly die. Did you observe this?

I have never bought from the Fullerton company; I only buy from local shops (LFS).

The leeches live in my tanks for months or longer. They don't seem to bother the fishes, but I have wondered if they eat fish eggs or fry. I've never seen them do either, but it has been a concern.

dw1305 wrote: ↑09 Jun 2017, 10:24 I believe it is fairly difficult to eradicate them, if you have snails etc.

If only they were any good this. They aren't eating my pesky bladder snails very fast (maybe not at all).

Cheers, Eric

1/4 pound black worms are here, washed, fed, and extras in frig. Wife is grateful .