The issue is that they seem to have a pretty slow growth rate compared to other cultures - definitely not something that you can start with a small culture and have it balloon exponentially in a matter of weeks. Maybe with that large of a colony I'll get a growth rate that's sufficient to harvest sustainably. I'm thinking I might set them up in a good-sized container with sand bottom, and just concentrate on feeding them to keep them healthy while I use them up over a period of months, rather than trying to grow the culture. That's actually better than if I ordered them directly from (they quoted me about $35 including shipping for 1lb). I just contacted my local independent aquarium store, and they can sell me 1/2 lb of blackworms for $17, or 1lb for $31. I might have given up on actually culturing these guys. If anyone figures something else out, I'd love to hear it.īut. Spirulina flakes were the only food I found to work consistently - but seems there must be something cheaper that you could feed them.

Howdy - here's something I posted to the old e-mail list back in 2006 on the topic of blackworm culture.

Download tubifex worm culture