Where Can I Buy Live Blackworms Online?

[JaviD23]

I posted before about my new juvie axolotl Squish not eating before and having curled gills but after trying brine shrimp just to see if a different kind of food would get them to eat I'm so happy to say that Squish ate all the brine shrimp that was allowed in 2 minutes!! So I don't have a sick axie but a picky one lol. He won't touch night crawlers or regular earthworms that I got from a aquarium store that does also sells axolotls but they didn't have any blackworms in stock.

I really want Squish to have a balanced nutritional diet so I researched and found that blackworms are also a good staple food.

To bypass my lengthy intro lol, my questions is can anyone tell me where they buy their live blackworms?

 

[Methos5K]

Blackworms are in very short supply. My local fish stores stopped carrying them.

Eastern Aquatics will let new customers order 1/8 of a pound. That'll be your option until supplies are back to normal.

 

[JaviD23]

Blackworms are in very short supply. My local fish stores stopped carrying them.

Eastern Aquatics will let new customers order 1/8 of a pound. That'll be your option until supplies are back to normal.

Thanks! I was told that by basically all the aquarium and reptile stores around me, I just wanted to know if there were any reputable online businesses.

 

[JenFit]

I have placed many hours into my search for other live blackworm farms that are physically located closer to me (SLC, Utah), but after my local stores stows selling blackworms, I’ve only been successful in purchasing from Craig, owner of “Eastern Aquatics,” which is on the opposite side of the USA, (Lancaster, PA). Being so far, my shipments cost anywhere from, $45-$60! Back in Jan 2023, Craig charged $42 for 1 IB.
In late Feb 2023 when I returned to re-order more (I have three, 12+ inch long axlotl’s), his website explained that he was dealing w/ a blackworm shortage, that it would take “some time” for him to build up his supply, and that he had built more blackworm growing places, etc., to rebuild his inventory. VERY unfortunately, due to this shortage, his black worm pricing also “temporarily,” dramatically increased! Although it is August 2923 now, Craig continues to charge $65 per 1/2 LB, and $160 per LB (these prices do not include shipping)!

I don’t know about you all, but I literally cannot afford to pay those prices, even worse, my axlotl’s REFUSE to eat a anything other than black worms (I’ve tried EVERYTHING else I’m aware of, to feed them).
I’ve reached out to Craig multiple times in the past, and he always returned my emails quickly, he has stopped responding completely, reason unknown, and his website continues to list his blackworms at a 400%+ increase.
I’m out of food to try, and in the meantime, my axlotls have not eaten for OVER THREE WEEKS!
I’m at a point where I am searching/reading anything I can find about how to, “Culture Live Black Worms” and would love a response here from anyone who may have an idea that might work for my big (very skinny) guys.
Sorry so long!
Thank you in advance!!!

 

[JenFit]

Blackworms are in very short supply. My local fish stores stopped carrying them.

Eastern Aquatics will let new customers order 1/8 of a pound. That'll be your option until supplies are back to normal.I’ve purchased from EA since my lotl’s were juvies, (they are now pushing 8yrs old) but since Feb 2023, they posted a “shortage” message, said they’re working on rectifying the problem and to bear with them. Now, it’s been over SIX MONTHS and based on the pics of their farm, and by my research into how to culture these worms, also by conservative measures, this “shortage” issue should have been resolved by now. Craig, used to charge $42 per pound, but since this “shortage began,” he’s charging $160 per pound, and shipping from his farm in PA, to my place in UT, Next Day Air, has increased from a set (obscene) $45, to $60+! I literally cannot afford this but, have three adults over a foot/12 inches long, one is at least 16 inches, and they simply REFUSE to eat anything but live black worms. It’s been close to ONE Month since they have eaten, and I don’t know what else to try/do.

Any other live black worm sellers other than Eastern Aquatics, and if not, perhaps I will have to find an axlotl lover,
financially better off than I am, to care for my guys. I can’t stand to watch them deteriorate, helpless to do anything about it. I’m in SSI meaning, I’m living off of $900 monthly, which alone isn’t enough to pay my own bills, let alone pay $200 every 60 days for blackworms.
Sorry so long, but any advice will be well received. Thank you!

 

[Methos5K]

Any other live black worm sellers other than Eastern Aquatics, and if not, perhaps I will have to find an axlotl lover,
financially better off than I am, to care for my guys. I can’t stand to watch them deteriorate, helpless to do anything about it. I’m in SSI meaning, I’m living off of $900 monthly, which alone isn’t enough to pay my own bills, let alone pay $200 every 60 days for blackworms.
Sorry so long, but any advice will be well received. Thank you!

There is no other. If you want live blackworms shipped to you, it is Eastern Aquatics. Culturing blackworms is possible at home in very, very small quantities. The costs of shipping will not be going down, that is a permanent increase across the board as a result of inflation, COVID, and critical staffing levels. It is unfortanate it has come to this, but that is the reality of the current situation. I lost thosuands of dollars worth of newt larvae this past year from the blackworm shortage.

 

[Alexa.Davis37]

Larger sizes of worms are available with Eastern Aquatics now. New customers are no longer limited on size.

 

[eldaldo]

Has anyone tried culturing them? I have a remnant population of blackworms in one of my newt tanks that shows up every time I feed my shrimp Zucchini. I have a mind to start a 15g planted tank with a thin layer of gravel, cherry shrimp, snails and blackworms. I'd feed it veggie scraps and see how many worms I could get.... anyone have luck with something like this?

 

[Niels D]

I've had a setup with blackworms for years, but they don't reproduce fast enough to get good quantities. You've got the paper towel method and the gravel method. I've used the latter. Thin layer of gravel, 10 cm of water (treated depending on where you live), aeration, Java moss and feeding zucchini (only a little). Room temperature.

I prefer tubifex worms, which are almost always available in The Netherlands, but I understand they aren't popular in the US.

 

[Alexa.Davis37]

Has anyone tried culturing them? I have a remnant population of blackworms in one of my newt tanks that shows up every time I feed my shrimp Zucchini. I have a mind to start a 15g planted tank with a thin layer of gravel, cherry shrimp, snails and blackworms. I'd feed it veggie scraps and see how many worms I could get.... anyone have luck with something like this?

It very well may work on a small scale. I just don't think that they will reproduce fast enough to produce anything substantial. Meaning, you will probably run out of worms to feed fairly often. That is what I have heard from people in the past, so I honestly have not tried myself.