White worms and the so called California blackworms are often considered
great conditioning foods when trying to help small fishes develop eggs and
grow into spawning condition. With killies and livebearers and maybe others,
some would advise feeding worms sparingly if one is maintaining older
fishes. The worms can be fattening and digestion seems to contribute more
organic waste to the water than some other live foods. Cichlid people who
keep the veggie eating mbuna warn of intestinal problems - the so called
Malawi bloat, so worms are evidentially an entrée for carnivores only
Carolina Biological Supply's site has a useful article on them.
http://www.carolina.com/tips/worm/worm.asp .
Start first looking for them in local LFS (live fish shops). If you live
near a large airport, shops are more likely to carry them.
One on-line source for blackworms is http://www.aquaticfoods.com/index.html
. I have ordered worms from them and was pleased with their service, but
found that we can't use the half pound or pound orders quickly enough. (A
pound of worms, kept in shallow containers takes up a lot of space in the
family refrig. The worms should just be covered with water. One ofthe next
projects, a small campus refrig. bought up at the end of the college school
year to be placed in the fishroom.)
Smaller quantities from a local pet shop are proportionately more expensive
but can be given enough space, that with water changes more or less daily,
they can last even for a couple of months in the refrigerator. (Also it
encourages the local outlet to carry them.) Appraise family members of the
worms' presence. ;)
That aquatic foods place also sells a blue worm keeping container. In a
couple of threads on other lists they have been praised for their usefulness
in keeping blackworms healthy. The boxes are not cheap (especially when
shipping is figured in) but my worms are lasting longer with fewer water
changes and the roughly 6" by 6" by 3" boxes fit easily on refrigerator
shelves.
It is possible to raise the blackworms, but the space, effort, and water
necessary are more than many would care to invest. I buy worms, but find it
worth while to raise daphnia outside in some quantity.
A bunch of years ago Aquarium Fish Magazine carried a fascinating article by
Rosario LaCorte, the legendary New Jersey fish breeder. Upon retirement, he
moved to a parcel of land where a daphnia pond could be bulldozed out of a
portion of the yard. The water table kept it full. After a couple of years
of raising a lot of daphnia from a body of water that size, LaCorte tossed
in a bunch of blackworms. They evidentally fed on tree leaves and other
flotsom and thrived to the point where after some months he could collect
small balls of blackworms for his fish. Rosario liked the idea of raising
worms where they wouldn't be in a position to contact water fish had lived
in and become an intermediate stage for fish parasites. (The same advantage
accompanies culturing daphnia.)
All the best!
Scott
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