Blackworms living in newt tank?

[keithp]

I fed my firebelly newt some blackworms over a month ago, and I guess some must have hid under one of the large rocks because I spotted some alive and well living in the tank. They got longer due to regenerating areas that were bit off.

Except for the large rock, the tank is bare, no gravel, and I have no filter the water is still. The water is also dechlorinated. It appears the worms are feeding on the debris from the newt pellets, newt waste, and shed skin. Waste builds up under the rock, so that supplies them with food and a safe place to stay.

If it's this easy to keep them alive without even knowing I was, shouldnt they be easy to breed? I'm also shocked they havent died from a buildup of the newts toxins.

 

[i_love_necturus]

I fed my mudpuppy some black worms nearly 6 or more months ago and there are still a few in the gravel, I come across one or two each time I clean. They aren't doing anything bad to the tank or anything.

 

[jewett]

Keith, I, too, have black worms living in some of my tanks. My tanks are bare bottomed but the worms wriggle into and under the wood, and some even live in the floating plants. However, I think that black worms reproduce so slowly that you have to have a huge culture to be able to sustain an adult breeding population and also have enough to feed your animals. I think its just easier to buy them.

 

[findi]

blackworms

Blackworms always were collected for the trade - I'm not sure if that has changed recently - and so as has been said they may be difficult to breed in large numbers.

They make excellent scavangers, getting to places thay other animals find difficult to reach. Just one caution - they will congregate on any wounds or areas of broken skin that an amphibian/reptile may have...I assume they are feeding on necrotic or, perhaps, healthy tissue. I first observed this in connection with the pockets left on the back of a Surinam toad, Pipa pipa, by newly-emerged young - the blackworms located the area on the night of the froglets' emergence and managed to crawl onto the female's back. I washed them away without incidence, but they may have caused a problem had they remained for long.

You may notice tiny leeches mixed in with the blackworm cultures - these prey upon the worms - put a few in a bare-bottomed container and watch what happens - the leeches "suck" the worms down very quickly! The leeches are harmless to fish and amphibians, as they are one of the (many) species that do not feed on blood. They also are excellent scavangers, living below the gravel and emerging at night to feed upon feces, dead animals, leftover food, etc. They reproduce rapidly - the eggs are encased in tough-skinned capsules attached to rocks, filters, etc.

Best, Frank

 

[tmarmoratus]

That's interesting info regarding the leeches, Frank. I've always cautioned against putting them in the tank when scooping out worms to feed my newts, prefering to dispose of them instead for fear that they might parasitize on my newts.

 

[fishkeeper]

Frank: Hmm...are these blackworms just general scavengers/oppurtunists or are they obligate blackworm feeders? They seem to require the presence of blackworms otherwise they dissapear.