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white worms
> Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2001 09:27:51 -0800 (PST)
> From: J Miller <ruddigar_99 at yahoo_com>
>
> I received a starter culture of white worms about a week ago. I put
> them (about 1/2 dozen) in a small margarine container filled 3/4 with
> peat and the media they came in (looks like soil). I placed a small
> amount of fish flakes under a piece of plexiglass, but the worms
> haven't come up for it yet.
6 worms isn't much of a starter! If things don't get going better
by the time the weather warms up, email me and I'll send you some
of mine for the cost of mailing. I'm in Toronto. I know what a pain
it can be to get living things across the border.
> I went digging around in the container to see if any were still
> alive, and found a few around the bottom. Any ideas why they aren't
> coming up for the food? Should I take some of the peat out to make it
> shallower?
I keep mine in a plastic box of the rubbermaid type, in about 2-3 inches
of potting soil. They won't eat the food unless it's wet, preferably
wet and rotting. They can only eat soft things - they probably live mostly
on the bacteria and other microbes that rot the food, as do their relatives
the earthworms. 6 worms are not going to eat much anyway - there's likely
plenty to eat in the soil they came in.
> Maybe it's too cool or warm for them. I have kept them on the floor
> in my fish room - room temp is about 68F on the racks so a couple
> degrees cooler on the floor. I tried having them off the floor a bit,
> but I don't want them to get too warm because I know they prefer cooler
> temp.
It may not be wet enough for them. They like the soil wetter than you'd
keep a houseplant at. Don't worry about temperatures too much. I haven't
had any problems with losing them to overheating - they can take temps up
into the 80s F for short periods (we only get that kind of temps for short
periods here...).