CATDOLL : CATDOLL:How to raise red worms?

How to raise red worms?

Bloodworms can be used for fishing and can also be used as fish feed. Next, let's take a look at how to raise bloodworms.

01 Where do red worms exist?

Generally, traces of red worms can be found in sewers, rivers, fields, etc. Red worms reproduce very quickly, so you can simply dig some red worms and bring them back for breeding.

02 Humid environment

Red worms need to live in a relatively humid environment and should not be exposed to the sun. It is best to place them in a cool and dry place.

03 Cleaning the red worms

It is best to rinse the red worms you have just dug up with clean water several times to keep them clean, and then place them in a pot.

04 What do red worms eat?

Blood worms can eat glucose, so you can buy some glucose to feed the blood worms. Blood worms don’t eat much, so just a few drops each time.

Key points of blood worm bait cultivation technology: How to cultivate red worms for fishing?

Artificial cultivation of red nematodes or water earthworms

(Professor Chen Yinshan from Fujian Normal University)

1. Introduction to Earthworms

Water earthworms (also known as silk earthworms, red nematodes, ditch worms, etc.) are the common name for aquatic oligochaetes of the annelid species and are an important component of the freshwater benthic fauna.

Water earthworms usually live in micro-flowing water and bottom mud rich in organic matter. In places with a lot of humus, organic pollution is often serious and oxygen is often lacking. In an oxygen-deficient environment, they extend most of their bodies from the bottom of the mud and swing continuously and rhythmically to promote the formation of water flow and facilitate gas exchange in the insect body. The less oxygen in the water, the faster they swing. Once frightened, they shrink back into the mud together.

Like terrestrial earthworms, they eat soil, bacteria, organic debris particles and benthic algae from the soil, and sometimes eat some micro-animals in the soil, and excrete earthworm feces through the anus. They like warmth, and the optimum water temperature is 25~28℃.

Some water earthworms (such as earthworms) can play a very good role in sewage self-purification. Earthworms are very common in water bodies, and within a certain range, their population increases with the increase of pollution level. In eutrophic water bodies, the decomposition of organic matter consumes a lot of oxygen in the water, causing water hypoxia. Earthworms are relatively resistant to hypoxia. Other organisms often cannot survive in such water bodies or there are very few species. These water earthworms that are relatively resistant to hypoxia reproduce in large numbers due to the lack of competitors, and the number is often very large. Therefore, some people advocate using the number of earthworms per unit area as an indicator of the degree of water pollution.

Various earthworms are very important decomposers in aquatic ecosystems, especially in eutrophic water bodies. They devour organic debris particles, humus and microorganisms in the water and mud, and themselves are eaten by other aquatic organisms (such as fish, frogs, snakes, turtles, etc.). Therefore, they play an extremely important role in the energy flow and material circulation of the ecosystem.

Water earthworms are hermaphroditic and cross-fertilized. During mating, the front ends of the two individuals are combined with the ventral surface, and the male holes of each individual discharge semen into the other's spermatheca for storage. After exchanging semen, they separate. After the eggs mature, the segments secrete sticky substances to form a ribbon-shaped egg bag (egg cocoon). The eggs are laid in the egg bag, which moves forward to the spermatheca hole, and the semen flows out to fertilize the eggs. The egg bag falls off from the front of the body and sinks into the mud at the bottom of the water. The openings at both ends of the egg bag automatically shrink and close to form an oval egg cocoon. The fertilized egg develops into a small earthworm in the egg cocoon. The time required for the young earthworm to hatch from the fertilized egg varies with the water temperature and the species, and the speed of growth and development also varies with the water temperature. The lifespan of water earthworms is usually about 80 days, and a few can live up to 120 days. Water earthworms have extremely strong reproductive capacity. Like terrestrial earthworms, water earthworms have strong regeneration capabilities and can quickly regenerate into a complete individual after being cut.

2. Introduction to common types of water earthworms

There are 5 families, about 28 genera and more than 70 species of aquatic oligochaetes in my country, which belong to two orders. One is Plesiopora, such as Aeolosomatidae, Tubificidae, Naididae, and Enchytraeidae, and the other is Prosopora, such as Lumbriculidae.

In the breeding of water earthworms, the following species are more common, widely distributed, large in number, and more suitable for breeding in our province. They are briefly introduced here.

1. Branchiura, belongs to the family of Tremblings. Widely distributed in my country. Branchiura has a relatively thick body, about 1.2~2.2mm in diameter. It is often curled up, and when stretched out alive, it is more than 100mm long. Fixed specimens are about 30~70mm, with an average of 53mm. It is purple-red in color when alive, with 185 or more segments, and each segment has bristles on the dorsal and ventral sides. Sexually mature individuals have an obvious ring band on the Ⅹ-Ⅻ segments behind the head, which are grayish-white lumps. Starting from about 1/3 of the back of the body, each segment on the dorsal and ventral midline has a pair of filamentous gills, the shortest at the front, which gradually grows, with as many as 60-160 pairs (as shown in Figure 1). This is a clear difference between this species and other water earthworms. The only species in this genus is Sowerbyi (Figure 1).

Su's tail gill earthworms are mostly distributed in the 3-5cm mud layer on both sides of the ditch water flow. They are still aerobic species. When alive, the reddish tail gills extend out of the mud and shake up and down with the stretched gill filaments as the plane, with a frequency of about 100 times per minute. When disturbed, the tail gills immediately retract into the mud. In high temperature or lack of oxygen, the tail gills extend longer and the gill filaments are stretched more open. The cocoon of Su's tail gill earthworms is oval or bean-shaped, with a long diameter of 1,186~2,745 microns and a short diameter of 1,047~1,733 microns. It is light brown, the film is transparent, and one egg cocoon usually contains

Figure 1. Sussoni's earthworm

Contains 1 to 4 eggs, and up to 7 eggs. The eggs are dark or light brown-yellow depending on the degree of development. There is a protruding "handle" like a plug at one end of the earthworm cocoon, and the hatched earthworms break out of the cocoon through this "handle". The incubation time of the earthworm cocoon varies with the water temperature. It takes about 25 days at 25-30℃ and 28 days at 14-21℃.

2. Hoffmeisteri (Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri). It is also a widely distributed water earthworm (Figure 2).

The body of the Huofu water silkworm is relatively slender, with a body diameter of about 0.5~1.2 mm and a body length of about 35~55 mm. It has no gills. The body is brown-red and the rear part is slightly yellow-green, which is different from the Chinese earthworm. The annulus is ring-shaped. The Huofu water silkworm is distributed in mud rich in humus, with a concentration of less than 20 cm, and is more resistant to low oxygen. When there is sufficient oxygen in the water, the worm body is reddish-brown, and when there is less oxygen, the mud is brown with yellow. When there is a lack of oxygen, they often wrap themselves up in a ball and stay near the surface of the mud or hide deep in the mud. In normal life, the worm body extends out of the mud and swings left and right like a snake, with a frequency of about 80~90 times per minute. It is very sensitive to light and disturbance, and can quickly retract into the mud, leaving a small mud tube on its surface. The cocoon of the Huofu water silkworm is slightly like a spindle.

Figure 2 Hofu water silkworm

The cocoon is dark brown, with an opaque membrane, and contains four eggs, sometimes seven. The cocoon takes about 10 to 15 days to hatch when the water temperature is 26 to 31 degrees Celsius.

In addition, the common ones include Tubirex sinicus (Figure 4) of the family Tubirex. The body length is 80-150mm (fixed) and the width is about 1mm. The body color is slightly red. The freshwater monopore earthworm (Monopylephorus limosus) (Figure 3) of the family Tubirex is about 15-40mm long and about 1mm wide at its widest point. When alive, it is pale white with a slightly reddish rear end. The tail disc earthworm (Dero sp.) of the family Amphibia has a tail gill disc at the rear end of its body.

The above-mentioned species often live together in natural environments, making it difficult to separate them during natural fishing, and it is also difficult to maintain pure growth during artificial cultivation, and there is no need to do so in practical applications.

The protein content of water earthworms is as high as 70%, and the crude protein contains a complete set of amino acids. It is one of the important sources of animal feed for various aquatic animals, such as fish, shrimp, shellfish, frogs, turtles and other aquatic economic animals. Especially in the seedling stage of aquatic animals, water earthworms are the most suitable starter feed. Therefore, with the development of aquaculture, water earthworms are widely used in aquaculture.

Figure 3 Freshwater earthworm Figure 4 Earthworm sinensis

The rapid development of the industry has led to an increasing demand for earthworms. In the past, it was basically caught by humans, but the natural resources alone are far from enough. Therefore, in recent years, various places have been exploring the artificial cultivation of water earthworms, and have also achieved some preliminary experience and results.

3. Basic techniques and methods for artificial cultivation of water earthworms

Water earthworms can be cultivated in ponds or fields, or in existing ditches, canals, pits and other water bodies. Different costs lead to different benefits. The yield of pond cultivation is the highest. Artificial cultivation of water earthworms mainly includes pond construction and cultivation, seeding, daily management and harvesting.

1. Pond construction and cultivation

Whether it is pond culture or field culture, the culture pond must be located in a place with sufficient water and convenient drainage and irrigation. You can use existing farmland, wasteland ditches, etc., or you can build a special culture pond in an open field.

If you are using existing farmland or vegetable fields, you must rake the farmland flat, and then divide the large farmland into several culture pools. If you are building a special culture pool, you must lay a layer of stone slabs or "three-in-one soil" on the bottom of the pool. Each culture pool should be about 10-30 m long, 1-1.2 m wide, and 0.2-0.25 m deep. It is best for the culture pool to have a gradient of 0.5.%-1% to facilitate management and uniform exchange and flow of water on the pool surface. Set up water inlet ditches and outlets at the higher end and drainage ditches and outlets at the lower end. Set up metal mesh fences at the inlet and outlet to prevent fish, shrimp, snails and other enemies from entering the pool with water. It should be noted that the culture pool should have a certain length, otherwise the feed and fertilizer put in will be easily carried away and lost by the water flow. If it is not possible to build a long strip, it can be built into a circular pool or a meandering pool according to local conditions.

The water layer that submerges the culture medium in the culture pond is generally maintained at about 10 cm. Too shallow or too deep is not conducive to the life activities and reproduction of water earthworms. The water flow should not be too fast, but it should not remain static. It is better to keep the entire water surface flowing slowly. The water source should be free of harmful substances (such as pesticides, fertilizers, heavy metals, etc.), and it is best to have a certain degree of fertility (such as domestic sewage, poultry and livestock manure, etc.) to increase natural bait and nutrients.

The culture medium is not only the living environment of water earthworms, but also the place where they get food. High-quality culture medium is the key to shortening the harvesting cycle of water earthworms and thus obtaining high yields. The raw materials of the culture medium should preferably be sludge rich in organic matter, such as fish pond sludge, rice field fertile mud, black mud in sewage ditches, etc. Do not use sludge with a large sand content. The thickness of the sludge is about 10cm. In addition to the sludge, loose materials (such as sugarcane bagasse, non-toxic plants, etc.) and organic manure (such as human feces and urine, poultry and livestock feces and urine, etc.) must also be added.

The process of placing the culture medium: first, lay a layer of bagasse or other loose materials on the bottom of the pond, the dosage is 2-3kg/m2, then lay a layer of sludge to make the total thickness reach 10-12cm, add water to submerge the culture medium, soak for 4-5 days (the soaking time depends on the water temperature), and then apply poultry and livestock manure, about 10 kg/m2. Before inoculation, spread a layer of sludge with a thickness of 3-5 cm on the surface, and at the same time, spread a thin layer of fermented wheat bran, rice bran, corn flour, etc. on the mud surface, with a dosage of about 150-200 g per square meter. Finally, add water to make a 3-5cm deep water layer on the culture medium surface. At this time, water earthworm species can be introduced. Production practice shows that the culture medium of a newly built pond can generally be used continuously for 2-3 years, and then it must be renewed.

(II) Introduction

Water earthworms have a strong ability to adapt to various environments, especially in Fujian Province, where they can be introduced all year round. The sources of water earthworms are very abundant in all parts of the province. There are often a large number of water earthworms living in the drainage ditches of towns and their urban-rural junctions, harbors and docks, poultry and livestock farms, slaughterhouses, canteens and restaurants, sewers in residential areas, and sewage ditches where leather factories, food factories, and sugar factories discharge waste. Natural earthworm species can be caught nearby according to local conditions. When collecting seeds, water earthworms can be transported back together with sludge and waste residue, because sludge and waste residue often contain a large number of earthworm eggs. Of course, fresh water earthworm seedlings can also be purchased directly from the market. The inoculation work is relatively simple, as long as the collected earthworm species are evenly spread on the culture medium of the earthworm pond. According to practical experience and information, 500-800g of wet earthworms per square meter is appropriate for inoculation, and too much or too little is not good.

(III) Daily management

After inoculation, daily management is one of the most important links to achieve high yields.

1. Preparation and feeding of bait

The sources of bait for water earthworms are very wide. Any non-toxic organic matter that has been fermented and decomposed can be used.

As bait. Water earthworms particularly like to eat sweet and sour wheat bran, rice bran, corn flour and other grain feeds. Human and livestock feces, domestic sewage, and waste from agricultural and sideline products are also high-quality feeds after fermentation and decomposition. However, no matter what kind of bait, it must be fully fermented and decomposed before feeding (especially manure). First, it is conducive to the decomposition and conversion of nutrients and the feeding of earthworms. Second, it can avoid the fermentation of raw materials in the earthworm pond to produce heat and cause the death of earthworms.

Manure can be piled up in a pit in the usual way for natural fermentation and decomposition. Grain feed must be fermented with water one day or longer (depending on the temperature) before feeding. The amount of water added should be enough to make it into a ball that will fall apart when put down. Then gather it into a pile, pat it firmly, cover it with plastic sheet and let it ferment naturally. Some people also add yeast tablets to the fermentation pile when the temperature is low, with a dosage of 1 tablet/2kg, which can accelerate the fermentation and decomposition process and shorten the time. When the plastic sheet is removed and there is a strong sweet and sour wine aroma, it means that the feed has been fermented and decomposed well and can be used to feed water earthworms.

In order to make water earthworms reproduce quickly and produce high yields, they must be fed regularly. Every 10-15 days from inoculation to harvest, apply about 300 kg of decomposed manure per mu. Since the beginning of harvest, about 300 kg of manure should be applied after each harvest, as well as an appropriate amount of fermented wheat bran, rice bran and other feeds to promote the growth and reproduction of water earthworms. When feeding, the feed should be fully stirred, weeds and waste residues should be removed, and then evenly sprinkled on the culture medium. Do not allow the feed to accumulate in clumps or blocks in the earthworm pool. When feeding, close the inlet and outlet to prevent the feed from drifting and being lost.

2. Temperature, running water and pH value

Water earthworms can adapt to a wide range of temperatures and can grow and reproduce all year round in most parts of the province, but the yield is closely related to the temperature. In low temperature periods, increasing the water temperature and culture medium temperature in the culture pond can increase the yield. In winter, the temperature of the earthworm pond can be increased by covering it with plastic film. In fine weather in winter and early spring, the pond water can be shallower during the day to use solar energy to increase the pool temperature, and it should be deepened appropriately at night to help keep warm and prevent freezing. In the hot summer, the water should be deeper to lower the water temperature in the pond. If you can build a frame above the earthworm pond and plant vines to provide shade in advance, you can avoid the water temperature being too high in summer.

The water flow for breeding should not be too large. Too large a flow will not only take away the nutrients and cocoons in the pond, but also increase the unnecessary energy consumption of the water earthworms themselves, which is not conducive to increasing the yield. However, the water flow should not be too small either. Too small a flow or even a long period of static water will make the dissolved oxygen content in the water insufficient, and it is also not conducive to the removal of metabolic waste and other harmful substances of the water earthworms, which may lead to deterioration of water quality, damage the living environment of the water earthworms, and cause a large number of deaths. Generally speaking, a flow of 0.005~0.01 cubic meters (about 10kg) per second per mu of breeding pond is sufficient.

Water earthworms are very sensitive to harmful substances in water, such as pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, heavy metals, etc. Therefore, industrial wastewater, farmland water with pesticide residues, and other medicated water cannot be used.

Too high or too low pH values ​​will affect the yield. Due to factors such as continuous fertilization and feeding, the pH value in the pond water will often be high or low in a short period of time. However, since water earthworms have a wide range of adaptability to pH values ​​and flowing water plays a role in regulating pH values, the pH value in the pond water generally does not cause harm to water earthworms, and usually no special measures are needed to adjust the pH value in the pond water.

3. Stir the pool.

In some places, it is also called "pounding pool" or "turning pool". Because the water earthworm culture pool contains a lot of sludge, coupled with the metabolism and digestion of the water earthworms themselves and other organisms, the decomposition of the input feed will produce harmful substances. These biological metabolic wastes, such as nitrogenous wastes, harmful gases, etc., often accumulate in the culture medium, and at the same time cause the culture medium to become hardened. If time passes, some mosses, duckweed, and weeds will also breed and grow in it. These problems will affect the growth and reproduction of water earthworms. Therefore, in the daily management process, the breeding pond must be stirred frequently. This is a very simple, very effective, but indispensable and important production link in the feeding and management work, which has great practical significance for increasing production.

The method of stirring the pond is to use a wooden rake, bamboo rake or other rake to stir the culture medium thoroughly and gently in each pond to improve the living environment of the water earthworms. The time interval for stirring the pond depends on the specific conditions of the breeding pond, such as water temperature, water flow, water earthworm growth and harvesting conditions. Usually, it is stirred every 3 to 4 days during the peak production season, and can be extended to 5 to 7 days in other seasons. When stirring, moss and weeds should be consciously buried in the soil.

4. Pest control

The main enemies of water earthworms are carnivorous or omnivorous animals such as fish (loach, eel, carp, crucian carp, etc.), frogs, birds, and domestic ducks. These animals will directly eat water earthworms. Snails (such as field snails, large bottle snails, ring-edge snails, etc.) and bivalves (such as river clams and various clams) in the breeding pond will compete with water earthworms for resources such as feed, fertilizer, and living space. If duckweed, moss, and weeds grow and reproduce in large quantities, they will consume a large amount of nutrients in the culture medium and cover the water earthworms, making the living space of the water earthworms smaller or even lost. These are all enemies of water earthworm breeding and must be prevented from entering. If found in the pond, they should be removed in time.

4. Harvesting

Under high-density breeding conditions, water earthworms like to gather 3 to 5 cm above the surface of the culture medium, with their tails often exposed outside the surface soil of the culture medium. When there is a lack of oxygen in the water, they often extend their tails out of the mud surface to swing and increase water flow, which is beneficial for breathing. If there is a severe lack of oxygen, they often gather in groups on the surface of the culture medium mud and float on the water.

The harvesting of water earthworms is carried out by taking advantage of its biological characteristics. The commonly used specific harvesting methods are introduced as follows.

1. Create an oxygen-deficient environment in the breeding pond. Cut off or reduce the water flow the night before harvesting to create an oxygen-deficient environment in the pond water. The next morning, the earthworms will gather in groups on the water surface due to lack of oxygen, which is very convenient for collection.

2. Wash with polyethylene mesh. In order to remove the sand, moss, weeds, etc. mixed in, put the water earthworms in the mesh and wash them with clean water, then put them into large basins, tanks and other containers, flood them with 2~3cm of water, cover the water surface with a layer of wet gauze, and the water earthworms will reach the surface through the mesh of the gauze due to lack of oxygen. In addition, cover the container with a lid, let it stand for 2~3 hours, open the lid, and there will be a thick layer of pure water earthworms on the gauze. There are still some water earthworms and a large number of earthworm cocoons in the residue under the gauze, which should be put back into the culture pool instead of discarded.

(V) Temporary Care and Transportation

If the earthworms cannot be used up or sold out on the same day, they should be temporarily raised. During temporary raising, 10-20 kg of earthworms should be raised in each square meter of the temporary raising pond. Stir and disperse them regularly every 3-4 hours. At the same time, the water should be changed once a day to prevent them from gathering into clumps for a long time and causing death due to lack of oxygen. The temporary raising time should not be too long, generally not more than 3 days. When long-distance transportation is required, if the journey time exceeds 3 hours, double-layer plastic film oxygen bags should be used for packaging. Each bag should not contain more than 10 kg of earthworms, add 3 kg of clean water and sufficient oxygen. When the temperature is high, it is best to add an appropriate amount of ice cubes in the bag to reduce mortality and ensure safe arrival at the destination.