Breeding Red Worms for live food

[OlgaMolga]

I just bought a can of 50ct Red Worms from my local bait store, I'm not sure how long it will last in my fridge before they die off in the lil can, I did some small time research online and I found out that I can raise and breed my Red worms properly feeding them table scraps, potato peels, carrot peels, basically creating a compost pile for the diet.

I was wondering if anyone had success with this and or have any tips for this new for me live worm breeding?

This feeding of red worms is for my 3.5 inch Black Knife fish (Spartacus), cory cat (Tony), and my betta (Blue). They all seem to enjoy it lol.

What worms do you suggest if not red worms?

 

[Matteus]

If you want to breed them get a bin, make sure it gets air circulation or it can stink. Don’t pile the substrate too high or it will compact the worm supply. Put it in a cooler/ darker spot( I have mine in the laundry room in the basement)

avoid feeding them meat and citrus fruits.they don’t eat meat and citrus acids are harmful to the worms. But make sure you crush some egg shells and throw in some coffee grounds, this gives them gutload so they can digest better.

if you want to kickstart the breeding process, throw a bunch of your table scraps including the coffee grounds and eggshells into a blender with a bit of water to make a worm smoothie.pour it over the substrate and leave them be for a week. When you try to dig them up, they will be bunched up all over the place laying eggs everywhere.

 

[tlindsey]

I just bought a can of 50ct Red Worms from my local bait store, I'm not sure how long it will last in my fridge before they die off in the lil can, I did some small time research online and I found out that I can raise and breed my Red worms properly feeding them table scraps, potato peels, carrot peels, basically creating a compost pile for the diet.

I was wondering if anyone had success with this and or have any tips for this new for me live worm breeding?

This feeding of red worms is for my 3.5 inch Black Knife fish (Spartacus), cory cat (Tony), and my betta (Blue). They all seem to enjoy it lol.

What worms do you suggest if not red worms?


View attachment 1395047View attachment 1395048View attachment 1395049

There were a couple of members who bred red worms.

 

[esoxlucius]

I don't breed worms as such, it's just more of a case of throwing household scraps/garden waste into a designated area at the bottom of the garden and nature does the rest. As long as I do my bit with the scraps the worms are there, if I stop, they gradually vanish when the food source has been eaten. My heap is not in an enclosed tub with a bottom etc, it's just a tiny patch of garden with a small wooden structure around it to keep the waste enclosed. The base is the actual earth itself so worms can come and go as they please.

The top area where the waste is quite new is where the small redworms are. As the waste breaks down and it turns into soil, near the bottom, that is where the larger earthworms are found. This is brilliant for me because I have mini and mid range monsters, worms to fit all sizes!

The two most important aspects for me are feeding the heap and keeping it moist. During the winter months when the ground might be hard or it's cold outside I just stop feeding it and the worms just go. Then when spring comes I start feeding again and it springs into life with a supply of lovely worms.

 

[twentyleagues]

I dont raise them but have thought about it. I have an acquaintance that does raise them on a pretty large scale. He has rows of boxes built out of wood in his basement they are lined with something, maybe pond material I'm unsure on that part. He feeds them a grain that comes in a large bag and then tons of vegetables. He also has a hydroponics setup. Anyway lettucess and someother stuff he grows gets fed to the worms. The castings (worm poop) is a super strong fertalizer he bags and sells to a local green house. The worms go to a bait shop mostly. I watched him start a new colony. He dumped a bag of grain in the empty box and threw some old veggies on top sprayed it lightly with water and threw a handful of worms on top. He said they make pretty short work of the food stuff and once established work out really well. He also said to stay away from citrus and anything with a higher acid like tomatoes.

 

[OlgaMolga]

Thank you Thank you Thank you!
I will be building a bin today.
This information especially about the citric acid and no meat info was great,
I will place them in a cool dark spot in the garage!
I'm super stoked.!

 

[OlgaMolga]

My fiance just Built this MASSIVE Box for breeding my worms. I'm thinking to stock maybe 1,000 red worms or so. LOL.
WAYY bigger than I expected.

 

[twentyleagues]

My fiance just Built this MASSIVE Box for breeding my worms. I'm thinking to stock maybe 1,000 red worms or so. LOL.
WAYY bigger than I expected.
View attachment 1395103

Thats cool!

 

[esoxlucius]

My fiance just Built this MASSIVE Box for breeding my worms. I'm thinking to stock maybe 1,000 red worms or so. LOL.
WAYY bigger than I expected.
View attachment 1395103

Wow, that's quite a box you've got there OlgaMolga . Next time he builds you a box tell him to make it twice as big and stick a viewing panel in the front!!!

That's the way we roll on here

 

[OlgaMolga]

Wow, that's quite a box you've got there OlgaMolga . Next time he builds you a box tell him to make it twice as big and stick a viewing panel in the front!!!

That's the way we roll on here

OMG YOU ARE BRILLIANT SIR>
A more narrow and tall box , kinda like a ant farm hugh.
But redworms like alot of surface area. Do you have a picture example!