78 replies to this topic

[gerald]

Have you checked with local state/private game fish farms?  They may have blackworms in their raceways and settling ponds (they'd call them trout-worms).  Of course, worms raised without fish would be safer in terms of disease risk.

 

Hey Auban, great to see you around again! I've been away from the forum for quite a while also (though certainly not nearly as far away!) 

 

I was just talking about this thread the other day because I've just recently started working at Conservation Fisheries raising native fish, and we go through A LOT of blackworms. However, the drought in California has pretty much shut down production of Blackworms from out that way, and we've had to switch to someone that raises them here in the east, but have not exactly been thrilled by the quality of service. If you find a way to produce these things, I can pretty much promise you there'd be a market for you. And once I get settled here, if I can manage to find a place where I can toy with ponds sometime, I'd love to seed mine with some worms and see how they do. There's a mystery here and someone needs to crack these things so they can be accessible from more than two sources in the entire country

[Auban]

Glad to see you around here again! I didn't post much before your deployments but yours is definitely a familiar handle.
I know you've got a lot on your mind after being on deployment for so long, but I was curious if a 9v battery would have the same worm-scattering effect as the DC power supplies. It might be considerably safer and simpler to make two pieces of copper wire into an electro-worming probe that can be connected to the terminals of a 9V than to mess with AC power.

To be honest, I have no idea. I will have to try it someday. I would say go for it. Try it. I have no idea when I'll get around to trying it.

[Auban]

Hey Auban, great to see you around again! I've been away from the forum for quite a while also (though certainly not nearly as far away!) 
 
I was just talking about this thread the other day because I've just recently started working at Conservation Fisheries raising native fish, and we go through A LOT of blackworms. However, the drought in California has pretty much shut down production of Blackworms from out that way, and we've had to switch to someone that raises them here in the east, but have not exactly been thrilled by the quality of service. If you find a way to produce these things, I can pretty much promise you there'd be a market for you. And once I get settled here, if I can manage to find a place where I can toy with ponds sometime, I'd love to seed mine with some worms and see how they do. There's a mystery here and someone needs to crack these things so they can be accessible from more than two sources in the entire country

Lol, it would be awesome if someone could farm them from a local wild source. Unfortunately, I don't believe that I will even be able to attempt it until I get out of the army. As it is, I have already been on four TDY's since I got back. I might be leaving for another deployment in a few weeks.

When it's all put together, I usually get about two and a half months at home every year.

The most recent word is that I will be afforded the opportunity to actually get the training to properly do what I have been doing(i have been winging it) for the last two years. I intend to take that opportunity. If you ever get some ponds, I'll be more than happy to send you some worms. I would warn you though... since I am usually away from home, I probably won't be the one packaging them. As such, I CANNOT guarantee their live arrival. I have tried as sending world before through someone else and it didn't turn out well...

Edited by Auban, 13 July 2017 - 11:00 PM.

[Auban]

Thank you for your service. I had that said to me recently as well. Not many notice the small mark on my drivers license that says "Armed Forces". It made my day. I hope you feel proud of what you do even during the tough times. Glad you are home safe and hope you enjoy yourself.

I appreciate the support. Honestly, sometimes I would love to just forget that I was ever in the army. Sometimes, I absolutely love it.

My problem is that I love people. Except that I have too much damn blood on my hands to love people. I'm not sure if that makes any sense...

This last deployment hit me kinda hard. I saw a tank full of fry and just started crying. It was kinda surreal. I was looking at fish and thinking of collateral damage.

I used to take a shot for each of the fallen that I personally worked with and knew, on memorial day. I had to stop several years ago. Too many shots.

There is a training opportunity that I am pouncing on. It may keep me from the next deployment. I both want to go on the deployment and I don't.

Too many shots, too many fry. I need a breather.

[Auban]

In other news, I have started a triops longicaudatus tank. They are already beginning to lay eggs. I also started a tank for a huge rotifer. I have no idea what species it is, but if I can isolate it, I'll use it as a live food.

I have also restarted my ostracod culture. I will write up a set of instructions on how to raise them and leave them with my family. Before that, I will save some eggs and put them in a safe place. I am also culturing some fairy shrimp and dahnia/moina
species I have yet to identify.

I have also started two tanks for algae. Two different kinds I have never messed with before.

So long as I can so much as put a water bottle out in the sun, or dig into the local ground, I'm sure I'll be fine.

[mattknepley]

I appreciate the support. Honestly, sometimes I would love to just forget that I was ever in the army. Sometimes, I absolutely love it.

My problem is that I love people. Except that I have too much damn blood on my hands to love people. I'm not sure if that makes any sense...

This last deployment hit me kinda hard. I saw a tank full of fry and just started crying. It was kinda surreal. I was looking at fish and thinking of collateral damage.

I used to take a shot for each of the fallen that I personally worked with and knew, on memorial day. I had to stop several years ago. Too many shots.

There is a training opportunity that I am pouncing on. It may keep me from the next deployment. I both want to go on the deployment and I don't.

Too many shots, too many fry. I need a breather.

Everything you said makes perfect sense. I have never had to face the fight within self that you are as a result of my profession, or anything else, but I have seen some people very close to me going through their personal battles with similar military combat issues. Some of their efforts were healthy, some were not. Some efforts brought solace,some didn't. Ultimately, the three I can relate most to found not only balance, but peace.

The deeper, more sensitive a soul you have, the harder this fight is, in my observation. It is hard to destroy some to help others when you realize even the worst of those whom you fight is still a human. Of course, it goes deeper. That has been my observation, anyway. I wish you healing.

Thank you for your efforts on our behalfs,God bless you (if I may be so bold), and I wish you piece, my friend.

[Auban]

Before April 2009, I wouldn't have cared. I was the worst kind of person. When I was 18, I was diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder. And then, in all my pompous, I thought I could win a cross fit competition. I ended up winning. And I ended up killing myself.

I had my time of death announced a few times because of the crazy weird things that happen when your body is going through rhabdomyolysis.

I remember hearing a doctor giving up on me, more than once. I have no idea how I started breathing again, especially since my body temp had already fallen into the 80s.

What I do remember was fear. And remorse. I had never experienced remorse before. Not really. I feared remorse. It meant that I must be wrong, and for some stupid reason, I had always thought that being wrong was the worst thing that a person could be. I was clueless and stupid.

When Gerald first met me way back when, I had just recently started to wake up. I had some fish, that if I remember correctly, I couldn't even properly identify.

Since then, I have driven myself to be good at what I do. My job is to find bad guys so that the team I am attached to can kill them. I have a talent for finding people.

I am at nearly 400 right now. People that would be alive if I weren't there. Most of them assholes. Some of them were innocent.

This has thrown me. I feel guilty. I don't have much experience with this emotion. I essentially killed innocents.

Screw it. I guess it is what it is.

[mattknepley]

Pm-ed, Auban.

[Auban]

Now that I have done derailed my own thread, I'll share an observation I made about those worms I collected from the ground when I returned from my last deployment.

The ones that were broken in half ended up regrowing the other half of their bodies. The I interesting thing is that the newly regrow portion moved in very different ways than the old portion.

The new portion whipped around in undulating patterns, while the old portion inched along like a regular earthworm.

[gerald]

I guess those re-grown worms feel like half their body is rowdy teenager and the other half is old geezer recovering from surgery.

[Auban]

Lol, yep. I found it interesting because the new growth moved different from the old growth. It didn't seem congruent at all.

If I get some time at home, I want to conduct a few experiments to see what I can do with those worms.

Edited by Auban, 15 July 2017 - 03:03 PM.

[Auban]

So, can anyone here recommend a good site for third part hosting of pictures? I had been using photobucket, but they recently decided to charge 400 dollars a year. I'm not even sure if I can even get my photos and videos off their site. I'm not paying the 400 dollars. Everything I documented through that site is reproducible, so I don't need it.

I DO need an alternative though...

Edited by Auban, 15 July 2017 - 03:34 PM.

[Michael Wolfe]

NANFA members have free storage space for fish related photos on the Gallery Archive http://gallery.nanfa.org/v/members/

[Matt DeLaVega]

NANFA members have free storage space for fish related photos on the Gallery Archive http://gallery.nanfa.org/v/members/

Way less expensive and more benefits. May as well take advantage of it, and as long as you have been around, membership makes sense.

[Auban]

Ok, so i have been busy... almost bought the farm. Again. No wonder why my wife wants me to retire lol.

Anyway, i just started another triops tank. I pretty much abandoned the last one when work got in the way. But, right now, i can keep them.


I hope this does not pose a problem, but i am polyamorous... i have a wife and a girlfriend... though i don't believe that title does my girlfriend justice. We all live together. If it were not for her, it would be impossible for us to keep anything long term.

My wife cannot do it. Im not going to into the reasons for that right now.

I hope this revelation does not offend anyone too much...

They rely on each other a lot. They work well together. I am very proud of them.

Anyway, im going to be home until at least the day after valentines. Enough time to take pictures and document how my triops are doing. I hydrated the eggs about 28 hours ago. Here is a pic of how it looks now. I used old tank water and a little tap water to hatch them.

http://imgur.com/gallery/Ihb7qpv

I have only kept the eggs from triops that hatch on their first hydration. I have been doing so for over 20 years with this strain.

[gerald]

Glad you're still alive!  Do whatever works best for you, re Triops, women, etc.  I'm sure they're glad to have each other while you're off on dangerous missions.

[Auban]

I was looking for my triops thread before... i should have loomed under invertebrates lol.

[Auban]

Thank you gerald. My mother pretty much disowned me for several years when she found out.

I used to think that it didn't bother me much that she judged me so harshly. She was extremely abusive and i have a lot of physical scars from her many attempts at my life, but i guess im still self conscious about polyamory.

My girlfriend is the one who keeps my tanks alive while i am gone. Along with our snakes and tarantulas. None of which i would be able to keep without her.

Right now, we have a bunch of natives. Starhead topminnows, a baby chain pickerel, a bunch of black banded sunfish, some blue spots...

She takes care of them all while i am gone.

[PBK]

I've caught mucho aquatic worms spring & summer here in northern ohio by scooping a wire seive into shallow muddy edges of ponds. Look for little holes in the mud. After carefully rinsing them out you might to purge them in clean water B4 feeding them 2 your fish. These are large tubificid worms about 2 or 3 inches long. A word of caution though....you might want to find them around fishless ponds to lessen the risk of parasites in the worms. Ponds containing ramshorn snails (coiled shells) can pass these parasites to the worms.
Good luck.