I'm looking into vermicomposting as a way to reduce my food waste. All the chopped off carrot peels and cabbage cores need to go somewhere....and where better than into a worm's mouth to be fed to a fish at a later time? Ideally, I'd be able to use a worm that composts relatively quickly, works well in polyculture with grindal/white worms and isn't unpalatable. This marks out the common red wriggler (Eisenia foetida) since it's known to be quite smelly and fish won't go after it. Does anybody vermicompost and have a good worm that they recommend using?
Best worms for feeding + vermicomposting?
- Thread starter ichthyogeek
- Start date
I have a worm heap, I just throw in waste, let nature do its thing, and I reap the rewards, or should I say my fish reap the rewards. The common "red wriggler" you refer to seems to be the main type of composting worm. I don't know what gives you the idea that they can "be quite smelly and fish wont go after it". My fish totally destroy these worms. And just lately i've started freezing them so that I have some to last through winter as well.
When I kept discus I have 3 red wiggler bins on a harvest rotation. No smells, no rot, although occasional aphid issues. Chopping the worms was absolutely necessary as even red wigglers get too big for many fish. That's the only part I didn't consider fun, not because of grossness issues, just because it is a chore. I experimented freezing worms, and although it works, the fish like them better alive or at least freshly chopped.
I still compost most kitchen scraps, but I don't currently maintain wiggler bins. Uncle Jim's is about the best supplier but there are many. One does not need to purchase the worm media and stuff they try to sell you. I have considered beginning worm bins again. One of these days.
I still compost most kitchen scraps, but I don't currently maintain wiggler bins. Uncle Jim's is about the best supplier but there are many. One does not need to purchase the worm media and stuff they try to sell you. I have considered beginning worm bins again. One of these days.
I've raised red wigglers as well, with no problems either from odour or from acceptance as food by fish and other critters. However, their specific designation "foetida" does seem to indicate they can be aromatic; maybe there are more than one species referred to by the common name "red wiggler"?
Back in Ontario I also had a friend who raised ordinary nightcrawlers; these are the big suckers you can easily catch at night on lawns, golf courses, etc. Never looked into the specifics of raising them, but he seemed to be quite successful at it for years.
Back in Ontario I also had a friend who raised ordinary nightcrawlers; these are the big suckers you can easily catch at night on lawns, golf courses, etc. Never looked into the specifics of raising them, but he seemed to be quite successful at it for years.