Black worm die off

[fatoldsun]

I had about half a pound of black worms in my fridge and all but about an ounce was dead when I went to retrieve them. I generally feed them to the tank every other day. Before I do that I rinse them thoroughly with tap water. I try to rinse until the water I drain off looks clean/clear. I will occasionally see a few worms that look like they list their color and I assume those are dead but nothing like this.
After I use what I need they are returned to the fridge. The only thing I did differently was that I added worms about 2 weeks ago before my supply was used up. I was at Aquarium Center and figured I'd pick up another 1/2 lb - I had about 1/8-1/4 left. Any guesses where I failed here?
Did I over rinse them? I like to try to get them clean to limit the nasty worm water going in the tank...

 

[TanksNStuff]

Its hard to say Dave. I've had that issue from time to time also, and I have pretty much the same rinsing regiment as you. I think it might be partly to the amount of worms you have in the small container at once as this typically happens when I "double up" and add the older worms to the newer worms. I don't usually have the issue with them dying off if they are healthy when I get them. This is also when I start to see some white slimy stuff forming that sort of looks like mini cotton balls.

I also think that the dead/dying worms can cause the demise of other healthy worms, so I try to either feed the lighter colored ones first and get rid of them before they infect the rest... or I end up just flushing clumps of dead ones to cut out the poison.

 

[fatoldsun]

I had that thought - feeding the worse looking ones but if they are killing off other worms I was afraid they'd be pretty bad for the fish.

 

[redfishbluefish]

Were you changing the water for the worms every day.....with cold water? They do best if you do a daily water change with, at a minimum, dechlorinated water that is also kept in the refrigerator.

 

[fatoldsun]

I was using *cold* tap water and cleaned them when I fed them to the tank so every OTHER day. I never used anything but tap water mostly b/c I rely on the sprayer to sort of aerate and mix the worms as I wash them. But it is the same tap water I have always used. Sometimes I will put the worms I intend to use on a given night in RoDi to try and dilute the small amount of tap water that might otherwise go in the tank with the worms

 

[redfishbluefish]

David, I'm not talking about rinsing them before you feed......I'm saying doing a 100 percent water change of their water every day. The easiest way of doing this is by using a "Worm Keeper." It's a double container where the inside container has a mesh bottom. When you do a water change, you pick up the inner container, dump the water in the outer container and replace it with fresh cold water. Place the inner container back into the outer container....done.

Again, this needs to be done daily.


EDIT TO ADD:

Here is a cut-n-paste of blackworm care:

Upon the arrival of your Blackworms thoroughly rinse them with CHEMICAL FREE PRE CHILLED WATER (40-50 degrees) until their run off water is clear and clean. When placing them in your live Blackworm keeper or other container make sure that your worms are no thicker then 1/2 inch. If they are thicker they may suffocate or try to escape from their container. Keep no more then 1/2 inch of water above them, and do not cover their container they need to be able to breath.

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Keep your Blackworms in the refrigerator. They need to be kept between 40-55 degrees. Do not keep them in an aquarium, outside boxes, basements etc. Only in the refrigerator.

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To keep your worms fresh they should be rinsed at least once a day. Use only CHEMICAL FREE PRE CHILLED WATER when rinsing. Do not use aquarium water, or room temperature water. Only cold 40-50 degree water.

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You do not have to feed your worms, they will live off their own body weight. However the longer they are kept they will lose weight. Weekly orders are suggested to insure freshness. Uneaten worms will not foul your aquarium, but do feed according to your fish and aquarium size. ​

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[fatoldsun]

That's a cool contraption. I'll have to look for one. I assume the mesh bottom is sufficiently "fine" enough to keep the worms "in"?
Also I always keep a lid on the container so they don't all climb out and all over the fridge leading to a chain reaction ending in my divorce and trying to live in my fish tank. How do you think they can be allowed to "breathe" the fresh fridge air while remaining confined to the container?

 

[redfishbluefish]

That's a cool contraption. I'll have to look for one. I assume the mesh bottom is sufficiently "fine" enough to keep the worms "in"?

The worms do not go through the mesh.

Also I always keep a lid on the container .......

Between water changes and the lid, I think we've found your problem. And wives are replaceable. Dance ....but please don't tell mine that.

 

[TanksNStuff]

FYI, we'll be doing a blackworm group buy very soon (this month most likely) from a great source for blackworms. They sell these worm keepers too, so you might want to get in on that Dave. I plan to.

 

[phantomg23]

Yep the tap water and lid is your issue. They need to breath and have to be washed with rodi or distilled water.

 

[dirtycontour]

I keep my worms in tap water without any issues. But I agree, the lid is most likely the problem. I keep them in a shallow Tupperware container in a brown paper bag in my fridge. As Paul mentioned, I change close to 100% of the water daily. No lid at all and they do not crawl out. I usually pick up a 1/4 lb at a time. That lasts me 5-6 weeks with minimal die-off.

 

[fatoldsun]

FYI, we'll be doing a blackworm group buy very soon (this month most likely) from a great source for blackworms. They sell these worm keepers too, so you might want to get in on that Dave. I plan to.

I'm in. How will that be facilitated? Will this be a direct ship to the member or coordinated shuttle?

I read as much as I could thus afternoon. If I understand the contraption that Paul B designed it relies on circulation more than temps. His think looks too large to fit in a fridge...

 

[jgraz]

Paul doesn't refrigerate his. His contraption keeps then alive and he even sees them multiply but not on a grand scale.


My wife is completely against worms in the fridge. That said I was able to get a 1/4 lb and keep them for a few weeks with daily water changes and a lid though a very light fitting one. I used the filtered water straight from the fridge to rinse and change nightly at feeding time.

 

[grink]

I'm in for a group buy

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[fatoldsun]

Now I'm more perplexed. After the bulk of the worms died I sort of wrote the batch off. I figured I would revise my procedure with the next batch starting with a better vessel (worm keeper type) to keep them in and rinsing with better water, at least dechlorinated... I thought I'd wait for the group buy for a keeper and more worms. About 3 weeks ago -- this was a couple days before the original post -- after I found the due off I cleaned out as many of the dead worms as I could. This was before all of the suggestions offered here so I went about it as I always had, rinsed with tap water and returned to the fridge but this time with 10-15% of them dead. They were in a container with the lid on tight and i sort of just left them there. Tonight I went to get the container to clean it out and there was nothing but healthy living worms. I suppose they are the waste and dead worms.
Just thought I'd share.