Simon Cole
Member
The Asellus was found in slow flowing leaf litter, and the Gammarus prefered more open water where there were rocks, pebbles and riffles.
-
You are viewing the forum as a Guest, please login (you can use your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Microsoft account to login) or register using this link: Log in or Sign Up
Feeding a California Blackworm culture - Lumbriculus variegatus
- Thread starter Simon Cole
- Start date
Hi all,
Mine had always done well in a tank with a substrate and plants, but the only other reference I could find for this culture method was <"How to ....Method 2.">.
There are also a lot of threads about the cultures going bad and smelling when you use paper as a medium.
I suspect it is a bit like the <"Daphnia cultures">, these last longer and are more stable if you add dead leaves, or hay, to them, but you get quicker colony growth using feeding yeast.
cheers Darrel
Nearly all the culture methods use paper towels or cardboard. It is the standard culture method used for ecotoxicology studies.
Mine had always done well in a tank with a substrate and plants, but the only other reference I could find for this culture method was <"How to ....Method 2.">.
There are also a lot of threads about the cultures going bad and smelling when you use paper as a medium.
I suspect it is a bit like the <"Daphnia cultures">, these last longer and are more stable if you add dead leaves, or hay, to them, but you get quicker colony growth using feeding yeast.
cheers Darrel
sciencefiction
Member
- Joined
- 26 Feb 2013
- Messages
- 3,406
I have Californian black worms which I got around May 2018. They are in a tank with hillstream loaches,and still going. They tend to hide under the stones rather than burrowing in the substrate,or at least thats where they tend to hide. They also like eat fish food.
Simon Cole
Member
I'm sorry for resurrecting this old thread. I just wanted to share a photo showing that my California blackworm population is now booming. 
Happy days. ![WP_20190613_07_31_54_Pro[1].jpg](https://www.ukaps.org/forum/data/attachments/125/125127-95fbd4499139d53e638c7321ee026028.jpg?hash=lfvUSZE51T "WP_20190613_07_31_54_Pro[1].jpg")
Happy days. 
Edvet
Member
Good good!
Could you describe how/what you are doing ?
Could you describe how/what you are doing ?
Simon Cole
Member
They are in a 10 litre tub. The tub fits in my Juwel Vision 180 cabinet. There is a thin layer of old aquarium gravel and a sponge filter. Every couple of months I change the water with used aquarium water. They get fed solely on boiled broccoli each day. The temperature of the room is about 18 degrees Celsius, rising to 25 on a warm day. The more broccoli you feed them the more worms you get. I would say that I harvest 500 worms per week, and the population is still booming. There must be several thousand in this one small tub. They are harvested using a pipette when they have come out of the gravel completely and are feeding together forming a ball. I do not try to crush them or to disturb the gravel, but suction from the pipette may do this a bit.
Out of all of the cultures I have: they are the cleanest, they are fully aquatic and remain as live food in the tank, when left out they do not go foul or die, they do not mind if you forget to feed them, they tolerate any temperature, they eat almost anything, they never seem to crash, feeding is simple, and if you do get a bit of broccoli in the tank - it's fine. I would strongly recommend that everyone starts to culture them. The smell of broccoli being eaten is a bit like old farts, but at least my cat now has an excuse. 🙂
Out of all of the cultures I have: they are the cleanest, they are fully aquatic and remain as live food in the tank, when left out they do not go foul or die, they do not mind if you forget to feed them, they tolerate any temperature, they eat almost anything, they never seem to crash, feeding is simple, and if you do get a bit of broccoli in the tank - it's fine. I would strongly recommend that everyone starts to culture them. The smell of broccoli being eaten is a bit like old farts, but at least my cat now has an excuse. 🙂
Edvet
Member
Gonna try them again, thx
Came across this thread while trying to find more information on these worms. I have a theory that the reason most hobbyists don't see fast growth rates is because we aren't feeding them enough. I am reading that earthworms can eat half their body weight per day under optimal conditions. Someone can correct me if I am wrong but I don't see why these guys would be any different.
Now the problem with feeding this much though is you need very significant filtration if you have a meaningful quantity of worms. To get around this I have my blackworms connected to the flow of my larger display tanks. This allows my 4L culture to have the filtration of a tank of hundreds or thousands of liters.
I only began testing feeding them significantly a few days ago but will update as I learn more. So far they are eating way more than I thought they could. I think the food matters too. It needs to be something that can be quickly broken down and consumed. So far flakes have been good for this, but may not be optimal as it would get pretty expensive. Open to suggestions.
These are some of the blackworm cultures.
Now the problem with feeding this much though is you need very significant filtration if you have a meaningful quantity of worms. To get around this I have my blackworms connected to the flow of my larger display tanks. This allows my 4L culture to have the filtration of a tank of hundreds or thousands of liters.
I only began testing feeding them significantly a few days ago but will update as I learn more. So far they are eating way more than I thought they could. I think the food matters too. It needs to be something that can be quickly broken down and consumed. So far flakes have been good for this, but may not be optimal as it would get pretty expensive. Open to suggestions.
These are some of the blackworm cultures.
