Worm Farm!

[HarleyK]

The worm farm is still going strong, without problems. It's been 7 months now. It's a bit too wet right now, which means drop of leachate are accumulating in the bottom pan. That leads to a slight organic smell.

I keep forgetting to link to this post for nutritional info

--> HERE <--

Howdy,

My juvenile pirayas enjoy red worms a lot - it's the only live food they get, it's fun to watch them hunt. Of course, I do not offer worms exclusively. As always, I think it's the balanced diet that matters.

Quote Originally Posted by atizknock;2764084;
im not sure about the nutrional value although i would imagine its quite good for them...
From several websites combined: Red worms (Eisenia fetida)

~84 % moisture
~11 % protein
~ 2 % fat
~ 1 % ash (inombustible inorganic residue like minerals/salts, vitamins)

Compared to market shrimp (according to label)

~ 12 % protein
~ 2 % fat


It's about the same, some websites post slightly (a few %) higher protein content for shrimp, or a slightly (couple %) higher fat content for worms.


Scientific Literature:

I found a publication in the journal "Aquaculture Research" that farm-raised rainbow trout was slightly fatter (whole carcass lipid content) when their regular herring meal diet was substituted with up to 30 % dried worm powder. No other effects were reported.
I found another publication in the "European Journal of Soil Biology" that studied feeding guppies exclusively with ground-up red worms. Guppy females had 50 % higher brood numbers, double number of offspring per brood, and higher survival rates of offspring than controls fed with commercially available flake food.


All in all, worms seem to be a decent source of food for fish.

Lastly, I would like to add that IMO worms bring the benefit of not being pure meat, but come with gut contents. In the wild, piranhas don't eat fillet or peeled shrimp. They eat everything, from head to guts.


Quote Originally Posted by ThaDude;2769086;
I highly suggest against it. My previous P's owner fed him worms, as a result during moving i've dealt with hexamita (hole in the head) 3 times.
HITH is more often attributable to poor filtration choices (carbon) than food deficiencies.

HarleyK

 

[Nic]

that liquid is perfect for your house plants... or lawn or garden... worm tea is the best stuff...

 

[ewurm]

Mine is also going well. Don't put potatoes in there for food, you'll have a potato farm as well

 

[Danger_Chicken]

Mine is also going well. Don't put potatoes in there for food, you'll have a potato farm as well

I started one at the end of March after reading this and it's kicking with worms, no smell or bugs. I dont' have a lot of food scrapes so I buy frozen veggies at walmart for $1 pound and put them in a food processor.

 

[HarleyK]

6 years later, still going with worms.
I've had to restock twice after some periods of not feeding much, and then needing lots of worms.

 

[FMA4ME]

Cool man I want to start one, Are those red wigglers you keep? They are different than eartworms right? Did I read you're just using peat as substrate?

 

[festaedan]

Nice, my worm bin is going strong as well.
I dont use it to feed as much since I only have 4 fish (cichla, gulper cat, and 2 rays) and all 4 ignore the worms. I mainly have it to make vermicompost for my veggie garden and if I eventually get a fish that likes worms, i have an unlimited supply of food for that fish.

 

[xraycer]

I'm been thinking about getting mine back up and running again.

 

[Coryloach]

Compared to market shrimp (according to label)

~ 12 % protein
~ 2 % fat

Dwarf shrimp farm anyone I've got hundreds of them and they aren't as unsightly as worms. The hardiest of creatures I've kept only comparable to pond snails.
I am only kidding as I don't feed them to my fish but I'd say if I wanted to, I can feed fresh shrimp regularly without making a dent in the population. I wonder why others haven't done it considering it's pleasurable and easy looking after dwarf shrimp/cherry shrimp in particular, and mine have lived in anything from 12C/53F to 30C/86F in a TDS ranging from 270 to 1200ppm and breeding in the high range too!!
But kept at optimum conditions they multiply out of proportions.

 

[HarleyK]

I've had RCS in my 220 gal until recently, when my Odoe fry cleared them out. (at least from what I can tell right now).
They're happy in many of my other tanks. Great for biodiversity!


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