LA
California blackworms look a
bit red up close. They are not tubifex worms.
Introduction:
Back in the old days (before flake, frozen, and freeze-dried foods),
dedicated hobbyists fed their fish live foods. Frankly, the
commercial foods back then ranged from crummy to crappy. They
polluted the water, spoiled easily, and failed the piscatorial taste
test. Fish did not like them. If anyone wanted to breed
fishes, the commercial foods were worthless. We’re
talking way back before California blackworms were invented.
Comments:
Breeders and dedicated hobbyists grew their own foods. Many
even made their own foods. What a mess. You’d find fish keepers in
their big boots netting mosquito larvae, daphnia and other taste-tempting
treats for their fishes. Or growing their own in their basements.
Few hobbyists these days care to emulate Jeff Corwin in the wilderness or run
a worm ranch. They just shake a flake or thaw out another brine shrimp
on the barbie.
LA
We like these Worm
Keepers. Each holds a half pound of California blackworms.
Live Foods Taste Better: Still,
fishes love live foods. They like foods they can wrestle with.
Some fishes will only eat live or frozen foods. No question but what
bettas prefer live foods. Breeders just gotta munch wiggling
blackworms even when they’re already full.
LA
Even 1.5" ghost shrimp eat these skinny blackworms. He has one
inside him already.
LA
Blackworms are more closely related to earthworms than tubifex worms.
Tubifex -- the Other Red Meat:
Tubifex worms come from less than desirable neighborhoods. They
come from sewage lagoons and run off from animal confinement areas -- not fun
places to be mucking about. Actually, they help clean the nasty water.
Still, we prefer our tubies from the freezer or in the freeze-dried
form. And it’s not tubiFlex worms. That was a food in a tube that
disappeared decades ago -- even before Mr. Peabody invented the Wayback
Machine. Still, the name lives on.
Iowa
Tubifex Worms: You
betcha you can find tubifex worms in Iowa. You just don’t want to put your hands
in that water. There used to be worm men that harvested and sold these
critters. We had only moderate success keeping them alive. And dead tubifex worms really
reek. We
succeed much better with the blackworms.
LA
Trout farm. Who'd want to fish for tame gold trout? Spot the
albinos?
Blackworms:
Originally from trout farms (very cold water), they now come from ponds specially made for
blackworms.
One of Aquatic Food's aerated
blackworm ponds
The New Ponds.
Cool, aerated, flowing water does the trick. They feed them
“specially formulated high protein pellet food.” (Sounds like
Purina’s Trout Chow to LA.) Put one of these
blackworm ponds in your
backyard. You’ll save on shipping costs. They store their worms at
45o until they ship.
Nice set up.
LA
Pic
Two Worm Keepers in need of a good rinsing.
Smaller Scale:
Worm Keepers make a huge difference. Each holds a half pound of
worms. They need frequent rinsings to wash out the debris that
accumulates -- like in the top right hand corner. About 1/4 inch of
water over the worms works best. The worms sit on top a fine mesh nylon
screen that lets their waste fall thru. When you rinse them, you get a
reddish effluent. Smaller portions live just fine in an uncovered Glad
plastic storage container. Not everyone wants these in their fridge.
LA
Pic
Here's an even pound of them. Maybe too many for the average fish keeper?
LA
Five pounds of worms will last you even longer.
LA
Each of these worm keepers will house six ounces of worms successfully.
Worm
Prep: Before plopping your
worms in your fridge, rinse out the debris. Those fine meshed white nets
work quite well. If you use the green nets, you’ll see them slip sliding
away. Any dead worms in their container will eat up their oxygen and
accelerate their early death. Spread them out. Layers of
worms deeper than 1/4 inch live shorter lives.
Cloudy Water: If your
worm water clouds up, rinse your worms again.
LA
Pic
We like the "worm feeders," too. They let the blackworms
out slowly.
Worm Feeders: Invest a
couple bucks in a worm feeder. These usually conical worm feeders slow
the descent of your worms to the bottom of your tank. Fishes can eat a
higher percentage before they disappear into the substrate to become corydoras
food at a later date.
Leeches:
Those white leeches you find in your Blackworms are harmless plant
leeches. They’re just a nuisance. They usually die in a few days.
If you feed them to cichlids, your cichlids will take care of them.
LA
If you feed lots of betta jars or tanks of fish, mustard squirters save lots
of time.
LA
Little bitty bumblebees go all a-buzz for blackworms. And the
flounders like them also.
Last Word: It took us a
few years to
“work out the bugs,” but we think this info will keep
your blackworms in the pink. LA.
©
2002,
© 2003,
© 2004,
© 2005
LA Productions
3600
Sixth Avenue
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of Sixth & Euclid Avenues
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Moines, IA 50313
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