California Blackworm Starter Culture

****You will receive 100+ black worm starter culture with 2 complimentary reusable ice packs****

Starting 3/23/2026 I will only be shipping out on Mondays and Tuesdays to avoid shipping delays.

PLEASE NOTE IM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR SHIPPING DELAYS. AFTER I DROP THE PACKAGE OFF AT THE POST OFFICE MY HALF OF THE TRANSACTION IS DONE. I DONT CONTROL SHIPPING DELAYS. YOU WILL HAVE THE OPTION OF A FULL REFUND OR A FREE REPLACEMENT ORDER. I WILL NOT SEND A REPLACEMENT ORDER UNTILL YOUR ORGINGAL ORDER HAS BEEN DELIVERED!!! If you receive your starter culture DOA, please send pictures within 1 hour of receiving the package to qualify for a refund. it must be a picture of the bag that the worms have arrived in.

I will also be starting a loyalty program since I appreciate all who support my business. Every 5th order you place I will be adding an extra order in for FREE!!! I will keep track of how many orders you place and let you know when you are at your 5th order. Thank you for your continued support!

These black worms are leech free and cultured by me. I have tried to culture every live food from daphnia’s, Monia’s, and scuds. Black worms have been my most successful culture to date.

***AFTER RECEVING THE STARTER CULTURE*** after receiving your order, please rinse the blackworms in dechlorinated cold water. This step is very important. when blackworms get stressed, they will produce a stress slime. stress increases the chance of death. after you rinse them store them in a container of your choosing with cold dechlorinated water.

My Setup:

I have a sweater box that I got from dollar general, an air pump & sponge filter. I use a grow light on a reptile light stand that’s pretty high above the tank. The light is a something you don’t need but I have all my cultures under the light. I use a thin layer of gravel substrate to cover the bottom. Less substrate the better.

Getting your own culture going:

Go down to your local store and get a sweater box. You can use any container or small tank. You will also need an air stone or sponge filter. You will want a thin layer of gravel to cover the bottom the container. I feed my culture sinking pellets or fish flakes. I’ve heard of people feed blanched vegetables or use paper towel strips.

If you use substrate once or twice a week, move the substrate around to cause fragmentation of the worm and a new worm will grow.

I change my water once a week and feed when the food source is gone. I\'m currently feeding my cultures hikari ideal for bottom feeders sinking wafers. Dechlorinate the water to ensure your water is safe. If you over feed your culture, you will most likely get an algae bloom. I’d throw in some snails to take care of it then you will a dual culture with one setup. I also have Ramshorn and bladder snails I can add for an additional charge.

Collecting black worms:

This is something I struggled with until I found an easy method. I used a brine shrimp net and scooped some of the gravel out of the culture and put the gravel in a plastic cup and filled with cold water and swirled the cup around until the black worms were above the substrate. Dump the water into the brine shrimp net to catch them. I’d recommend a 2-stage brine shrimp net to allow you to have clean black worms for your main tank. This is a good technique to collect and clean your substrate.