# Keeping blackworms alive



## Paul B (Aug 4, 2009)

This last live blackworm keeper so far is working great. I never have a dead worm and they are even multiplying. This is my third model as the first two were too small for the amount of worms I need to keep.
The secret to these things is they have to age for a couple of weeks to build up some bacteria. I have some eggcrate in there for that purpose. The shallow water flows over the worms and into the tank below. Some of the worms manage to get into the tank but they ball up and I suck them out and put them back on top in the trough. There is a very small powerhead in the tank that is suspended off the bottom. The worms don't swim so they don't get sucked into the pump.
This model has been running for a few months and I am very happy with it.
I feed the worms pieces of paper towels and some occasional flakes.


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## Dmaaaaax (Nov 20, 2008)

Looking good. What are the seperate compartments for? More mature worms?

I used to keep black worms in 10g tank with gravel and plants and a HOB filter. They seemed to love it an flourish in the gravel but I needed the tank for other things and eventually broke it down. When I needed some, I would just vacuum up some and put them into the "regular" blackworm holders in the fridge.

Normally you would not see them at all in the tank, but ocassionally I would feed them an algae wafer and this is what you would see...a spot like this at each wafer:


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## WhiteGloveAquatics (Sep 3, 2009)

Awesome, I was gonna post on how to keep them alive, good thing I got two extra tanks and the ability to build a flow tray.


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## Paul B (Aug 4, 2009)

The seperate compartments and plastic window screen is to keep the worms from traveling down to the tank below. If they do, they fall into a jar and I suck them out.
The thing needs a few weeks to mature before you can keep worms in quantity.
In the beginning the water fouls easily, now I could throw a dead water buffalo in there and the bacteria would take care if it. Now there is plastic window screen in the tank to grow more bacteria, it is absent in the picture.
I have been keeping worms for decades to feed to my reef. I don't have a fresh water tank.


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