Blackworm questions

[karen]

I've been trying to feed my eastern newts live blackworms, which they seem to like alot but I had an "odd" situation happen. I bought a batch (about a tablespoon) of live blackworms from a local petstore. They appeared healthy, so maybe I'm storing them wrong. I had them in a large beaker of water and I covered the beaker with saran wrap since the worms were crawling up the sides and I didn't need a livingroom full of worms. I punched holes in the top so I'm assuming I wasn't suffocating them. The next day, the water was EXTREMELY foul, very cloudy (even brownish) and the smell was putrid. I poured out the water and replaced it, but a few hours later, it was the same thing. It wasn't a huge quantity of worms, so I really don't know what happened. The next day, it was so bad that I poured the worms out on the ground outside to set free the remaining worms, I couldn't take the smell anymore. Alot of the worms looked dead too. Any idea what I'm doing wrong? I'm kind of new to the live food thing but I don't want to give up on blackworms since the newts like them so much. Thanks for any advice.

 

[joan]

It could have been a bad batch, or you could have had the water too deep. When I get blackworms, I cover them with only about an inch of water.

Now, you say the blackworms were climbing and trying to get out of the water. I don't think they were blackworms. Blackworms are totally aquatic, and don't try to escape the water. They were probably tubifex, which can be bad to feed if collected from polluted waters.

Take a really good look at the worms next time. Are they dark red or bright red? Are they segmented like earthworms, or do they just have a few long segments?

 

[edward]

If they get too warm or if the water conditions get bad, blackworms will climb out of the container.

Ed

 

[jennifer]

They do climb, even when they are healthy. There are some instructions for keeping blackworms healthy here:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/worms.shtml
http://www.aquaticfoods.com/blackwormcare.html
I am able to keep them alive and well for a month or more. They need to be refrigerated, rinsed in COLD filtered water, and kept with less than half-inch of water above them (they drown). Also, as Joan mentioned, sometimes you get a batch from the pet shop that has not been cared for well, and they just go bad no matter what.

 

[karen]

Thank you....they are definitely blackworms (got them from a reputable pet store where they actually know stuff!) plus I've read up on them and looked at pictures. As Ed said, I think maybe the water was too deep and it was too warm (I had them at room temp). I bought a small batch today for a buck and will try again.

 

[al]

I have kept black worms and found they do need the care Jen speaks of. If you skip a day or two, they can dry out or even freeze if your refridge is too cold. Never cover them. They need a flat container (12x8x3).
I have an excellent local source, and now just buy quantities for one feeding (heavy feeding) and do not try to keep them. They keep them the same way and they last weeks (with daily care). I have found, the black worms that do not get eaten right away, live in my setups and eventually get eaten. I sometimes agitate the stones and objects in the tank to expose any left over worms 2-3 days after a feeding. Black worms has always been a very good food source for my smaller body and juvenile newts.

 

[edward]

I have no problems keeping them for a month or so both at home and at work. I just make sure to rinse them daily.

Ed

 

[jeff]

Its much easier to just keep them like this

 

[joseph]

I've found for small quantities of worms keeping them in something like a sweater box with a few inches of water and a nice sized clump of java moss works well. Don't put in too many though or you will have the problem you described. I haven't had much success with setups the way Jeff's looks.

What determines the coloration of these worms? I've always avoided batches with lots of white worms and found after I kept them for a while remaining worms would be dark.

Jeff: btw, whats the sal(?) doing in the container? Digging in for lunch early?

 

[alexandra]

I feed my newts only life black worms.
Here is how you can keep your worms healthy and happy:
keep them in a plastic container in the fridge and cover them only with a couple of inches of water. Don’t put a lid on the container as the worms require oxygen. My worms have never escaped and as long as you keep them in the fridge I don’t think this will be a problem. Make sure to rinse the worms every day. I fill a large plastic container with tap water and let it sit over night. You should never rinse black worms with warm water. The water should be room temperature or cooler. I checked with the city water works to ensure they don't add chloramine to the water. If your city does use chloramine you might want to use spring water instead. Chlorine is not a problem, it will dissipate within a few hours of letting the water sit. I rinse the worms everyday to get rid of dead worms and any debris.