# Red wiggler worms



## Rgman87 (Nov 9, 2015)

Yay or nay on adding these to a viv? I have a 55 gallon with abg mix substrate. Would adding these benifit my tank at all? I enjoy the bugs just as much as the frogs and plants.


----------



## greenthumbs (Nov 6, 2015)

I say nay. They eat really fast and will probably take no time at all to turn your substrate into mush. That said, I'm not sure how well they'd do in a vivarium in the first place, since they like their soil a little drier than typical vivarium conditions. And if I'm not mistaken they produce a foul secretion to deter predators, so if I had to guess I'd say the frogs probably wouldn't be fans of the taste. They probably wouldn't really benefit the tank a whole lot, springtails and isopods would be good enough.


----------



## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

As long as the substrate isn't too wet they do just fine. They will turn your substrate into mushy dirt as well as depositing dirt castings all over the place. 
They will also do a job on the leaf litter and can colonize things like bromeliads so trying to trade or use pups in another enclosure would just spread them. 

Include them at your own risk. 

Some comments 

Ed


----------



## Darrell S (Jan 9, 2011)

I tried them in one tank. Thankfully it was only one tank. they quickly transported tons of soil through the weed block and into the clay balls. They could be found dried up and dead on floor more often than you would think possible. And as Ed stated they would take over bromeliads and deposit dirt in all the crevices of the leaves. For me it was a complete tear down . I cooked the soil in the grill for several hrs. The entire terrarium was wrapped in a heavy contractor bag with lots of duct tape and completely submerged in a bleach solution for several days. I would never recommend worms in a terrarium to anybody.


----------



## stang2000 (Oct 6, 2015)

had same issue with slugs and earthworms from outside moss. they are pesky and tough to get rid of.


----------



## Rgman87 (Nov 9, 2015)

So i decided not to add any worms to my viv. While doing some rearranging of plants i pulled out a a brom and sure enough there was 3 little worms on the bottom of it. They were maybe 1/2 inch long. Should i worry? Not really sure how they ended up in there.....


----------

