I normaly buy night crawlers/earth worms to feed my fish the problem is they seem to clump together into a ball and die within a few days.I have seen online that you can create worm bedding made from paper and cardboard and made damp and the worms then placed in the bedding I always thought earth worms needed soil to survive.Any body tried this ?
keeping night crawlers
- Thread starter bathawk
- Start date
Go with “euro crawlers” there a tad smaller than Canadians but they are extremly easy to care for and u dont need to keep them cold either. Do great in a 5gal bucket with damp newspaper alone at room temp and they last for a long time that way. Never had any losses honestly. Check out “uncle jims worm farm”. Used to order 1k at a time when i bred stingrays. Always quality worms with no losses. I tried canadians several times and it never ended well. Have to keep them refrigerated.
Put them in the fridge and they will be good for weeks. I just had a container in the fridge for 2 weeks and they we lively as ever.
Should b fine… i never even took the time to shred my newspaper. Just tore it up and tossed it in a bucket lol. The euro crawlers are super hardy even at 72 degrees indoors in the summer.
If you feed worms regularly, as I do, it's well worth your while creating a wormery. Ideally outside in your garden in a dedicated little area. Feed the wormery kitchen scraps and garden waste (no fats, citrus fruits or meat), and keep it moist, especially important in summer, and your wormery will thrive. I also put bits of cardboard and newspaper on mine.
The worms you will get are typically the small redworm, and once the wormery gets going you will be amazed at how many you can harvest. Redworms are at a size where you can feed them whole, unlike the earthworm which usually need chopping up, unless you have sizeable fish.
An added bonus, if you are green fingered as I am, is that the soil at the base of the wormery is like steroids to plants, extremely rich in nutrients. In spring I dig it all out and mix it in with my garden soil for my plants. And then I start all over again, feeding it and keeping it moist.
I too have kept worm bins for years (don't have any now but am considering starting one again), and Uncle Jims (https://www.googleadservices.com/pa...=2ahUKEwiDkPGjqe71AhVpUN8KHb7EB6QQ0Qx6BAgFEAE) was my source for red wigglers.
Once started, one doesn't need to order any more worms, media, or 'food'. Newspaper and clean vegetable kitchen scraps (+ occasional egg shells) is all that is needed. Self supporting, easy, fresh, live and limitless. The culture doesn't even smells if well tended. Only issue is that occasionally cultures get contaminated with small insects, but not a big deal. And yes, the 'worm tea' and 'worm castings' are like steroids for plants and vegetables.
I still remember my daughter (then about 5), saying - "Uhh, yuck ! Cam I touch them?" Of course she could touch them and she became my regular helper!
Good luck!
Once started, one doesn't need to order any more worms, media, or 'food'. Newspaper and clean vegetable kitchen scraps (+ occasional egg shells) is all that is needed. Self supporting, easy, fresh, live and limitless. The culture doesn't even smells if well tended. Only issue is that occasionally cultures get contaminated with small insects, but not a big deal. And yes, the 'worm tea' and 'worm castings' are like steroids for plants and vegetables.
I still remember my daughter (then about 5), saying - "Uhh, yuck ! Cam I touch them?" Of course she could touch them and she became my regular helper!
Good luck!
I kept nightcrawlers in bins in a spare fridge, in newspaper bedding for years. As I recall I pre-soaked the paper, and squeezed out the ink until it ran clear, then they went in. I actually bought a paper back book on how to keep them back in the early to mid 70's, long before the internet - when people still read books. lol
I used mine for fishing, not fish food.
Good luck
I used mine for fishing, not fish food.
Good luck