Just got my nightcrawlers today

[AroW]

I just got a pound of live nightcrawlers for my stingray. IT came with a peat substrate. I have a few questions

1. How do I feed them? Can I feed them fish food?
2. How do I keep them alive?
3. What container should I keep them in? I have them in a bucket and they keep crawling out by sliding on the sides!
4. Can I feed the worms immediately after just rinsing them? Is that clean enough?
5. Lastly, I read somewhere here about this guy making his worms float. Forgot the method though, any clue?

Thanks!!

 

[Miles]

5. Lastly, I read somewhere here about this guy making his worms float. Forgot the method though, any clue?

Get a hyperdermic needle, and blow him up with air like a baloon?

 

[Miles]

I just got a pound of live nightcrawlers for my stingray. IT came with a peat substrate. I have a few questions

1. How do I feed them? Can I feed them fish food?

I don't see why not.. Alot of people feed them oatmeal and a mixture of other grain based foods. Ask the owner of McGavin worm farm, he's a vendor here, as he grows his worms with a specialty mixture of food.

2. How do I keep them alive?

Feed them, water them, stir the dirt, make sure they can get Oxygen.. Not hard to care for at all. Just don't let them freeze or get too warm. A damp basement works well.

3. What container should I keep them in? I have them in a bucket and they keep crawling out by sliding on the sides!

They make specially designed worm holders with aeration vents on the sides. I prefer a large styrofoam fish box, with some aeration holes on the top. It will hold way more worms

4. Can I feed the worms immediately after just rinsing them? Is that clean enough?

I do.. but most people would disagree. They will often have 'dirt' inside their digestive system, and it can make a mess of your tank when your fish rip open the worms. They could also carry bad pathogens in their digestive system, but that is why you buy them from a worm farm, and not out of your back yard. Some people take the steps to slice them open, rinse and wash them more thoroughly. I simply rinse off the dirt and drop them in, I look at anything that is inside of them as added nutrition.

Hope that helps.. Should be lots of info on the Internet if you look..

 

[AroW]

thanks!

one more question: how small should the pieces be? I don't want to chop them up because it is too messy

 

[Miles]

However small your fish needs.. For young rays, I chop them into 1/4ths.. for adult rays, I just use whole worms.

 

[AroW]

is it okay if I freeze the worms and then cut them? I can't stand butchering a live worm

also, it wouldn't eat the worm, cut or whole, live or not. What to do?

 

[michael]

From McGavins?

 

[AroW]

nope, I bought it from another farm. My motoro is scared of the nightcrawlers whether they are fed live and whole or into 1 inch pieces. He did take some shrimp today but not a whole lot. Should I keep feeding him nightcrawlers?