Fully aquatic earthworms FOUND. Any info on breeding?

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knifegill

Peacock Bass
MFK Member
Sep 19, 2005
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Oscar Tummy
I have found several fully aquatic 'earthworms' in an urban stream near my house. So they're not suitable as food. But their progeny would sure be! Does anyone know anything about these worms? They are way too big to be tubifex. Pretty much the size of your typical red wriggler. If nobody knows, I'll just try breeding them like tubifex and see what happens.
 
The rumor that earthworms can't survive underwater is not true. They can survive underwater for a very long time.
 
detritus worm
 
No, no. These are river worms. They are living and breeding under rocks in a stream. I've been searching and discovered several useless references to these fully aquatic oligochaetae, but nothing yet on care or breeding.

Aquatic annelids develop gills and leave their rear parts exposed to breathe. There are 13 species in North America. That's all I'm really finding so far.
 
Want pics?

For anybody near Everett, Wa, these worms are found in pigeon creek #1. It's an urban stream off of Rucker/99 near the Value Village around...56th street? Eh, it's only about a mile from downtown Everett. Anyway, the trail/creek starts off the main road just North of Value Village near a business plaza and some nasty-looking apartments. There is a small bridge across the stream just a few feet from the road, and I found the worms under chunks of - wait for it - asphalt/blacktop about 50 feet downstream of the bridge. I wouldn't feed these worms to anything. But they are incredibly interesting in that they look almost exactly like terrestrial annelids, even possessing the band of earthworms unlike tubifex-type worms. They do, however, slightly resemble the stinging worms found at the seashore in that their rear segments are whitish and have visible projections. And they are big enough to feed to very large fish, around 3" long and 2/5ths of an inch in diameter. If you can get them to breed, anyway.
 
Do you know if they reproduce faster and more nutritious than the black/red worms... otherwise why give your self more headaches... just breed the black/red worms.
 
knifegill;4354140; said:
Will a 3' fish eat a blackworm?

For something that big... you'd go broke feeding blackworms. I'd try other stuff like tilapia fillets. I don't think small worms would be the natural diet for your 3' fish. BTW, what kind of fish is it? Pima or really old Arrowana or something else?
 
AHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAH I WAS RIGHT!!!!! Funny I was just reading my thread on aquatic worms. >:D
 
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