modified lung Posted November 25, 2023 Author Share Posted November 25, 2023 On 11/25/2023 at 11:32 AM, Mac Jank said: Sorry to read that man. I’m going to be in the hobby as long as I possibly can. I just set up a 10 gallon with a suspended sponge filter and I will be making a couple of towers as soon as my mesh is delivered. I’ve got a lot of corys and plecos to breed! Nice. The secret for me was that they needed a lot more food than I expected, specifically protein I suspect. Blackworms can foul their water very fast so they needed more fresh, clean water and oxygen than I expected too. I think the biggest hurdle is finding a way to give them enough of what they need that's worth the time and effort for you. I fed them any sort of vegetable scrap form the kitchen, the end crust slices of wheat bread that no reasonable human wants to eat, and biofilm I grew by letting a small amount of molasses sit in a gallon jar of water for a few weeks. They'll eat fruit too but too much will cause a bacteria bloom which can cause oxygen problems. Or if you're made of money they'll go through a pack if spirulina wafers in no time. And always have backup cultures. I lost most of my worms multiple times the last year I had them because a pump failed, sponge filter clogged, or I didn't have the energy to change enough water. An extra tip... co-culturing daphnids with blackworms works really well. I'm not sure what they're eating but you don't even have to add any extra food to sustain a small population. Or if you want a larger population, feed spirulina powder. The daphnids eat the suspended power and the blackworms eat whatever settles to the bottom. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mac Jank Posted November 25, 2023 Share Posted November 25, 2023 Awesome information! I have a guy about five hours from me that I can buy blackworms from but I’d rather culture my own in my fish rooms to have on hand at any time. I can figure out a water top off system that plumbs into my drain line and water system for my aquariums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mac Jank Posted December 6, 2023 Share Posted December 6, 2023 (edited) I’ve had my two towers in a 10 gallon with a HOB filter, two air stones and some floating plants in rain water for five days and once I put an algae tab in the top if each tower the worms moved in to them. Doing my first water change today. Edited December 6, 2023 by Mac Jank 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ujaynme Posted July 31 Share Posted July 31 Just wanted to share a lovely surprise for anyone following this thread or using this method to culture. My tiny little half gallon container is producing baby worms from eggs not just from fragmentation. I noticed the lettuce stems I added earlier this week is now covered in tiny worms they look like a melted blob of brown slime but you can see hair thin strands of baby worms on the edge. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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