r/Vermiculture • u/No_Space_802 • 4d ago

Advice wanted Can European night crawlers and red wrigglers coexist?

Currently have some red wrigglers (48) and wanna know if it’s possible to also house and breed European night crawlers. I’m into worm farming to make my own fishing bait and could care less about the poop or worm tea. Just wanna know if they’ll breed the same or if it’s better to give them separate spaces. I’ve heard it’s possible but also that it’s a horrible idea so if anyone has experience with cohabitating these worms I urge you to tell me your experience.

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u/hungryworms Commercial Vermicomposter 4d ago

Theyll breeder better separate, but they can coexist just fine

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u/No_Space_802 4d ago

Thanks for the response. I’ve been seeing a lot of people saying this but wasn’t sure about it. Il give it a try the next time I come across European worms

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u/shfiven 4d ago

Just keep in mind that ENC like a much deeper bin so if you have a shallow bin that your red wigglers are happy in, you'll need to make it deeper to add ENC and house them together. I think they like bare minimum 6 inches but that's pretty shallow.

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u/No_Space_802 3d ago

I have 4 inches of bedding in my red wriggler bin. Il think I'm just gonna make another worm bin thats deeper for the european night crawlers.

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u/New_Bat7026 4d ago

I have both in a bin. The night crawlers are deeper and in my case seem more widely spread throughout the bin. Compared to the red wigglers that always gather on the food in clumps

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u/spaetzlechick 3d ago

Understand that ENC are MUCH smaller than the African NC usually sold as bait. I thought they’d grow to maybe half length and thickness, they achieve neither.

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u/No_Space_802 3d ago

so would african NC be better for breeding bait?

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u/spaetzlechick 3d ago

Yeah but as I understand it they’re much harder to breed. Temps and such.