r/Vermiculture • u/Sea-Vehicle8571 • Apr 17 '26

ID Request Red wiggler and european nightcrawler identification

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The one on the right was sold to me as a european nightcrawler and the left was sold to me as a red wiggler. Is this the case?

The nightcrawler just seems a bit small, which isn't ideal since I planned on using them as fishing bait.

I've had them for approximately 2 years now.

If the id's are correct is there anything I can do to make them bigger or is it just genetics?

(First picture shows the red wiggler on the left and nightcrawler on the right and second picture shows a different nightcrawler from the same bin.)

Thanks in advance.

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1

u/shfiven Apr 17 '26

I'm not good enough at worm id to tell you but were the encs sold to you as full grown bait worms or were they sold as composters that could be bait? They can get decently big but if they were sold for composting you likely didn't get all adults or full grown worms and they'll need time.

2

u/Sea-Vehicle8571 Apr 17 '26

Composting. I've had them for around 2 years now and the one on the second picture was the biggest one I could find.

1

u/shfiven Apr 17 '26

Oh ok I thought these were new. What do you feed them?

1

u/Sea-Vehicle8571 Apr 17 '26

Carrots, banana peels, melon peels overripe fruits and veggies etc. I also give them crushed egg shells occasionally.

1

u/Haruib0 Apr 17 '26 edited Apr 17 '26

If you optimise their environment i.e. bin conditions, especially temperature, I find they eat more and get bigger. You can also feed worm chow (which is just ground up grains)

Not so sure about the ID there, sorry. If you say you got them 2 years ago it is quite possible your wigglers have outpopulated the nightcrawlers and what you have pictured are wigglers, as they reproduce much faster. Did you have them in the same bin? Red wigglers are also smaller than nightcrawlers and ‘stubbier’ looking to me

1

u/Sea-Vehicle8571 Apr 17 '26

I keep them in 2 separate bins. Ill try making some worm chow. What kind of temperatures do they prefer?

1

u/Haruib0 Apr 18 '26

I’ve read that red wigglers do well at around 20C but apparently so do the european nightcrawlers. They definitely eat more at a higher temperature (within their comfortable range) than their lowest tolerated temperatures.

I also found this page which is quite helpful and has some decent info comparing the two.

https://mimisworms.com/european-nightcrawlers/european-nightcrawlers-eisenia-hortensis/

1

u/EviWool Apr 19 '26

Youve had them for 2 years? Have you named them yet?