Paul A. Ergh wrote:
I just got back from the LFS with a single serving of live black worms.
When I put them in the tank I was amazed to see a few "get away" by wiggling
into the substrate. Not sure why I was so amazed to see a worm burrow into
sand but I was.

Now I am wondering:
- can they survive in my laterite/fluorite/black sand substrate mixture?

I've been feeding blackworms for many years and they do sometimes get
down into the substrate. It's not cause for concern. I currently do
have them surviving in Eco Complete/Fluorite.

- Will they ever come back out for a little stroll in the light or dark?

If they poke out of the substrate in numbers, your tank is low on
oxygen. Blackworms are a very good "indicator" organism. I've never
seen one out for a stroll probably because they're such tasty morsels to
the fish.

- Will they reproduce?

I've never seen any sort of blackworm plague in my tanks, so if they do,
it's minimal. They do reproduce to two worms if they're cut in half,
say by a fish.

- Is it good for the tank/plants like in a backyard garden?
- Are there bad and good worms for aquaria?
- Is there an easy way to harvest worms for feeding similar to the way brine
shrimp are?

http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/doc...ackworms.shtml has lots
info on culturing.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html '__
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com