Partial replacement of fish meal by earthworm meal
(Libyodrilus violaceus) in diets for African catfish,
Clarias gariepinus
Fish meal is the most common source of protein for aqua feeds. However, the cost of fish meal is on the rise, because of its competing use as feed ingredient by other animals (livestock, ruminants etc.). It is therefore necessary to find alternatives to fish meal in the preparation of animal diets.Various workers have attempted to use other locally available cheap protein sources (e.g. plant protein, agricultural by- products, fishery by-products, terrestrial animal by -products, grain legumes, oil seed plants etc.) in animal feeds. Plant protein sources have been used as alternatives in the diets of fish with some measure of success particularly grain legumes (Zhou et al., 2005; Emre et al., 2008;
Monentcham et al., 2010; Lim et al., 2011). A major setback in the use of plant proteins however, is the presence of anti growth factors. Other workers have also used other animal sources such as poultry by- product (Tucker et al., 2005; Shapawi et al., 2007), meat and bone meal (Gimenez et al., 2009) with favourable results in some cases.The use of earthworms has also been documented. Earthworms are abundant in most parts of Africa and their nutritional values have been determined. They possess amino acid profiles similar to fish (Dedeke et al., 2010a) and have been used as protein supplements in the diets of fish (Hilton, 1983; Sogbesan et al., 2007; Monebi and Ugwumba, 2013).
Read more: Partial replacement of fish meal by earthworm meal
Earthworms Live Foods for Aquarium – Summer is just around the corner and I’ve got a real bad case of Spring fever. It seems to get worse every year. This is the time of the year when cheap fish food becomes available. What I mean by “cheap” is free food. All you have to provide is time and the containers. Grasshoppers, crickets, and earthworms are starting to show up in the yards, parks, and fields.
by Dave Ball President of the Southern Colorado Aquarium Society Aquarticles
Earthworms Live Foods for Aquarium – Earthworm get around us
We’ll get to the first at a later date, the good old earthworm is the subject of the day. How many of you want a fish food that is good for your fish? I mean one that is natural, high in protein and has very low maintenance. Earthworms fit that bill. They are not on the list of foods that fish eat naturally but they eat them anyway. I started my cultures over a year ago when curiosity took hold along with the expense of keeping my larger cichlids and catfish fed properly. I had read several articles on keeping earthworms as fish food. Some people had no luck at all and others had complete success. The people who didn’t have success didn’t seem to give it enough time before harvesting. Others only used one culture or an improper medium.
Earthworms have been farmed for generations just for the fish bait and garden stores. You can go to the library and pick out several books on worm farming and cut it down to suit your needs. If you can, set one up outside. I don’t have that option. For me to set up a worm bed for my fish would be like asking for self-torture. So, a way to set-up an indoor worm culture was my only option. I first went out to a nearby park after a rainstorm collecting some night crawlers just to make sure that my fish would eat this new food. I knew they would, but why go through all of the work if they were going to refuse them? Well, I am sorry to say not a worm survived and some of my fish went on a hunger strike for a few days. Now I’ve spoiled them.
It is easy to start a worm farm by yourself – Earthworms Live Foods for Aquarium
The easiest way to get started is to buy your worms from a farm. You can get a thousand for less than $20.00. That includes shipping and they come to your front door. Mine came from a farm in Bronwood, GA. The cost was $16.00 for the first thousand. That’s under one cent apiece! How’s that for cheap? If you buy bigger lots it gets even cheaper. Where do you find this place? Look in the back of Outdoor Life magazine for the ads under live bait. You will have many choices. I chose critters called “Red Wrigglers”. These are small, About 3″-4″ in length and less than the diameter of a pencil around. Perfect for my needs. They showed up at my door in a little plain brown box with bright hot pink lettering that said “LIVE EARTHWORMS!”. Just joking about the color, but it’s amazing how the word “Live” can be read by family members even when they’re in another room. I was asked what on earth I was going to do with them. “Fish food” was the answer and everybody rolled their eyes. They think I’m nuts.
To get started you need the following: 2 – Plastic sweater boxes (12″ x 8″ x 5″ – larger if room allows) 1 – 8lb. bag Sterile peat moss, no fertilizers 1 – 8lb. bag Sterile Canadian sphagnum moss/peat moss mix, no fertilizers 1 – Starter culture of worms Water
Now the fun begins! Just kidding; this is real easy. Mix the two kinds of peat moss at a 50/50 ratio in the sweater box. I use the Canadian moss because it helps hold moisture longer without getting packed down too much. This helps when it comes time to feed the worms. After it is mixed (it doesn’t have to be perfect, the worms will do the rest) add some water, just enough to make the soil damp. The best way to check this is to grab some soil in you hand and if you can squeeze a drop of water out of it, it’s just about right to get started. In time you will know just how damp, not moist, to keep your cultures. Make some holes in the lid about the size of a pencil. Don’t make too many at first, only about 6 – 8. These are to control humidity. You will probably have to make some more later on depending on how tight the lid fits. For example, I have one box with 14 holes and another with 23. This also comes into play if you stack your cultures. I chose not to. Split your culture up between the two boxes. You can use the medium that they were shipped in also. It won’t hurt anything.
How to take care your worm bin – Earthworms Live Foods for Aquarium
Composting worm
Feeding is easy. Use oatmeal, corn meal, instant potatoes, old bread and mashed potatoes. Any of the above dry foods can be sprinkled on top of the medium with a little water. I like to make a hole in the middle of the culture and bury the food. This keeps the medium from getting compacted. If you use leftover mashed potatoes or pasta, make sure it is free of any butter, margarine, or oil. Gravy is optional (not really). The food should be in pure form with no condiments. Feed the culture only after the prior food is consumed. This will take 4 to 7 days depending on the size and density of the culture. It takes about 3 months for the reproduction cycle to get into full swing. I know it will be hard but leave them alone except for feeding. Check on them from time to time and you will start to find little ones. What I am going to do and will have started by the time you read this is to pull the breeders from the two main cultures to start a third. I won’t mess with that one except to feed and add breeding stock. This will give me more of a culture base to work with.
Earthworms Live Foods for Aquarium – When it comes time to feed my fish, I just dig some up, wash them off and toss them into the tank I want to feed. For the smaller fish I’ll take a worm by one end hold it over the tank and cut it up with a pair of scissors. These are my scissors. A word of warning: don’t use the scissors that are lying in the kitchen drawer. There IS HELL TO PAY if you are caught using them to cut up worms. This is from first hand experience. Go buy your own. It’s much safer. Here’s one last little bit of advice. I’ve had some small insects inhabit the surface of several different types of soil based worm cultures. I think these are mites. I know this sounds bad but these little guys keep the surface of the medium clean and free from mold and fungus. This is a guess, but on a culture of white worms that didn’t have these insects, mold, fungus and other crud got so out of control I had to throw it out. These mites are just there for the free meal. Keep the culture fed and they will keep it clean. They have never been a problem for me. I hope some of you will give this a try. I keep cultures under my book-stand in my fish room out of sight. Now I have plenty of food for practically nothing. Give earthworms a try, if it doesn’t work just throw them in the garden. It’ll make up for the scissors incident. Have fun growing your live foods.
Any question about Earthworms Live Foods for Aquarium, please contact:
Anphu Earthworm Co., Ltd
5/8 Streest No 15, Binh An Ward, Dist 2, Hochiminh City – Vietnam Tel/Zalo: 8498.3346179 – Fax: 8428-62810261 Email: wormvns@gmail.com
Including Earthworm in Organic Poultry Diets is widenly applied in worldwide agriculture….
Introduction Including Earthworm in Organic Poultry Diets
Including Earthworm in Organic Poultry Diets
It is common for free-range chickens to consume earthworms. Earthworms are very efficient at converting plant and animal wastes into biomass that can be used as a feed ingredient in animal production: a ton of animal wastes will produce about 100 kg of worms (Edwards, 1985). Earthworms are a good quality protein for use in animal feeds, but the practical use of earthworm meal is influenced by economics. Technology is available for large-scale production of earthworms, but separating the earthworms from the organic wastes in which they are growing is labor intensive, thus hindering the use of earthworm meal in developed countries. The potential is greater for producing earthworm meal in developing countries where labor costs are lower.
Composition of Including Earthworm in Organic Poultry Diets
The nutritional profile of earthworms is comparable to other protein sources currently used in poultry feeds, especially fish meal (Edwards, 1985). On a dry matter basis, earthworms contain 60-70% protein, 6-11% fat, 5-21% carbohydrates, and 2-3% minerals and a range of vitamins, including niacin. Earthworms are higher in the essential amino acids, such as lysine and methionine, than either meat or fish meal. Earthworm meal is high in essential long-chain fatty acids.
Table 1. Nutrient content of earthworms (Lumbricus terrestris) (Finke, 2002)
Nutrient
Content
Metabolizable Energy, Kcal/kg
708
Moisture, %
83.6
Crude protein, %
10.5
Arginine, %
0.61
Methionine, %
0.19
Lysine, %
0.66
Threonine
0.47
Tryptophan, %
0.09
Fat, %
1.6
Ash, %
0.6
Calcium, mg/kg
444
Phosphorus, mg/kg
1590
Magnesium, mg/kg
136
Sodium, mg/kg
965
Potassium, mg/kg
1820
Chloride, mg/kg
910
Iron, mg/kg
50.4
Zinc, mg/kg
17.7
Manganese, mg/kg
1.3
Iodine, mg/kg
0.38
Selenium, mg/kg
0.40
Feeding Earthworms to Poultry – Including Earthworm in Organic Poultry Diets
There is very little information on the use of earthworm meal in poultry diets. A study in Indonesia showed that 10% earthworm meal could replace a large portion of the fish meal in the diet with no adverse affect on body weight gain or feed efficiency. Feed intake was reduced at the 15% inclusion level (Prayogi, 2011).
Care must be taken when growing earthworms for use in animal feeds. Heavy metals and other pollutants are taken up by the worms and can be passed on to the birds consuming the earthworms (Sharma et al., 2005). It is important, therefore, to know what material was used in the vermicomposting process.
Anphu Earthworm Co., Ltd
5/8 Streest No 15, Binh An Ward, Dist 2, Hochiminh City – Vietnam Tel/Zalo: 8498.3346179 – Fax: 8428-62810261 Email: wormvns@gmail.com
Earthworm For Marble GobyFish and Catfish is apply widenly in Vietnam fish farm….and got an very good result in crop.
Utilization of earthworms (Perionyx excavatus) as a protein source for growing fingerling marble goby (Oxyeleotris marmoratus) and tra catfish (Pangasius hypophthalmus)
Nguyen Huu Yen Nhi
Faculty of Agricultural and Natural resource, An Giang University, Long Xuyen City, Vietnam nhynhi@agu.edu.vn
Literature review
Biological characteristics and feeding behavior of two fish species – Earthworm For Marble GobyFish and Catfish
Earthworm For Marble GobyFish and Catfish
There are many reports on the effects of various animal wastes on growth and reproduction of earthworms. According to Chaudhuri and Gautam Bhattacharjee (2002), biomass production and reproduction of the earthworm Perionyx excavatus in four experiments with cow dung alone and in mixtures with straw, bamboo leaf litter or kitchen waste, showed maximum rate of biomass increase and reproduction in the mixtures with straw and bamboo leaf litter. Edwards et al (1998) reported that P. excavatus grew at similar rates in cattle manure, pig manure and aerobically digested sewage sludge, but the earthworms did not grow well in horse manure and grew only poorly in turkey excreta. However, the rate of growth and the time of maturation of this species were different under various population densities and temperatures between 15 and 300C. The highest rates of reproduction occurred at 25 0C both in cattle manure and sewage sludge.
The species of earthworm also affects biomass production, fecundity and maturation. Surindra Suthar (2009) reported that the mean individual biomass of P. sansibaricus (768 mg) was higher than for P. excavatus (613 mg).
Read more: Utilization of earthworms
Any question please contact us
Anphu Earthworm Co., Ltd
5/8 Streest No 15, Binh An Ward, Dist 2, Hochiminh City – Vietnam Tel: 8498.3346179 – Fax: 8428-62810261 Email: wormvns@gmail.com
The Useful Of Earthworm Powder For Human Care as Lumbricus Tonic has no known, toxicities, contraindications or interactions.
Hisashi MIHARA Hiroyuki SUMI Hideaki MIZUMOTO Tomoyuki YONETA Ryuzo IKEDA and Masugi MARUYAMA _________________________ Department of Physiology Miyazaki Medical College Kiyotake, Miyazaki
INTRODUCTION The Useful Of Earthworm Powder For Human Care
The Useful Of Earthworm Powder For Human Care!
The history of use of the earthworm as a therapeutic drug source for various diseases extends back for several thousand years in China and other parts of the Far East. However, practical pharmacological studies have not been performed except on lumbrofebrin as an antifebrile (1). In 1983, we reported that very strong and novel fibrinolytic enzymes could be extracted from the earthworm, Lumbricus rubellus (2). These enzymes were fractionated and purified as six novel fibrinolytic enzymes, and named collectively as lumbrokinase. We have also found that earthworm powder contains two kinds of inhibitory substances for the platelet aggregation induced by collagen and ADP. One of these inhibitors of platelet aggregation was identified with adenosine. However, the other was a novel substance of MW 260. The structure of this substance was decided on the basis of NMR, mass spectra and infrared spectra (3). This novel substance also displays a relaxation effect for the canine saphenous vein induced by prostaglandin F in vitro and an inhibitory effect on the active partial thromboplastin time (APTT). In view of the above-mentioned effects, the earthworm powder appeared to be a potentially very useful agent for thrombosis. We therefore undertook experiments on the oral administration effects against intravascular fibrin clots using earthworm powder in dogs and humans.
Human Experiments – The Useful Of Earthworm Powder For Human Care
DISCUSSION An account of the earthworm being employed as a drug was given in the oldest known Chinese book, Shen Nong Ben Cao which is thought to have been published between the first and third century. Chang Xui Chenghe Cheng Lei Ben Cao published in 1229, indicates that the earthworm had already been used for cerebral apoplexy before the book was actually published. This is a very important point, not least because, at the present time, more than 60% of cerebral apoplexy involves cerebral thrombosis. Clearly, this is very closely connected to the above report. However, despite these ancient descriptions in oriental medial books, detailed pharmacological studies have not yet been undertaken except on lumbrofebrin as an antifebrile (1).
We recently obtained novel fibrinolytic enzymes from the earthworm, Lumbricus rubellus and named them collectively as lumbrokinase (2). We therefore attempted to utilize this earthworm as an oral thrombolytic agent. It is a problem as to whether functional proteins can be absorbed into the circulation from the intestine or not. However, many interesting investigations on the intestinal absorption of enzyme proteins have recently demonstrated that small amounts of enzyme proteins administered orally can be absorbed from the intestinal tract into the circulation (8, 9, 10). In fact, as shown in the present animal experiments, it is possible for orally administered earthworm powder to digest intravascular fibrin clots. Administration of earthworm powder orally to volunteers was therefore carried out. As clearly demonstrated by the present results, oral administration of earthworm powder was able to increase the fibrinolytic activity of the blood. From the data obtained, we believe that the increase in fibrinolytic activity may be due to t-PA-like activator, either that transported across the intestinal membrane or that newly synthesized by endothelial cells. The increase in FDP observed after 24 hours of administration also shows that fibrinolysis occurred within the body. It was unclear whether the increase of FDP demonstrated either fibrinolysis or fibrinogenolysis in the present experiments. However, when the levels of D-D-dimer were measured in some cases following administration of earthworm powder, an increase in D-D-dimer was observed like that for FDP (data not shown). The observed increase of FDP would thus appear to indicate that intravascular fibrin was digested by the administration of earthworm powder. In particular, the FDP levels were very sharply increased on the next day after commencing the administration of earthworm powder, and decreased a few days later. It is interesting to note that higher increases of FDP were observed in older volunteers in than younger volunteers. This suggests that fibrin clots are usually present to a greater or lesser extent in the vascular bed of healthy persons who are more than 30 years old, and can usually be digested by the administration of earthworm powder. In the one case who had been receiving earthworm powder for 3 years before the present experiments, the FDP did not increase and the t-PA antigen level was already high before the experiments. It is concluded that no fibrin deposits were present in this case prior to the experiments due to his long administration of earthworm powder.
Effective of Earthworm in aquaculture development
One other interesting finding obtained in the present study was that t-PA antigen increased after the administration of earthworm powder. This implies that such administration can release endogenous plasminogen activator. The release of endogenous plasminogen activator seems to be very important in the treatment of patients with thrombosis. When we carried out treatment of patients with cerebral thrombosis by urokinase injection, cases in which the t-PA antigen value was increased after the injection of urokinase showed positive results, whereas cases in which no increase in t-PA antigen value had been observed showed no effect (11). We are now trying to extract a fraction, which is able to release endogenous plasminogen activator, from earthworm powder. Streptokinase, urokinase and t-PA are currently in use as thrombolytic agents. Streptokinase is very effective for thrombosis, but it displays an antigenicity in humans, and cannot therefore be utilized repeatedly. Another known fibrinolytic agent is urokinase extracted from human urine. However, since only very small amounts of urokinase can be extracted in this way, urokinase is very expensive. In Japan, the use of urokinase has therefore been limited to 50,000 international units per person per day by the government. However, if more than 200,000 units of urokinase are needed, no appreciable effect can be expected. Recently, recombinant t-PA has been employed for thrombosis. However, even recombinant t-PA is rather expensive to produce. Also, streptokinase, urokinase and recombinant t-PA can be administered only by intravenous injection, so that fibrinolysic therapy with them needs to be undertaken in the hospital only.
In contrast, earthworm powder can be given orally, which is very convenient for patient use. For this reason, earthworm powder has a potential application as a thrombolytic agent as demonstrated in this paper, and also exerts an inhibitory effect on platelet aggregation, an anticoagulation effect and a relaxation effect for the vascular system, which are all effective for thrombotic therapy. We conclude therefore that earthworm powder represents a very promising agent for the treatment of thrombosis.
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Lumbricus Tonic – The Useful Of Earthworm Powder For Human Care
The Useful Of Earthworm Powder For Human Care!
A combination of herbs and earthworms, or lumbricus, used for thousands of years in Southeast Asia to tonify the sympathetic and parasympathetic functions of the central nervous system, thereby supporting digestive function in the stomach and the gastrointestinal tract. Its tonic properties also make it beneficial support for the liver and other organ systems. In China, Korea, Vietnam and most of Southeast Asia, lumbricus has been used for their therapeutic benefits for thousands of years and referred to as Earth Dragons. In Korea, these earthworms are believed to promote general health and prevent a wide variety of diseases. Furthermore, the earthworm is a primary ingredient in the traditional Vietnamese remedy known as, Miracle Medicine that can Save Lives in 60 Minutes. Several Vietnamese-based studies have demonstrated the safety and effectiveness of the earthworm for supporting immunity and cardiovascular health. Because it originates from the soil, the earthworm has a dense nutritional content as well as anti-oxidant properties. Lumbricus Tonic is a multi-agent supplement of which the principal ingredient is lumbricus, earthworm powder in combination with Atractylodes alba, Poria cocos, and Acorus gramineus. This formula is used for supporting digestion and assimilation, liver function, relieving liver congestion, and enhancing hepatic antioxidant and detoxification function.
Ingredients-Proprietary Blend 1500 mg: Lumbricus (earthworm powder) – Supportive for muscle relaxation and tonification of the sympathetic nervous system, thereby being potentially beneficial for digestion. Atractylodes alba – Supportive for the functions of the stomach and spleen, (organs responsible for food digestion in Eastern Philosophy) thereby being potentially beneficial for low appetite, poor digestion, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, bloating and indigestion. Atractylodes has been shown to be of benefit for abdominal distention, pain and gurgling sensations in the abdomen as well as adversely affecting viruses. Poria cocos – The most widely used herb in Chinese herbalism. Supportive for the spleen, lung, kidney, triple warmer, bladder, heart and gallbladder, Poria cocos is a Yin tonic benefiting fluid metabolism by regulating body fluids. It benefits the circulation of Ch’i in the triple warmer and is important for the health of the internal organs. It is calming to the nervous system and is considered a heart tonic, lung tonic and plays a role in blood sugar regulation. Acorus Gramineus – Used traditionally as a digestive tonic supporting the circulation of digestive juices, for ringing in the ears, excess phlegm, abdominal bloating, achiness and poor memory.
Other ingredients: Magnesium stearate, silicon dioxide. Lumbricus Tonic has no known, toxicities, contraindications or interactions.
Anphu Earthworm Co., Ltd
5/8 Streest No 15, Binh An Ward, Dist 2, Hochiminh City – Vietnam Tel: 8498.3346179 – Fax: 8428-62810261 Email: wormvns@gmail.com
Essential for protein synthesis. Involved in carnitine and haemoglobin synthesis. Effective in allergic diseases and tension of the autonomic nervous system. Protects from anaemia. Assists in the prevention of rheumatoid arthritis, anaemia and nervous diseases.
Isoleucine
4,69
Involved in protein synthesis, energy production and muscle building.
Leucine
7,59
Regulation of protein turnover and energy metabolism. Maintains muscle strength especially during times of physical stress and intensive exercise.
Lysine
7,56
Improves appetite and excretion of gastric juice, promotes the growth of young animals, especially bones, and optimises nitrogen balance in tissues. Helps the body absorb and conserve calcium, and helps in development of collagen and ossification. Aids in the production of antibodies, hormones & enzymes.
Methionine
2,20
Helps prevent excessive fat accumulation in the liver and supports the liver in detoxification mechanisms. Precursor of carnitine production (essential compound for energy production and musclebuilding).
Phenilanine
4,01
Main element in collagen building. Prevents loss of pigmentation of skin and hair. Improve memory and alert sensation.
Tryptophan
1,40
Maintains growth and nitrogen balance in tissues and regulates growth hormone. Promotes feed intake. Aids the immune system, reduces hypertension, anxiety and depression, and increases blood sugar and zinc absorption. Precursor for production of serotonin (vasoconstrictor and stimulator of muscle construction).
Threonine
5,20
Involved in protein synthesis and energy metabolism. Essential for optimum growth, feed conversion and nitrogen balance in tissues. Component of digestive enzymes and immune system. Aids prevent fat build-up in the liver. Precursor of glycine synthesis.
Valine
5,0
Improves energy metabolism and protein synthesis. Maintains muscle strength especially during times of physical stress and intensive exercise to maintain.
Total of essential amino acids
35.02
Nutritional composition–non essential amino acids
Alanine
5,53
Source of energy for the muscle tissue, brain and central nervous system. Helps strengthen the immune system by producing antibodies. Improves metabolism of sugars and organic acids.
Arginine
6,51
Important to reproductive organs.
Aspartic acid
11,60
Aids in the expulsion of harmful ammonia from the body. Increases resistance to fatigue and increase endurance. For horses, promotes release of growth hormone (potent in females).
Cisteina
1,83
Desintoxicatione capillary growth.
Glutamic acid
14,20
Involved in protein synthesis and as a source of energy for cells lining the intestine. Facilitates immune function and improves anti-inflammatory effects. Aids in preventing and healing of peptic ulcer and ulcerative colitis.
Glycine
5,0
In combination with glucose, aids re-hydration by maintaining of the oxygen release to the energy requiring cell-making process. Assists in manufacturing of hormones responsible for a strong immune system.
Proline
5,30
Precursor of hydroxyproline, which the body incorporates into collagen, tendons, ligaments and the heart muscle. Improves skin texture, helps in the healing of damaged cartilage, and the strengthening of joints, tendons, and heart muscle. Assists in tissue repair after injury and any type of wound healing.
Serine
5,03
Utilized as a source of glucose by the liver and muscles. Strengthens the immune system by providing anti-bodies. Synthesizes fatty acids heath around nerve fibre.
Tyrosine
2,97
The structural component of almost all proteins in the body. As a precursor of neurotransmitters such as L-dopa, dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine, helps prevent stress and other mood changes. Promotes the healthy functioning of the thyroid, adrenal, and pituitary glands.
Total of non essential amino acids
57,97
Nutritionalcomponents–vitamins
Vit. A (retinol
/carothene)
Trace
Helps maintain normal vision. Necessary for normal bone growth &tooth development. Stimulates appetite. Maintains integrity of skin & mucous membranes. Involved in formation of antibodies & disease resistance. Improves reproductive performance.
Vit. B1 (thiamine)
16
Maintains general metabolism and maintenance of normal muscle and nerve function.
VitB3 (niacin)
36
Maintains general metabolism and red blood cell formation. Prevents pellagra associated with niacin deficiency. Improves appetite and growth rate, and maintains skin and hair coat condition. Reduces levels of blood cholesterol.
VitB 12
6
Necessary for general metabolism, nervous and reproductive function. Facilitates blood cells formation and improves hair coat condition.
Vit. B6 (pyridoxine)
6
Necessary for general metabolism, nervous system function and vision. Maintains integrity of skin. Facilitates red blood cells formation.
Biotin
32
Maintains metabolism, and integrity of skin, hair, hooves. In horses, improves conformation of hoof horn.
Para aminobenzoic
acid
30
Assists protein metabolism. Maintain hair health. Improves folic acid production.
Pantothenic
acid
(Vit. B5)
10
Plays a key role in energy metabolism, reproduction, growth and nerve function. Assists in transmission of nerve impulses. Improves health of skin and coat.
Folic acid
2
Maintains general metabolism. Assists in formation of red and white blood cells and haemoglobin.
Choline
275
Assists in metabolism of fats, and prevention of fatty livers. Maintains transmitting nerve impulses.
Inositol
350
Aids in the metabolism of fats and integrity of hair coat.
Lipoicacid
Trace
Increase production of glutathione with helps dissolve toxic substances in the liver. Neutralize free radicals and protect cells.
Total of Vitamins
763
Nutritional components–minerals
Iron
3
Assists general metabolism, and prevention of iron-deficient anaemia. Essential component of haemoglobin in red blodcells. Improves pregnancy period, recovery from parasite infestation, and animal performance. Aids in detoxification of gossypol from cottonseed meal.
Selenium
Trace
As an antioxidant -supports the cell-protecting action of vitamin E by detoxifying peroxides. Improves growth and fertility in animals, and aids in the prevention of white muscle disease. Improves immunity and milk production. Reduces the incidence of retained placentas.
Chromium
Trace
Maintains regulation of glucose metabolism. Helps retard lactic acid accumulation during exercise, and improve ratio of lean muscle to fat deposition.
Calcium
5000
Improves strength and development of bones and teeth. Assists in muscle contraction, cardiac regulation and nerve function. Maintains the normal clotting process of blood. Increased requirement during lactation.
Phosphorus
9000
Assists general metabolism and nerve function. Assists in formation of bones, muscles and teeth. Improves buffering systems in blood and other body fluids.
Role of earthworm on earth – Earthworm production systems involving waste management are evolving and are in the growth phase where emphasis is upon marketing, inoculum and vermicast.
As the industry matures there will be a need to change the marketing emphasis from “the worm as an inoculum” to “the worm as a value-added marketable product”. Very large quantities of worm products will be available if production systems are designed and managed appropriately.
Role of earthworm on earth are recognised as an effective and environmentally sound method of increasing the rate
The integration of waste utilisation with the production of high quality commercial products is an attractive concept and provides real opportunities to the earthworm industry and agricultural processing industries which face increasing waste management issues. This would be a major and sustainable contribution to both urban and rural environmental management. There is thus considerable scope to develop technologies to assist the development of the earthworm industry.
While Australian rural industries are typically based more on an individualistic rather than on active cooperation and coordination approaches, there are a number of instances where a particular industry or section of an industry has adopted a successful collaborative approach to the export or domestic marketing of their produce.
This project aimed to deliver technologies to underpin the development of an earthworm industry which has a range of products including ‘value-added’ worm meal products.
How To Harvest Earthworm is easyer than anything else before you thought before…
When to harvest earthworm
Generally, a worm bin will have produced a significant amount of good vermicompost at between two and three months along in the process. If you wait even longer, like 4-6 months, you’ll have more finished looking vermicompost (it will look more like soil and have more plant-ready nutrients in it).
Tip – Try harvesting early one time, then letting it go for much longer the next time, so that you can see the difference in finished product.
Harvesting Methods –
How To Harvest Earthworm
There are several common ways to separate worms from the vermicompost in your bin.
Dump And Sort It’s just like it sounds! Dump the entire contents of your worm bin down onto a table (you may want to protect the table with a sheet of plastic first.) Put a light bulb above the table (or use natural light.) Now remove any very fresh-looking bedding, and toss it back into the worm bin for the next go-round.
Then, make many small mounds of vermicompost. Watch and you’ll see the worms move downward, away from light, and bury themselves in the bedding. After a few minutes, you can remove the outer layer of this mound, and put it in your vermicompost bucket. Again the worms will move downward. Just continue like this until you have many little piles of worms.
Worms Sort Themselves A very simple method indeed. You move all the vermicompost in the bin over to one side, and add fresh bedding to, and begin feeding on, the opposite side. Then,just give the worms time to finish up all the nutrition on the first side (give them a couple of months) and wiggle on over to the fresher bedding and food. The advantage is that it’s really easy; the disadvantage is how long it takes, and that for a period of time, you’re only feeding one half of the bin.
Divide and Dump This is simplicity itself! Just harvest two-thirds of the worm bin, leaving one-third for the next batch. Yes, you’ll be harvesting worms with the vermicompost you remove, but that’s ok. When you feed your plants, these worms brought along will, eventually, turn into extra nutrients. The worms left behind will repopulate the bin in a few months’ time. Be aware that your worm bin will process less material while the population of worms is diminished.
Now, if you have invented another method of harvesting worms, please tell us and we’ll publish your story.
The Benefit of Earthworm in Agriculture
Save The Worms! How To Harvest Earthworm
No matter how hard we hobbyists try to screen our vermicompost, it usually will contain lots of cocoons and baby worms. If you want to try to keep these young worms from being harvested with the vermicompost, and try to hatch the unborn ones, then do the following: place all your vermicompost into one or more large containers, place some attractive food on top, and cover the entire surface with a layer of cardboard. Melon rind is a great attractant to use, though apple cores will also work.
Two ways you can increase the percentage of castings in your vermicompost are by:
keeping a high population of worms and
making sure that material stays in the worm bin and is worked by worms as long as possible.
Using Your Vermicompost
Your worms have taken your food waste and produced an excellent, all-natural fertilizer. Add vermicompost whenever you plant seeds or move starts outdoors. Simply mix a small amount of it into the planting hole. A quarter cup per small plant will give them a significant boost.
With older plants and houseplants, top dress with vermicompost twice a year. Scratch the surface of the soil to mix it in.
Anphu Earthworm Co., Ltd
5/8 Streest No 15, Binh An Ward, Dist 2, Hochiminh City – Vietnam Tel: 8498.3346179 – Fax: 8428-62810261 Email: wormvns@gmail.com
Marble goby and Tra catfish fed with Earthworm becomes hot tittle for science not only Vietnam, but also worldwide
Two studies were conducted at the experimental farm of An Giang University, Viet Nam.
Marble goby and Tra catfish fed with Earthworm
The first study on the growth of earthworms (Perionyx excavates) was a 2*2 factorial experiment with 4 replicates, in which the treatments were: source of manure (cow or buffalo) and supplementation with water hyacinth at 25% of the weight of manure (DM basis) or none.
Adding chopped water hyacinth to buffalo or cattle manure led to a decrease in worm numbers and in productivity per kg DM and crude protein of added substrate. Relative growth in numbers and in weight of the worms was similar on manure derived from buffaloes and cattle.
The negative effect of water hyacinth was greater with buffalo than with cattle manure. Residual compost from cattle manure was richer in N and poorer in ash than compost derived from buffalo manure. Water hyacinth added to the substrate resulted in compost with less N but more ash.
The second study included two experiments. The first experiment was on the growth performance of Marble goby and Tra catfish fed diets of trash fish and rice field prawns replaced (on an iso-nitrogenous basis) with 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% of frozen earthworms (Perionyx excavates).
The weight gains of Marble goby and Tra catfish, and the survival rate of the Marble Goby, decreased markedly with curvilinear trends as the proportion of frozen earthworms in the diet was increased (Experiment 1). The Tra catfish appeared to adapt better than the Marble goby to the frozen worms.
The second experiment, which was designed to test the hypothesis that the poor growth rates with frozen earthworms were due to the low palatability of the earthworms after being frozen, confirmed the negative effects of this method of conservation.
Growth rates were 4 and 2 times greater for Marble goby and Tra catfish, respectively, when they were fed fresh rather than frozen earthworms. Survival rate was 100% on the fresh earthworm diet…..
How Marble goby and Tra catfish fed with Earthworm
Effective of Earthworm in aquaculture development as replacement for trash fish and rice field prawns on growth and survival rate of marble goby (Oxyeleotris marmoratus) and Tra catfish (Pangasius hypophthalmus)Nguyen Huu Yen Nhi, T R Preston*, Brian Ogle** and Torbjorn Lundh**
Effective of Earthworm in aquaculture development
An Giang University, 25 Vo Thi Sau St., Long Xuyen City, Vietnam nhynhi@agu.edu.vn * TOSOLY, AA 48 Socorro, Colombia. ** Department of Animal Nutrition and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7024, 750 07, Uppsala, Sweden.
Abstract of Effective of Earthworm in aquaculture development
Two experiments were carried out in the research farm of An Giang University. The first experiment was a study on the growth performance of Marble goby and Tra catfish fed diets of trash fish and rice field prawns replaced (on an iso-nitrogenous basis) with 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% of frozen earthworms (Perionyx excavates).
The weight gains of Marble goby and Tra catfish, and the survival rate in the Marble Goby, decreased markedly with curvilinear trends as the proportion of frozen earthworms in the diet was increased (Experiment 1).
The Tra catfish appeared to adapt better than the Marble goby to the frozen worms. The second experiment, which was designed to test the hypothesis that the poor growth rates with frozen earthworms was due to the low palatability of the earthworms after being frozen, confirmed the negative effects of this method of conservation.
Growth rates were 4 and 2 times greater for Marble goby and Tra catfish, respectively, when they were fed fresh rather than frozen earthworms. Survival rate was 100% on the fresh earthworm diet.
How Effective of Earthworm in aquaculture development
Read more: Effect of earthworms as replacement for trash fish and rice field prawns on growth and survival rate of marble goby
The Benefit of Earthworm in Agriculture, Earthworm have many benefits. In fact, many people who eat it to cure some disease, without effects, so safe to consume. According to the experiences of people who had experienced a fever or high body temperature, with an extra ingredient earthworms eat their disorders improved.
The Benefit of Earthworm in Agriculture
The Benefit of Earthworm in Agriculture – HIGH PROTEIN
According to research ever done that earthworms are very high source of protein. Earthworms also contains several amino acids with a high level. One of them, worm Lumbricus rubellus contain very high protein content approximately 76%. This concentration is higher than mammal meat (65%) or fish (50%). Several studies have proven the existence of the antibacterial power of protein extraction results of worm that can inhibit the growth of gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli, Shigella dysenterica, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella thypi.
BENEFITS OF WORMS
Usefulness earthworms affect important organs of the body. Some properties of earthworms are: Typus Cure Lowering cholesterol levels Increase endurance Lowering high blood pressure Improve appetite Treating digestive tract infections such as typus, dysentery, diarrhea, and other stomach disorders like ulcers Treat diseases such as respiratory tract infection: cough, asthma, influenza, bronchitis and tuberculosis Reduce aches due to fatigue or due to rheumatic Lowering blood sugar levels of diabetes Treat hemorrhoids, exim, allergies, injuries and illness
The Benefit of Earthworm in Agriculture – FOOD FOR LIVESTOCK
In addition to making purposes is extracted herbal medicine, earthworms can also be processed into poultry feed and fish feed (pellet). Considering the number of poultry farmers in Indonesia and pemubudidaya fish, worms processing into feed material has a bright prospect. In addition to protein-rich (50-72%), earthworms also contains several amino acids is very important for birds such as arginine (10.7%), tryptophan (4.4%) and tytosin (2.25%). These three amino acids are rarely found in other feedstuffs. Therefore, earthworms have the potential both to replace fish meal in poultry rations and can save material usage of grains up to 70%. Nevertheless, the use of earthworms in poultry rations is recommended no more than 20% of the total ration.
Using insects as an alternative to the conventional animal feed has been researched for quite some time now, ranging from flies to insect larvea, this new alternative could be the answer to the ever increasing price of animal feed. Now Earthworms – An animal feed alternative are being bred as an alternative feed source, and the waste is being seen as a rich fertilzer. A win-win some would say.
Earthworms – An animal feed alternative
Most farmers apply fertilizers and all kinds of manure such as human waste and animal urine on their farms to improve production. They also mulch as an agronomic practice to improve on productivity. Those engaged in dairy, poultry and fish farming use feed made out of varying mixtures that include bran, husks, stover and other matter. However, this time around, they are being introduced to a technology of using earthworms to serve the same purpose. Scientists at Makerere University Agricultural Institute Kabonyolo (MUARIK) started rearing the earthworms under a programme known as management of manure for vermin compost, where they mix maize bran with food remains and cow dung with water as a bulk material for the worms to feed on.
Earthworms – An animal feed alternative
Mr Charles Azizi Dara, a foreman in the machinery section at MUARIK, says the team started the rearing earthworms about a year ago. It was an initiative to address the challenge faced by poultry and fish farmers in purchasing feed at high price as well as to address the use of organic manure by farmers growing crops. Earthworms take one month to mature but their life span is two years. They do not lay eggs but cocoons. These begin hatching once the cocoons are mature causing rapid multiplication of its generation. Poultry and fish farmers can give their chicken and fish either live worms or they can harvest them and mix with other feeds such as milled fish, maize bran and husks for the same feeding process. “Farmers can venture into earthworm rearing as a side business because the process is not labour-intensive and besides, farmers who grow crops and rear either chicken or fish can gain in both ways because the waste matter of these worms can be used as manure, which will result into high yields of the crops,” Dara said. Nankinga suggests instead of farmers coming to the institute to purchase the worms as parent stock, they should become “outgrowers” to supply fellow farmers. This is because the worms can be harvested in swampy and moist places and as long as farmers have the interest in breeding them, they can also search for parent stock.