# Keeping Blackworms??



## Subaru4wd (May 6, 2011)

So for the past 2 weeks, I have been keeping blackworms to feed to my fish. The guy at the LFS said to keep them in a container with no lid, and in about 1" of water.

The container I am using is about 3" deep, and 4"x6" and i drilled about 11 holes in the lid. I have been storing the worms under my fishtank in the stand and I notice after each day the water becomes nasty and i often rinse the worms before I feed any, to keep the nasty water from getting into the aquarium.

Yesterday I took a break from feeding and this morning I pulled the container out and the water was pretty disgusting with a real nasty smell. I started to rinse the worms but it appeared as if almost all of the worms were dead. They were discolored and none were really moving around. I ended up dumping the container of worms in the backyard and cleaning my container. I will have to go back to the LFS today for some more worms but I dont want to keep throwing them away, and I definatly dont want to be feeding my fish nasty, half-dead worms either.

So, for all the others out there feeding their fish live black-worms, what are you doing to store them?


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## WhiteGloveAquatics (Sep 3, 2009)

gotta put em in the fridge man, change the water daily in it. the grey ones are dead ones and stink which is fouling the water. 
this is where I get mine from(local dealer for the company) Organic Blackworms - Blackworm Care

you can pass on deadly crud to the fish if you keep them the way you do, Ive had fish get infected by bad blackworms before, and at $200 bucks a fish it kinda pays to keep the blackworms healthy.


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## Subaru4wd (May 6, 2011)

So they are fine in the fridge? How much water do you put in your container? Do you place anything else in container other than water?

My LFS is only a 5min drive and they sell portions at like $1.60... at first I bought 1 portion and went thru it in about a week. Last week I went in and bought 2 portions and I think it was too much to try to store & keep alive. I think maybe I'll go back to just buying 1 portion a week and let the LFS keep them alive for me  Plus it will give me a reason to visit the fish store once a week.


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## Subaru4wd (May 6, 2011)

THanks a ton for that link! I read thru it and it answered pretty much all the questions I had. One issue I have is the worms crawling up the side of the container... i think im going to have to change containers tho.


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## WhiteGloveAquatics (Sep 3, 2009)

order the blackworm containers, you will NEVER regret it, I got 6 of em full at all times lol

California Blackworms for your fish!


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## NeonShark666 (Dec 13, 2010)

The standard way to keep bloodworms is in a shallow tray in the refrigerator. They should be washed every day to rinse out the dead worms and keep the water fresh. Use a worm feeder to feed them.


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## Subaru4wd (May 6, 2011)

Thanks guys. My stupid worm feeder broke yesterday (cheap plastic and it split at the seam). Thats okay, cause I went to the LFS today to get more worms and they are out, they are getting their shipment in tomorrow so I will go back and get some. To tie my fish over I stopped at the store and got some zucchini and they seem to be enjoying that for a change. 

I asked the guy at the LFS if they had a blackworm container and he looked at me funny. I think I will just order one off the internet


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## WhiteGloveAquatics (Sep 3, 2009)

yeah they do wonders, keeps it shallow for them, fine micron screen to allow water passage and wont let em fall thru. Its nice to clean them too, no more adding water and draining to clean them up, I keep mine in RO water not tap and they seem to clean out better, but temp is key to keeping them in the containers. they kinda slow down when cold. ONLY feed sparingly and make sure they eat em all, they wont harm anything but they tend to make the gravel look furry after a few weeks of breeding.


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