kiwiraka Posted December 27, 2014 Report Share Posted December 27, 2014 I just emptied out my big goldfish pond and the sediment is FULL of blackworms. Can I just throw a load in my tank and let the fish eat them over time? Or will they die quite quickly from lack of food? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted December 27, 2014 Report Share Posted December 27, 2014 They will most likely die and pollute. Set up a container/tank with an air pump and pop them in it. Feed with cat biscuits. Alternatively, if you are willing to put some in a coke bottle and courier overnight to me, I would be happy to purchase them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted December 28, 2014 Report Share Posted December 28, 2014 If you want to culture them put them in an aquarium with about 10mm of fine clean gravel and feed on kitten biscuits (higher protein that cat biscuits). Presoak a few and then break them up into a mush and spread them around the tank so they all get to feed. A small sponge filter with an aerator in a corner helps too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwiraka Posted December 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2014 I might be able to post some to you adrienne, I'd have to use an old fish food container though (Any tips on posting them? Ie full of water, half full? In sand or just loose in the water?) If I had them in a tank could I use fine sand as substrate? Is a 30 litre tank big enough? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwiraka Posted December 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2014 Also any tips on getting them out of the substrate in the pond? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted December 28, 2014 Report Share Posted December 28, 2014 Half full, loose in the water to send as they need air. Dig them out and then flush them out of the muck? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwiraka Posted December 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2014 Half full, loose in the water to send as they need air. Dig them out and then flush them out of the muck? I'll give it a go, I can't post til wednesday though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexyay Posted December 28, 2014 Report Share Posted December 28, 2014 I am really keen on buying some also. Amongst the others in a sales thread a while back wanting some :thup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted December 28, 2014 Report Share Posted December 28, 2014 You put the mud and worm mix in a bucket and cover it to keep it dark. As the worms move about the mud settles and you keep tipping the water off. Eventually the worms run out of O2 and come to the surface and you scrape them off with your hand and leave the mud behind. Return that to the pond and the ones that are left will multiply---particularly if you feed them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwiraka Posted December 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2014 Lol, I'll have to see how many I can get out of the substrate before I make any commitments. I was under the impression they were common? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwiraka Posted December 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2014 You put the mud and worm mix in a bucket and cover it to keep it dark. As the worms move about the mud settles and you keep tipping the water off. Eventually the worms run out of O2 and come to the surface and you scrape them off with your hand and leave the mud behind. Return that to the pond and the ones that are left will multiply---particularly if you feed them. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexyay Posted December 28, 2014 Report Share Posted December 28, 2014 Lol, I'll have to see how many I can get out of the substrate before I make any commitments. I was under the impression they were common? It seems to be that they're easy to find but no one is willing to sell any of their hoards City kid with no access to a pond here - and I'd rather get them from somewhere which is hopefully "kinda" disease free (as opposed to a random location). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwiraka Posted December 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2014 Lol, okay. Should be disease free ( No history of any parasites or diseases with the goldfish that have been in there for the last 2-3 years. I'll see what I can do tomorrow, tried scooping some out before but they just shoot into the substrate when the water is disturbed, so I'll have to shovel larges amounts of substrate out into buckets to try alanmins suggestion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjansss Posted December 28, 2014 Report Share Posted December 28, 2014 I would be very keen put you couldn't post me any till feb I'm in the coromandel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwiraka Posted December 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2014 Hmm, How do you tell the difference between tubifex and black? And are they any different in terms of care and use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwiraka Posted December 29, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2014 Sorry for any inconvenience, but most of the blackworms have died and I will not be able to send any. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted December 29, 2014 Report Share Posted December 29, 2014 Tubifex are further in the mud and Lumbriculus are on the surface of the mud. If you get them out of the mud and you touch them lumbriculus "swim" and tubifex retreat into a weee house they carry with them.. The story goes that tubifex carry more disease. In a previous life we used to take heaps out of the river and sell them to the pet shops and everybody had to have some. They were sold as tubifex but would have been lumbriculus. They have cleaned the rivers up now so nothing for them to feed on. People think they live on filth but they feed on the wasted protein in discharges from freezing works etc. You need to get the concentrations up high so they run out of oxygen and come to the surface. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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