THE OFFICIAL ASK ALBERT THIEL THREAD

[albertthiel]

Hi Albert,

 

Most of that stock list is used for filtering. The only fish would be 1 and then the anemones and shrimp.

 

I am working with http://www.coldwatermarineaquatics.com/ for ordering and also working out stock list. So far they have given the green light on stock.

 

Sounds good if they think that will work on a 2 gallon at the low temp. Do keep us posted ... Thanks. Very interested to see how that works out for you and I am sure others are too ... Yes some of those do filter indeed but do give off nutrients as well, but if they say that is ok then I guess you are fine.

 

Albert

[albertthiel]

Getting Live Blackworms in tomorrow, Tuesday, from the California Sellers ...

 

But I am getting1/4 pound ... a bit much for a few fish ... guess I'll have to store them and if it's in the fridge I can just hear my wife ..... " What is 'that' in my Fridge? " ....

 

Guess that is where they will have to go unless I keep them in cold water outside of the fridge with some ice but that would not be that easy for that amount ... may have to part with some to my LFS.

 

Albert

[flypenfly]

According to their site, you can keep them in your fridge but apparently they need a daily distilled water bath... seems a bit high maintenance.

[TeflonTomDosh]

Getting Live Blackworms in tomorrow, Tuesday, from the California Sellers ...

 

But I am getting1/4 pound ... a bit much for a few fish ... guess I'll have to store them and if it's in the fridge I can just hear my wife ..... " What is 'that' in my Fridge? " ....

 

Guess that is where they will have to go unless I keep them in cold water outside of the fridge with some ice but that would not be that easy for that amount ... may have to part with some to my LFS.

 

Albert

cant freeze the ones you dont use initially or is the whole point in having them to feed them live?

[albertthiel]

I am not freezing them, just putting them in the fridge ... and you are right freezing them would defeat the whole point of buying them live indeed ...

 

Albert

 

cant freeze the ones you dont use initially or is the whole point in having them to feed them live?

According to their site, you can keep them in your fridge but apparently they need a daily distilled water bath... seems a bit high maintenance.

 

Yes I think that is what it is, keep in the fridge and then change the water they are in every day and if any dead ones can be seen remove them I think although I don't think they say that but that is what would make the most sense

 

Albert

[albertthiel]

Worms : Good and Bad ... with large Images and names (common and scientific)

 

Good reference for ID'ing

 

Link :

 

http://www.ryanphotographic.com/annelida.htm

 

 

Albert

[Paul.b]

You can keep worms in the fridge unless you are married to my wife. If I did that, I would be sleeping in the fridge.

I keep them in a small tank with moving water, I also feed them. They grow nice and fat and I never find a dead worm. But you do have to cycle their container and put something in there to grow bacteria. Yes, it is a pain to do all this but my fish think of me as their best friend.

[albertthiel]

You can keep worms in the fridge unless you are married to my wife. If I did that, I would be sleeping in the fridge.

I keep them in a small tank with moving water, I also feed them. They grow nice and fat and I never find a dead worm. But you do have to cycle their container and put something in there to grow bacteria. Yes, it is a pain to do all this but my fish think of me as their best friend.

 

I fear I may end up in there too :-) if I put them in the fridge. What do you feed them Paul ...? Not worms I gather :-) :-) Let me know some more when you have time, as they are supposed to arrive today sometime ... Thanks

 

Albert

[Paul.b]

I am going to put up a live worm keeper. Yes, I admit it, I am a blackworm expert. I am not an expert of anything else but blackworms are my thing. If you want to keep live worms, you "Must" listen to me. Why? Because you didn't read the first sentence, did you?

Look at the diagram. It is a small tank or container, I use a one gallon tank but it just has to fit what I drew.

I will start with the powerhead. It is laying in a plastic container, any plastic container that it fits in but it is a tiny powerhead, the smallest I could find. The container is, I don't know Oil of Oley container, whatever. But near the top of the container drill some holes. Maybe 6 1/4" holes but that is not to important. The reason for the holes is that the worms swim about as good as a brick so they will stay on the bottom, they don't do well in pumps so the holes are a few inches above the bottom so the worms don't get in there. The water level is a few inches over that container. Water is pumped to that other plastic container filled with cheap charcoal or carbon. That carbon container is guess what? Who cares, it could be a water bottle, pill case, ear plug jar, etc. But drill some tiny holes around the bottom, put some floss on the bottom and fill with carbon. If you get that carbon that is larger pieces, you don't need floss. I also put a hole near the top of that carbon container facing the pump just in case the carbon gets clogged, the water will run out and go into the shallow tray and not on my rare collection of historic war documents because that is where you should place this device, on something that you really don't want to get wet.

Water flows through the carbon to the tray. The tray has some eggcrate laying in it. Worms love eggcrate and it grows bacteria.

I also glued a few low barriers into the tray to keep the worms and eggcrate stationary.

The water flows to the right side and notice the tube is raised about 1/2" in the tray so all the worms don't go through the tube. (remember how they swim)

The water flows slowly into another container that is just there to catch worms that get through as most of them will. There are no holes in that container and the water just overflows into the tank.

There is some eggcrate in the tank for bacteria, don't use bioballs or you will never pry the worms from the balls.

 

This thing has to be cycled for a few weeks. If you don't cycle it, in one hour you will have a brown, stinking smelly mess. The worms will pollute this thing in an hour so it must be cycled. It has only fresh water in it but cycle it like anything else. Put in a shrimp, side of beef, dead fish, insoles from your GrandMother's shoe, anything you like but whatever you do, don't clean the thing. Never clean it except for the front glass if you really need to look at the inside of it.

After it gets a slimy film of bacteria in it, you can add some worms, not a pound, maybe an ounce. In a few weeks it will run itself and you will hardly have to change the water but until it is properly cycled, you may have to change it a few times as it will get a bacterial bloom. This is normal just like it is in an overstocked tank but it will grow enough bacteria to keep all the worms you want.

Oh I forgot, you have to feed the worms. They eat paper towels or brown paper. (I wish my wife would live on that)

I put about a 2"x3" piece of paper in the tray until it is gone. Usually 4 days or so you need to add another one. You can put in more but the worms love paper and if there is to much paper, you can't get the worms away from the paper. But they get nice and fat and reproduce, just not fast enough.

If you want to keep a lot of worms, do all of this much larger. I have been doing it for years because, well, I am a worm expert. Ask any worm. Any questions?

Yes, it is sideways. On my computer it is straight so before you look at the picture, turn your monitor on it's side

Albert, can you fix this?

 

[albertthiel]

I am going to put up a live worm keeper. Yes, I admit it, I am a blackworm expert. I am not an expert of anything else but blackworms are my thing. If you want to keep live worms, you "Must" listen to me. Why? Because you didn't read the first sentence, did you?

 

Look at the diagram. It is a small tank or container, I use a one gallon tank but it just has to fit what I drew.

 

I will start with the powerhead. It is laying in a plastic container, any plastic container that it fits in but it is a tiny powerhead, the smallest I could find. The container is, I don't know Oil of Oley container, whatever. But near the top of the container drill some holes. Maybe 6 1/4" holes but that is not to important.

 

The reason for the holes is that the worms swim about as good as a brick so they will stay on the bottom, they don't do well in pumps so the holes are a few inches above the bottom so the worms don't get in there. The water level is a few inches over that container. Water is pumped to that other plastic container filled with cheap charcoal or carbon. That carbon container is guess what? Who cares, it could be a water bottle, pill case, ear plug jar, etc.

 

But drill some tiny holes around the bottom, put some floss on the bottom and fill with carbon. If you get that carbon that is larger pieces, you don't need floss. I also put a hole near the top of that carbon container facing the pump just in case the carbon gets clogged, the water will run out and go into the shallow tray and not on my rare collection of historic war documents because that is where you should place this device, on something that you really don't want to get wet.

 

Water flows through the carbon to the tray. The tray has some eggcrate laying in it. Worms love eggcrate and it grows bacteria.

I also glued a few low barriers into the tray to keep the worms and eggcrate stationary.

 

The water flows to the right side and notice the tube is raised about 1/2" in the tray so all the worms don't go through the tube. (remember how they swim)

 

The water flows slowly into another container that is just there to catch worms that get through as most of them will. There are no holes in that container and the water just overflows into the tank.

 

There is some eggcrate in the tank for bacteria, don't use bioballs or you will never pry the worms from the balls.

 

This thing has to be cycled for a few weeks. If you don't cycle it, in one hour you will have a brown, stinking smelly mess. The worms will pollute this thing in an hour so it must be cycled. It has only fresh water in it but cycle it like anything else. Put in a shrimp, side of beef, dead fish, insoles from your GrandMother's shoe, anything you like but whatever you do, don't clean the thing. Never clean it except for the front glass if you really need to look at the inside of it.

 

After it gets a slimy film of bacteria in it, you can add some worms, not a pound, maybe an ounce. In a few weeks it will run itself and you will hardly have to change the water but until it is properly cycled, you may have to change it a few times as it will get a bacterial bloom. This is normal just like it is in an overstocked tank but it will grow enough bacteria to keep all the worms you want.

Oh I forgot, you have to feed the worms. They eat paper towels or brown paper. (I wish my wife would live on that)

I put about a 2"x3" piece of paper in the tray until it is gone. Usually 4 days or so you need to add another one. You can put in more but the worms love paper and if there is to much paper, you can't get the worms away from the paper. But they get nice and fat and reproduce, just not fast enough.

 

If you want to keep a lot of worms, do all of this much larger. I have been doing it for years because, well, I am a worm expert. Ask any worm. Any questions?

 

Yes, it is sideways. On my computer it is straight so before you look at the picture, turn your monitor on it's side

Albert, can you fix this?

 

 

So the worms are in the shallow tray and not in that bottom empty container that the water from the tray seems to fall into, and I guess overflows in the larger one where the powerhead also is in its own container? Is that correct or am I misunderstanding it ...

 

So there are no worms in the bottom but only in the top tray?

 

Now since I do not have anything set up like that I guess i can keep them in freshwater and change it every couple of hours till I have a contraption cycled like you show ....

 

Not sure what you mean by its on it is sideways .... as I look at it I think I see it as you have it set up ...

 

Thanks Paul ....

 

Albert

[eitallent]

Hi, Paul. Thanks for sharing this ingenious device. When you go away on your diving trips or vacation, do you place more paper to maintain the colony? Do you just feed all the worms to your fish before you leave and start from scratch when you return?

 

There are no stores here that sell California black worms. So, like Albert I too have to mail order them. I would love to set this up.

 

BTW, Albert and Paul I have started feeding clams, which I had to special order, and my Hubby just rolls his eyes. "The fish eat better than we do." he says.

 

Another question. Live oysters are easier to get here than clams. Is there any reason not to feed oysters?

 

Thanks for all you help Albert, Paul and all!

[Subsea]

Paul,

I really like your worm house. Would newspaper work? Earth worms including red wiggles and night crawlers will consume newspaper no matter what the news is.

Patrick

[albertthiel]

Hi, Paul. Thanks for sharing this ingenious device. When you go away on your diving trips or vacation, do you place more paper to maintain the colony? Do you just feed all the worms to your fish before you leave and start from scratch when you return?

 

There are no stores here that sell California black worms. So, like Albert I too have to mail order them. I would love to set this up.

 

BTW, Albert and Paul I have started feeding clams, which I had to special order, and my Hubby just rolls his eyes. "The fish eat better than we do." he says.

 

Another question. Live oysters are easier to get here than clams. Is there any reason not to feed oysters?

 

Thanks for all you help Albert, Paul and all!

 

Yes the design is great, I just need some answers to the questions to Paul I posted as to where the worms go .. just in the tray or also in that bottom container that is isolated in the larger one at the bottom ...

 

And on the Oysters ... I have tried those too and the fish go bananas for them as well but I have used Mussels too and they seem to love those as well ... I have tried shrimp but the ones with the head still on and not cooked or peeled and most of what is nutritious seems to be in the top part right by the head .. but Paul can correct me on that one ... and of course I use Clams (little ones) too.

 

The California Company that sells them guarantees live arrival btw and mine should get here today .. .not sure when but once I get them I'll post some more info ...

 

Albert

[Paul.b]

I guess newspaper would work as long as there are no disturbing articles for them to see. I am not sure how the ink would affect them. Use paper towels or brown paper bags. If you don't feed them, they will get skinny and the ones that die will de compose and fed the remaining worms so I don't have to feed them when I am on vacation.

I put the worms in that top tray, eventually they make their way into that container they fall in and I suck them out with a baster and put then back in the top tray. They hate when I do that. The purpose of the tray is to oxygenate the water. They don't live well in a tank. They usually live in very shallow, moving water but they do live in that container in the tank because oxygenated water is always fed to it.

I have tried many different configurations of this and I never get a dead worm. The entire thing takes 15 minutes to build. That tray is sold in a supermarket to put junk in in a drawer. Any plastic tray will do. It just allows the water to take up more oxygen as that is the secret. Worms are messy and they live on bacteria that comes from rotting paper. Bacteria use a lot of oxygen, much more then the worms so if you keep the bacteria happy, there will be no smell, no dead worms and only clean, clear water.

But at first, it will be cloudy until it cycles. I didn't say it was easy, I said it worked. Your fish will thank you, the worms will thank you, the bacteria will thank you and your spouse will thank you. Then you will thank me by sending me a check for an appropriate amount with a stamped, self addressed envelope and I will send you an autographed, glossy photo of Paris Hilton

You can see mine here with a bunch of junk on top of it. Most of that stuff has nothing to do with this worm keeper. It's just my workshop.

[Paul.b]

This is a little earlier model without the container for the pump. That was the last revision as worms were getting in the pump. This one also does not have the carbon chamber. It helps keep the water clean and I only change it every couple of weeks. If this was not cycled, the worms would foul the water in an hour.

The worms go in the top tray, but they sometimes get into the container in the tank so I suck them back even though they will live fine in that container also.

 

[albertthiel]

Paul,

I really like your worm house. Would newspaper work? Earth worms including red wiggles and night crawlers will consume newspaper no matter what the news is.

Patrick

 

:-) I guess they don't care a bit ... but what about the effect of the ink ?

 

Albert

[Paul.b]

California Blackworms come from, guess where? Yes California, so you should be able to get them there.

Ask Schwartzenagger, maybe he knows.

 

Yes don't use newspapers. If you can't afford one paper towel or one brown paper bag a year, this may be the wrong hobby for you and perhaps watching the sky would more economical.

One paper towel lasts me a few months. I save up for it then put all my money together in an interest bearing account and only withdraw it to buy that paper towel.

 

The worms would love it if you put an entire paper towel in there, but you would never be able to separate the worms from the paper.

[flypenfly]

Can I just use a reverse undergravel filter with an air pump? I'll throw in some egg crate or a media bag of biomedia.

 

Should I use RODI or just Prime treated tap water?

 

Do they need any light or is darkness preferred. I'd prefer to just throw this inside my stand.

[flypenfly]

It seems something like this could work?

 

http://www.amazon.com/Aquatop-Aquarium-Driven-Internal-Corner/dp/B006QI831I/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1364307291&sr=8-4&keywords=corner+filter

 

or just something like this

 

http://www.amazon.com/Lees-Aquarium-Pet-Economy-Corner/dp/B0002APWDI/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1364307291&sr=8-7&keywords=corner+filter

 

Essentially you could put your carbon and bio media in there and the air pump should aerate the water pretty well?

[Paul.b]

Can I just use a reverse undergravel filter with an air pump? I'll throw in some egg crate or a media bag of biomedia.

 

Should I use RODI or just Prime treated tap water?

That is why I spent all that time getting that drawing from Andy Wharholl.

If it has gravel, you can not convince the worms to come out and play. They get tangled in anything that has gravel, holes, pores or anything. The worms would love it but the purpose is to get them so you can feed the fish. If you want to keep worms as pets, then they would love a UG filter and gravel.

 

No, you can not use a reverse UG filter.

 

Do they need any light or is darkness preferred. I'd prefer to just throw this inside my stand.

[eitallent]

Since feeding live foods Skipper has really brightened up!

 

[Trogdor447]

Since feeding live foods Skipper has really brightened up!

That is a beautiful fish

[Paul.b]

Here is the first picture of both my shrimp, gobies. The tiny one grew about 1/4 larger since I got him and now they both live in the burrow with the shrimp.

 

[albertthiel]

I guess newspaper would work as long as there are no disturbing articles for them to see. I am not sure how the ink would affect them. Use paper towels or brown paper bags. If you don't feed them, they will get skinny and the ones that die will de compose and fed the remaining worms so I don't have to feed them when I am on vacation.

I put the worms in that top tray, eventually they make their way into that container they fall in and I suck them out with a baster and put then back in the top tray. They hate when I do that. The purpose of the tray is to oxygenate the water. They don't live well in a tank. They usually live in very shallow, moving water but they do live in that container in the tank because oxygenated water is always fed to it.

 

I have tried many different configurations of this and I never get a dead worm. The entire thing takes 15 minutes to build. That tray is sold in a supermarket to put junk in in a drawer. Any plastic tray will do. It just allows the water to take up more oxygen as that is the secret. Worms are messy and they live on bacteria that comes from rotting paper. Bacteria use a lot of oxygen, much more then the worms so if you keep the bacteria happy, there will be no smell, no dead worms and only clean, clear water.

 

But at first, it will be cloudy until it cycles. I didn't say it was easy, I said it worked. Your fish will thank you, the worms will thank you, the bacteria will thank you and your spouse will thank you. Then you will thank me by sending me a check for an appropriate amount with a stamped, self addressed envelope and I will send you an autographed, glossy photo of Paris Hilton

 

You can see mine here with a bunch of junk on top of it. Most of that stuff has nothing to do with this worm keeper. It's just my workshop.

 

 

Seems easy enough to get together .... just need to get a low output PH I guess and that tray but if I set it up it is not cycled so I will have to use the fridge till that tank cycles ... and change the water in the tray in the fridge once a day or more if necessary ... do you use tap water or RO/DI or distilled ... when they are in the fridge I guess no circulation is needed ... that would be a bit difficult to do I think ...

 

Let me know Paul ... Thanks

 

Albert

[flypenfly]

Okay got you Paul.

 

So here are the points I can gather, you need:

 

• Fully cycled fresh water tank
• Biological and chemical filtration system which will help keep the water clean for some periods
• Paper towels to feed worms (just curious but they won't eat pellets?)
• Easy way to harvest worms
• Water changes every few weeks
• No heater is required, no light is required, do not use a substrate or anything the worms will get into.

If you have that you can keep a self sustaining system?