Red Worm Composting, by Vern Archer November 2008

Recently, I had decided to pursue an additional live food for my discus that would be both beneficial to the discus as well as the environment.   The discus would receive additional live nutrition and roughage, while the environment would benefit through composting vegetable and fruit waste.

I chose the red worm for three reasons:

1. It is an excellent composting worm,

2. It is a smaller worm (as compared to the European Night Crawler) for the discus, and

3. I can keep the culture in the basement in the furnace room as the red worm does well at room temperature.

So, I turned on the computer and went surfing and I found a very good site, here in Ontario, Canada, with good information on the red worm and the European Night Crawler.   I sent an email and placed my order to  www.wormcomposting.ca.   I found a good informative video demonstrating and explaining how to start and maintain these red worms.   I will give you a brief outline but suggest checking out the website for more details. Note: The USA website is www.redwormcomposting.com.

Based on the sites advice:

I found a couple of plastic bins in my garage meeting the description outlined on the web site.   Rubbermaid tub approximately 22L X 15W X 12 inches deep.   The container is non transparent so as to keep the worms in the dark.

Ventilation - I drilled the tub using a 1/8 inch drill bit and placed holes, per the instructions, 7 on each side near the top of the container and 3 on each end, again near the top of the container.   I placed 5 holes in the bottom and 10 holes in the lid.   I placed this tub inside another tub, luckily, I had a transparent tub that was perfect, and it would allow visibility of any secretions from the culture tub and suspend the inner culture Rubbermaid tub in such a way as to allow good ventilation.

Bedding - I ripped up some old cardboard boxes (good for strengthening your hands:)) and again per the instructions I seeded the container with food scraps and cardboard bedding. Starting with a layer of shredded cardboard, I then placed some food scraps, then more card-board, then more scraps, then more cardboard.   I wet everything with a spray bottle as I was layering the cardboard and food scraps.   On top I placed a small amount of garden soil to help with the worm's digestion and again wetting it down with water.

I then let the container sit for a couple of weeks, as per instructions, to allow everything to ferment which helps the worms acclimate to the new box.   I received an email stating the worms were on their way and I would receive them tomorrow, everything was ready, the discus were excited (maybe not, but I am sure they would have been if they only new:)).   The worms came and I immediately transferred them to their new home.   I had ordered one lb so I would have some extra and hopefully some younger smaller ones that I could immediately try feeding my discus pairs.

The worms arrived in good health and I immediately introduced them to their new home.   I pulled back four smaller worms to see how my Discus breeding pairs like them.   The pairs, once they realized what they were began devouring them, they were gone in only a few minutes.   I plan on waiting a couple of weeks before feeding any more I want to build up the culture first.

Now I have two types of terrestrial worm to feed my discus the white and the red worm.

As for you discus hobbyists reading this, there is no excuse for not having a culture of these red worms, they are easy to keep, economical, and best of all nutritious for the discus.

It should be noted that some food scraps are better than others and from the website  www.wormcomposting.ca  I obtained the following information:

YES

- Vegetable & fruit waste (citrus fruit should be added in moderation when using smaller bins)

- Starchy materials - bread, pasta, rice, potatoes - all in moderation (beginners may want to avoid these altogether initially).

- aged animal manures (careful with rabbit and poultry - need lots of bedding to balance) I purchased some bagged cow manure that is odourless from the garden center.

- Shredded newspaper, used paper towels (common sense applies here), cardboard (great idea to add these carbon rich materials at the same time you add any wet food waste).

- Egg shells (best if ground up and in moderation)

- Coffee grounds

- Tea bags

NO

- Human or pet waste

- Non biodegradable materials

- Dairy or meat

- Oils or grease

- Harsh chemicals

Word of Caution: if your worms are fed an aged animal manure make sure the worms are purged thoroughly before feeding.

*****

RED FISHING WORMS AS DISCUS FOOD, by Dr. Wally F. Runge (originally published in "OUR Discus" June 1991 N.A.D.S.

Red fishing worms are a commodity sold throughout the United States & Canada at bait stores.   They are raised in large quantities on worm farms in Louisiana & other southern states.   Not to be confused with night-crawlers, these red worms reach a maximum size of 3-4 inches and are really not earthworms but compost and manure worms.   They are far superior to white worms in nutritive value and may be cultured in much the same way.

To culture these worms I start with a kitty litter plastic pan about 12" X 22" X 6" deep, with dampened newspaper lining the bottom.   The absolute best substrate for these worms is compost or manure.   The most convenient I find is a product called "composted cow manure" available in 40lb bags at gardening stores.   This material is odourless and very much resembles potting soil.   To fill the pan I use 1 1/3 gallons of wet peat moss and 2 2/3 gallons of cow manure.   It is beneficial but not necessary to add about 250 grams (about 1/2lb) of crushed limestone (do not use lime) to control acidity.   These ingredients are thoroughly mixed in a large separate container and water is added if needed to give a damp but not wet mixture.   This mixture is then charged to the culture pan to give a bed about 4-5 inches deep.

To start this culture I purchased about 75 "red fishing worms" from a bait store and dumped them in.   The culture should be covered to keep the surface damp and dark.   I use a marking pen to record the date on the side of the culture pan.   The entire culture should be re-set about every 6 months.

The worms require feeding every week.   To feed I dig three shallow trenches about 2 inches deep lengthwise in the surface of the culture.   Food is sprinkled into these trenches, wet down with water and covered up. The amount of food should be adjusted to the number of worms in the culture so that there is not a lot of uneaten carry-over from week to week.   Once set the culture will require about 4 to 6 weeks to start producing a lot of worms.   Keep the culture moist and covered.

According to the literature the best food is something called "laying mash" which is a finely ground chicken food available at feed stores and is very inexpensive. Unfortunately this comes only in 50lbs bag.   Dry dog food that has been soaked is also good.   I use a mixture of Gerbers dry baby cereal and cornmeal.

Unlike white worms a red worm culture will continue to produce at all moderate temperatures, say between 50 and 90 degrees F. A basement is a perfect place for year round production.

To harvest worms for feeding I place a mass of worms and substrates in a large kitchen sieve and put that about 6 inches under a burning light bulb.   The worms escape the heat and light by passing through the sieve to a container under the sieve.   I usually harvest enough for 2 to 3 days, keeping them in a covered container in the refrigerator.   Full grown worms can be eaten by adult discus with no problem. Smaller worms can be fed to smaller discus.

These worms, since they have never been exposed to an aquatic environment, are completely free of any parasites or diseases that could affect the fish.