Dan Espen wrote:
songbird wrote:
....
Compost worms are "Eisenia fetida".
Also known as: redworm, brandling worm, panfish worm, trout worm, tiger
worm, red wiggler worm, red californian earth worm

yep, they raise these using horse manure or other plant
stuff, no dirt needed, just organic matter...

i have some mixed in with various other species of worms
(including earth worms) and they do a great job of composting
about anything organic.

because i actually study various processes involved in
decomposition and how worms and fungi interact (or don't)
to break woody stuff down (along with the other soil
critters) i will sometimes throw them a challenge and
see how it turns out. in one bucket i have a very
putrid bone from the christmas ham (i also study
how well the soil can deal with odors ). the first
few days i wasn't sure how well they were going to be
able to cope. the smell was noticeable so i added
another inch of soil on top. haven't smelled it since
then. i will be looking at in the next next few weeks
as that bucket is coming up on the feeding rotation
schedule again.


having raised such creatures for many years i think
i can tell what they eat...

According to this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eisenia_fetida

they are adapted to eating decaying organic matter.
That doesn't sound like "living plant leaves".

the other thing too is that this description is
not really complete. some worms will take any
organic matter into their burrows even if it is
green or not as long as it isn't attached too
hard for them to pull it off.

worms are a very diverse group of creatures with
many habits.

i like studying ants too.


songbird