Can I feed catfish pellets to worms?

[critterluv]

I ordered my red wiggles and they should be sent out on Mon. I have their bin ready and I just rememberd I have almost a full bag of catfish pellets from my flunked atempt to raise catfish in a stock tank. I never through it away thinking someday something will eat it...lol. It is from last year and I was woundering if I could use it to feed my red wigglers?

Thanks

[JMJones0424]

I have never tried it, but fundamentally, I would say yes... but

Redworms don't directly eat the food you put in the bin, they eat the microbes that are breaking down that food. And the microbes will have a hard time getting into a hard dry pellet. I suggest soaking the pellets first, then draining and adding the "slush" to the bin. Make sure you cover it up well with bedding material, as the high protein levels and oil contents may attract flies. Use a very small amount at first, the worms will let you know if something is in there that they don't like, by staying away or trying to escape from the bin.

[Paquebot]

Assuming that you've prepared a proper bed of sphagnum peat moss, don't feed them anything for a week. They'll work that over and get it to their liking. Then your best foods would be grain cereals and soft fruits such as apples or peaches. Mashed potatoes, applesauce, and grass clippings can also be used, all in moderation. Incorporate a few of the pellets in with the above and don't feed them again until they've cleaned up what they have.

Martin

[COSunflower]

I've had my red worm composting bin for almost a year. I prepared it with paper shreds that were soaked in water and squeezed out plus a children's small bucket of dirt from outside. Me and my granddaughter mixed it up good and then put in the worms. After a couple weeks we started adding veggie scraps. You want to make sure that you put a piece of wetted down cardboard or wet paper towels or a wet paper grocery bag on top of it all. The worms think that they are underground that way. We use all kitchen scraps except meat, grains (bread and cereal), and citrus. We check the bin every couple weeks to see how they are doing on their scraps etc. It's time for me to add some more wet paper shreds. They really do work fast! If you feed them correctly there should be no smell also. My bin is in the house.

[critterluv]

I put a peice of cardboard in the bottom and then added some composted manure and some old dried up leaves and shredded some newspaper. Do I still need the peat moss? I wet it all down really well but not enough to drown anything and I put it away near my plants were it will be when the worms arive.

[Paquebot]

Originally Posted by critterluv

I put a peice of cardboard in the bottom and then added some composted manure and some old dried up leaves and shredded some newspaper. Do I still need the peat moss? I wet it all down really well but not enough to drown anything and I put it away near my plants were it will be when the worms arive.

You have worms coming. What advice has the seller given you as far as preparing the worm bed? If nothing, best to find out before you're sitting there with a box of wigglers and wondering if they're going to still be wriggling a week later. If they say that your mix is fine, then it's fine. When all else fails, follow instructions!

Martin

[critterluv]

yes I read their site, they recomend peat moss, horse manure or shredded newspaper. I did not have peat that was not already mixed up for my container soil so I used the manure and papper and added some leaves. think ill go get some peat to add to it tomorrow anyway, seems thats one of the top recomended mediums.

Thanks for all the advise.

[COSunflower]

I haven't used any peat moss and they have been fine - have gotten fat and multiplied! Do you have good drainage? I drilled 1/8 in. holes in the bottom of my tub for drainage as recommended on the web site. I should try and sprinkle some bunny poo in with them. I bet they would like it!

[Paquebot]

When we had them, the only suitable bedding that we could buy was Buss bedding. That was before there were any garden centers around with sphagnum peat. Bin was an old heavy Coca-Cola cooler that I bought from an uncle in the 1960s. By the 1980s, didn't have to drill any holes as corrosion did that. That's when it became worm bin. Had to fit a piece of ½" plywood for the bottom to prevent the worms from getting into the insulation. Still have it but hasn't seen a worm for just about 20 years.

Martin

[critterluv]

I did drll holes in the bottom, im just woundering y? if u dont put to much water u would not need it right? just hoping I dont have a runny goo coming out the bottom all the time.

[Paquebot]

And that goes full circle back to the purpose sphagnum moss as the main portion of the bedding mix. Once it is properly dampened, it will retain the water. Too much water is worse than too little. That was always a problem with Buss bedding. It was either too wet or too dry since it was basically ground up newspaper. But you'll learn by experience. All anyone here can do is supply you with the basics. Your mission now is to fine tune the process. Walk first, run later.

Martin

[JMJones0424]

Originally Posted by critterluv

I did drll holes in the bottom, im just woundering y? if u dont put to much water u would not need it right? just hoping I dont have a runny goo coming out the bottom all the time.

Every time you add food, you will be adding water. Unless the top is open there will be very little evaporation. I don't recommend an open top as they will get adventurous every once in a while (I have noticed mine trying to make a break for it at very quick air pressure drops).

Depending on the amount of composted manure you used, you probably won't have to feed them for a while. That will be their preferred food, and they will likely ignore all else. Add food in small amounts at first, and don't overdo it until you get your population up. If you bought a pound or two, it should take a couple months or so to really get going. In a year you'll have a real composting machine.

Shredded paper makes a fine addition for bedding to an already established bin, but if I remember correctly, it took a month or so for my straight newspaper bedding to break down to the point where it had the same consistency as peat moss. Had I started with peat moss first, food inputs would have been processed faster due to the increased surface area of the bedding. My favorite bedding these days is coco coir (functionally the same as peat, but less acidic), with a layer of shredded newspaper on top.