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Small Earthworm Culture

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diego

Guest
Hi, I just read the earth worm guide but it doesn't mention anything about the size, I'll probably get to COs and will be feeding them mostly frozen bloodworms, but I though it would be boring for them to just eat that so I was thinking that I could give them earthworms to snack on
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, when I read the worm page in this forum I wondered if I could keep about 50 to 100 worms in a large shoebox lined with foil is it doable? If not what are other alternatives to keep worms(but not in huge quantaties).
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jennifer

Guest
For small quantities, it's a lot easier to just buy worms at a bait shop or Walmart. They can be kept in the refrigerator for several weeks until used.
 
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jameswei

Guest
You can get 20 worms for 10 dollars at the local Petco. From my experiences, 50 to 100 in a shoe box is not doable, they need a good amount of space from each other. Maybe 20 full grown (3-4 inches) canadian nightcrawlers within a shoe box is possible. You might want to consider other food options. Earthworms are large with respect to cynops and a time consuming culture. It took me a month or two for me to get 1/2 an inch worms from the egg sacs and few of my cynops took to the earthworm chunks. You might want to consider black worms, which are smaller, cheaper, readily available, and nutritious (though impossible to culture)

cheers,
 
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diego

Guest
ahh.. ok thanks for the info though...what about just keep the worms in the shoebox...like keep them ther not to breed and 20 worms for 10 dollars seems too pricey in my bait shop you can get a dozen for 1.50..im pretty sure..
 
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ian

Guest
Yes, I got 30 for 6$ canadian. So I guess 1.5$ us for 12 is possible.

I think Culture Black worms is possible. Isn't it? I never try it myself. But I know that will be lot of work to keep them from fouling the water.
 
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jameswei

Guest
Diego, while that is the price i remember for the cost of earth worms at Petco, the price of worms differ from place to place (you can probably get it cheaper). In answer to your question, yes you can keep earthworms in a shoebox. But make sure the box is secure, earthworms have a tendency to crawl out. There are a host of requirements for earthworms but the most important is the temperature. Make sure they have a constant temperature below 70 F. A quiet and cool drawer (or the basement) can do the job. You dont have to feed the earthworms they can last by themselves for quite a long time. In addition, make sure they're "bedding" is fresh otherwise they will run out and possibly die inmasse. The reason is that earthworms, like anyother living thing, needs a clean and unpolluted environment to live. if their bedding is old then it would be full of waste and harmful biological byproducts. You can find mroe about this in a google serach. i cant find the links right now

Ian, I've tried culturing blackworms. it was not ecnomical to raise blackworms. it was just easier to buy them


cheers
 
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