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@@kinglyzard you will almost always miss a leech or 2, I comb over my worms for hours, but in my experience, they don't cause harm, more of a nuisance, like a bladder/pest snail, just another thing eating your food and getting in the way with no benefit

@@kinglyzard black worms can live happily in a tank with enough substrate, preferably a gravel based substrate or like a bag of crushed coral or something. Your fish will constantly feed on them until their population is 0, or if you have more worms then fish.. it could sustain itself as long as you keep them fed.

@@pauledwards5607 agree to all, although my experience with the water temp varies a bit from yours. I found mine didn't do too well with warmer temps so I don't run a heater at all, my ambient garage temperature fluctuates depending on weather and season, anywhere from 67-75, and with the complete removal of a heater I feel mine do very well with just ambient temp and 2 air stones, (I use 2 stones cause the tub is long, so 1 at each end, no reason really, just cause). And YES!!! Fully agree, they need constant water changes, 1-2 a week, my colonies are healthy because of it and also agree, they eat everything and anything, just keep food in there at all times, just be cautious you don't add TOO much at any one time.

@@WiseFishKeeping not anymore, but the place I plan to get more from when I need them and build more of these cultures is a place I. Florida called 'Eastern Aquatics'. The further away you are from the Florida, the more you pay in shipping and it gets quite expensive but, it's one of the only places you can reliably get black worms. They also come with some leeches from that place so it's recommended to take the time to slowly pick through your order with a pair of tweasers and remove all the leeches

@@AKNorthernAquariums gotcha. The shipping costs are crazy. But I understand your shipping live animals so you have to pay it. Thanks

@@miashadows for sure! I am still using the same one today! It doesn't roll quite as good anymore but it still catches snails! So $10-$15 is not a bad price for some quick and easy pea puffer food!

@@ChristopherMcguire-gz1ql still working great and still using it! I've noticed that fishing out larger quantities of worms is a bit tedious but... I did a 2nd tub and took my time sifting out all the little tiny gravel bits so when I suck up the worms with a turkey baster as I push it through the gravel, I don't get little rocks anymore, just worms and poop, give them a good wash and they're good to go!

@AKNorthernAquariums I've been doing the gravel method for 6 months now. I took about half my population and moved them to a 75 gal shrimp tank and still have about what I initially started with. I do not stir up or force fragmentation. I just changed up my black worm set up to test a theory. And noticed almost equal amount of full grown and 1/4 worms. I feel with the white gravel and way over feeding my population doubles every 3/4 months. I'm hoping to get closer to 3 to 4 week. One thing I learned recently is if you shine a light on them and one half is dark and one half is sort of transparent , the batch is under fed. If they all were eating enough they would all be a solid color from head to tail.

@@ChristopherMcguire-gz1ql i make sure there is always some kind of food for them to eat, whether its a frozen shrimp, zucchini/green beans, even fish food like pellets and bottom wafers, they are always munching on something. I cant say for sure but i'd say my worms grow and reproduce pretty well with this method. I do harvest them for baby axolotls and the occasional fish room feed and i never seem to run out, or even see dwindling population results. i am going to be making 3 more tubs like this in the near future.

@@kimberlykamizato1014 there's a company called 'eastern aquatics' located in Florida, the worms were not too terribly much, something like 0.5 lbs for $75 or so... But it's the next-day shipping that kills you on it. Depending your location of course

@@AKNorthernAquariums Thanks, we're in Western Canada, so that might be a problem. Will check into it.

@@kimberlykamizato1014 I got some starter black worms from a local hobbyist, but in bulk I got them from an online store in Florida called 'Eastern Aquatics'. As far as I know they're the only wholesale black worms seller in the US. I don't remember the price exactly... Something like $120 per pound.. but their next day shipping costs is what kills you the farther away you live from Florida!!! Also pro tip: if you buy from them, their worms come with a lot of leeches, and although the leeches themselves are not harmful, they're not pleasant to have either... So you really gotta spend your time slowly coming through your worms when you first get them and pick the little leeches out before you add them to your culture!

@@paulwilkinson3555 I can never quite get all the gunk but I have had some success with the water change method I use.... I take a siphon and a really fine mesh net to stick over the siphon. I drain the water through the mesh net siphon and find the worms get stuck on it, but some/most of the nasty gunk goes through. When I'm done siphoning, I'll spray the mesh just a little back into the culture so the stuck works come off, then clean the rest of the mesh in the sink. Still working on a better way but this isn't bad :P

@@AKNorthernAquariums thank you for you help

Use only a one layer of gravel and shake the tub around as you wash them

Really? Are you sure about eth anus thing? Interesting.

@@zachhoward1473 correct. Water changes and plants. Filtration is for many other things, if I misspoke I apologize but it's not rocket science. Thanks for the comment :)

you could slowly added some tank water , like a quarter cup or less … evey 25 mins while doing temp acclimation atleast 10 mins into the temp acclimation, but adding a whole cup in them with just a small amount of water , pretty much they instantly got introduced to the PH levels

what do you use to make your vids? if its your phone what phone stand do you use?

@@CHENGSAQUA I just use my phone for now yes, not fancy enough for go-pro's and stuff. I bought a pretty cheap ($20 or so) adjustable tripod phone stand off Amazon, I think it was called Sensyne or something. It does the job and extends height as needed.

I also bought a cheap wireless microphone a bit ago to help with consistent audio quality, I again went super cheap but it works! I noticed when I just used my phone to record audio, depending if I held it funny and covered up the microphone, it would distort the audio so.. an external mic has helped with that problem!

What's with the 🙏🤣

It's interesting how people use this as a praying emoji, or in this case a respect gesture from Indian culture, when in fact this emoji was actually a high five.

Alaska

@@AKNorthernAquariums same shit what’s the website 😂🤷🏽‍♂️

@@Nigelaquaticsfish the website where I got these guppies? I got them from a company in California, CoastGemUSA.

Very nice! They're such beautiful creatures! only sad thing is they hide almost all the time! But when you are able to see one out and about, its a sight to see!

⁠​⁠@@AKNorthernAquariumsthat seems to be the case with a lot of really interesting fish *cough knife fish cough* but that’s ok, I’ll take it as a special treat when I catch a sighting 😅

Yea, there's 1 local fish store, your typical Petco/PetSmart and I met one lady who breeds axolotls... Other then that, I haven't met another major hobbyist, so I plan to start that culture here! Or at least kickstart it and bring out the introverts!

The water here is also amazing for aquariums, I don't need to add anything to almost every species I plan to keep, can just water change straight from the sink! (Well water, not city tap)

@HobbyTimee well I look forward to seeing your journey, i already subbed

my thoughts exactly! I am going to give it a few weeks to see if the females show pregnancy signs, if not, Ill likely try to acquire some more white ribbon males to keep the line pure, last case scenario, ill mix them with full golds.

This unboxing was all from 'Aqua Huna'. Everything arrived alive and healthy, couldn't be more satisfied with the order!

for sure, they're good cleaners, even the pest snails! but id prefer a snail species I can control, that's why I am favorable to mystery snails, because if I don't want 1000 snails, I can easily remove the eggs, unlike pest snails... once you have pest snails in your aquarium, you're basically never getting rid of them! they're like duckweed!

big box stores like petsmart/petco are okay when you're first getting into the hobby as they're the cheaper option, however, they don't take care of their fish as well as a breeder or a vendor that specializes in fish, because they're just an employee hired and paid minimum wage. also because these big box stores don't treat their fish with the highest level of care, they're very prone to disease and poor genetics. I feel they're both fine for brand new folks in terms of price, but sometimes a bad experience as when the fish die, people sometimes give up. Buying through local fish stores or some online vendors typically yields you with a better quality fish, but they also come at a higher price (shipping etc.) When you buy online you want to make sure their DAO (Dead on Arrival) is adequate. most places will have a 100% live arrival guarantee, and if they don't arrive alive, or die within 12-72 hours of being in your tank, they offer a full refund excluding shipping, but each vendor is different and they'll have this DAO policy on their site. I am at the mercy of needing to go through online vendors versus local fish stores since I am pretty geographically isolated in Alaska, so I have bought from the following vendors: -Aqua Huna -Dan's Fish -Coast Gem USA -Aquarium Co-op -Modern Aquarium -Some Amazon vendors (for plants/shrimp/snails) -There a ton more online vendors, but i havn't purchased from them yet. Hope this info helps! If you have questions, just let me know!

I don't know oh well babies would travel if shipped, so your best bet is to start doing some research on local axolotl breeders. I didn't think there were any in my area and come to find out there's a breeder within a few miles from my and another business the next town over that imports them. They seem to be everywhere if you dig in a bit!

Baby axolotls are very delicate and difficult to take care of. I would recommend going for a juvenile or adult axolotl, though all axolotls do require high maintenance and knowledgeable care. Axolotls should only be bought from reputable breeders, not pet stores. Ask yourself/check these things when looking at breeders: -Are these stock photos/photoshopped images of axolotls? Do these show images of specific axolotls, or is it just something like 'leucistic axolotl buying options include 5-6 inch male, 7-8 female, 4-5 female, etc' with stock photos? -Check what people are saying about the breeder across multiple platforms -Check the health of the axolotls in the photos: are they a proper weight? do they have mutations such as dwarfism or small toes? do they have visible illnesses such as fungus or wounds? -Can the breeder tell you the lineage of the axolotl 3-5 generations back? -Does the website have axolotl information that is widely accepted as true? -Are they being clickbait-y, saying things like 'SUPER RARE', severely overpricing, or advertising an axolotl as a morph/color that does not exist? -Are the axolotls being sold over 2 inches long? Make sure you have done all necessary research about medical care, tank sizing, parameters, temperature, dangerous substances, hazards, and so much more. Your tank needs to be 29 U.S. gallons at bare minimum with 40+ gallons being preferred. The tank needs to have been cycled. Cycling sets up the nitrogen cycle of beneficial bacteria that help to break down ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites. Cycling takes several weeks to a few months. Temperatures need to be between 60-66 F. Over 70 F is dangerous and over 75 F is deadly. Axolotl tank set ups are expensive, and I would not recommend them as a beginner pet unless the person has done tons of research and is fully prepared for the expenses and care.

About 12 inches max, plus or minus and usually grow to near fullsize in 1-1.5 years.

Very true, but maybe they're stuck on the simplistic design, there's always the option to buy the circular base with wheels at the store for a crazy amount.

So easy you can do it with a hand saw and a screwdriver. Nice!

pretty sound solution, Oscars are definitely a hard one to keep with other tank mates, especially smaller things as the Oscars will indeed bully anything that is smaller then them. Do you know if those pleco's are common plecos? or bristlenoses? common pleco's will keep growing and growing, can get to almost 2 feet in length, which for a large tank like a 75gal, that's not so bad assuming you want larger fish. bristlenose only get to about 5-8inches max depending on species, perfect little cleaners for any nano tank! These Blue Phantoms are on the larger end of the bristlenose family (although they do not grow bristles) and tend to max out at about 7-8 inches, but they are incredibly slow-growing and will take years to achieve that length!

I have moved a pretty far distance from where I was when I had those phantoms, and couldn't bring them with me, they wouldn't have made it on the road and setting up uncycled tanks etc. so I gave them away, but they were doing great! I plan to get more once I have my new fish room set up! Thank you for following!