Mal Davidson (Australian Blackworms) at A.S.V
Mal Davidson spent a part of his life carving out a most successful career in the Australian Army.
Having put in the hard years travelling from post to post around Australia, he looked forward to his discharge and taking up the ‘seachange’ so many of us hanker for … a quiet life in the country.
In Mal’s case it was retirement to the “Golden Hills Trout Farm”, a small going concern located in beautiful and historic Beechworth, which he had purchased in 1984.
He proposed to enjoy a sedentary life with a permanent home of his own and a relaxing life style growing trout.
For a couple of years this was the case ... the seasons passed with the cycle of life on the farm governed by the fishes … egg collecting, fry starting , growing on, harvesting etc.
Then in 1986 came another change one which was entirely unexpected !
A local pet shop proprietor contacted Mal, quite out of the blue with a somewhat strange and unusual request.
He asked could he collect some of the clumps of small worms which colonised the edges of some of Mal’s ponds.
Seeing no harm in this Mal agreed and thought little of it. However the worm collector returned ever more frequently gathering ever larger quantities. This piqued Mal’s curiosity and he started to make enquiries as to the purpose of collecting worms.
Much to his amazement he found that such worms were greatly in demand as live food for ornamental fishes.
Even more astonishing was the fact that they could command prices up to $20 (at that time !) per kilo.
Thus the genesis of blackworm cultivation, and in 1988 a commercial experiment was begun, to see if worm production was really
a viable alternative to the trout.
Mal set out to research the worm; the particular species which offered the greatest commercial possibilities Lumbriculus variegatus, full of high hopes. High hopes that were soon to be diminished .
Mal could find little or no information about the culture of this type of worm anywhere!
Undaunted, he determined to persevere, buoyed by the commercial realities of the situation.
He could sell carefully raised trout for $5 to $7 a kilo but could sell worms at $20.
Which was the better product to produce?
In commercial terms, not a very difficult question to answer!
Gradually building up a body of information on growing the worms ... some from research but most from direct experience, Mal was able to start production on a commercial scale.
Distribution problems were solved by contacting Rick Datodi (then at) Aquarium Industries who enthusiastically encouraged Mal offering a continuing and guaranteed market for the fruits of his labour.
Armed with his new found knowledge, and ever up for a challenge, Mal constructed the original worm troughs.
Roofed for coolness and partly protected from the ravages of water rats and similar pests, with one side swinging up for easy access to the troughs, the installation was a great success and worm production proceeded apace.
Learning on the job, often the hard way, the worm production process was refined and improved as various substrates and foods were tried to see which gave the best results. Then came the problem of naming the worms.
Most aquarists were familiar with the Tubifex worm which could be gathered from unmade gutters in many places in Melbourne, or in huge quantities from the Werribee sewerage farm.
Because of the toxic nature of their habitat these worms never enjoyed a great reputation.
Mal’s worms were of an entirely different species and also spotlessly clean. Eventually he and wife Beth came up with the simple (and elegant) title of Blackworms ... a name that has now come into general usage with the fishkeeping public and which were now the sole product of the farm.
In 1991 the Australian Blackworm Co. was founded.
Now with well established production techniques, a growing market, (as people found out how disease free the new product was), the quantity of worms being sold increased dramatically.
Demand was such that Mal constructed a second production unit ... this time fully enclosed in a shed. The advantages of this
purpose built ‘factory’ are obvious.
It could be worked in all weathers, (and it can get mighty cold in Beechworth), and pests were kept out. The troughs were commercially available, plastic trout rearing ponds - 6m long and half a metre in both depth and width.
These were set up in tiered banks.
Ergonomically friendly ... no more bending to ground level and environmental control was easier to achieve. So production now started running at about 10 tons per year.
Mal was never one to shy away from a challenge and so to further developments.
Looking for new ways of presenting his product Mal hit upon the idea of freeze dried worms.
He began experimenting first freezing blocks of worms then drying them and after some ups and downs, and the purchase of a state of the art dryer, freeze dried blackworms came onto the market.
These have proved to be a boon to fishkeepers ... easy to keep fresh, and nutrient laden.
So much so that Mal has recently installed a new bigger freeze drier that looks like something from Cape Kennedy !
Freeze dried worms have rapidly overtaken the live form in popularity, mainly due to overseas interest on the product.
Latterly, Mal has increased production with two additional sheds and now produces almost half a ton of worms per week !
He has also further expanded his export business and has established a reputation as a world authority on the “Little Aussie Blackworm” !
So next time you give your fishes a treat with a meal of lovely wriggly blackworms, or a sprinkle of the freeze dried, ponder a moment on the development efforts of the Blackworm King ... Mal Davidson ( not forgetting Beth of course !)
Thanks from the ASV to Mal,
not only for the lecture but also for the generous donation of both live worms and a variety of the new types of freeze dried,
including such added ingredients as spirulina and garlic.
A great evening,
thanks again Mal.
Daryl M.
Having put in the hard years travelling from post to post around Australia, he looked forward to his discharge and taking up the ‘seachange’ so many of us hanker for … a quiet life in the country.
In Mal’s case it was retirement to the “Golden Hills Trout Farm”, a small going concern located in beautiful and historic Beechworth, which he had purchased in 1984.
He proposed to enjoy a sedentary life with a permanent home of his own and a relaxing life style growing trout.
For a couple of years this was the case ... the seasons passed with the cycle of life on the farm governed by the fishes … egg collecting, fry starting , growing on, harvesting etc.
Then in 1986 came another change one which was entirely unexpected !
A local pet shop proprietor contacted Mal, quite out of the blue with a somewhat strange and unusual request.
He asked could he collect some of the clumps of small worms which colonised the edges of some of Mal’s ponds.
Seeing no harm in this Mal agreed and thought little of it. However the worm collector returned ever more frequently gathering ever larger quantities. This piqued Mal’s curiosity and he started to make enquiries as to the purpose of collecting worms.
Much to his amazement he found that such worms were greatly in demand as live food for ornamental fishes.
Even more astonishing was the fact that they could command prices up to $20 (at that time !) per kilo.
Thus the genesis of blackworm cultivation, and in 1988 a commercial experiment was begun, to see if worm production was really
a viable alternative to the trout.
Mal set out to research the worm; the particular species which offered the greatest commercial possibilities Lumbriculus variegatus, full of high hopes. High hopes that were soon to be diminished .
Mal could find little or no information about the culture of this type of worm anywhere!
Undaunted, he determined to persevere, buoyed by the commercial realities of the situation.
He could sell carefully raised trout for $5 to $7 a kilo but could sell worms at $20.
Which was the better product to produce?
In commercial terms, not a very difficult question to answer!
Gradually building up a body of information on growing the worms ... some from research but most from direct experience, Mal was able to start production on a commercial scale.
Distribution problems were solved by contacting Rick Datodi (then at) Aquarium Industries who enthusiastically encouraged Mal offering a continuing and guaranteed market for the fruits of his labour.
Armed with his new found knowledge, and ever up for a challenge, Mal constructed the original worm troughs.
Roofed for coolness and partly protected from the ravages of water rats and similar pests, with one side swinging up for easy access to the troughs, the installation was a great success and worm production proceeded apace.
Learning on the job, often the hard way, the worm production process was refined and improved as various substrates and foods were tried to see which gave the best results. Then came the problem of naming the worms.
Most aquarists were familiar with the Tubifex worm which could be gathered from unmade gutters in many places in Melbourne, or in huge quantities from the Werribee sewerage farm.
Because of the toxic nature of their habitat these worms never enjoyed a great reputation.
Mal’s worms were of an entirely different species and also spotlessly clean. Eventually he and wife Beth came up with the simple (and elegant) title of Blackworms ... a name that has now come into general usage with the fishkeeping public and which were now the sole product of the farm.
In 1991 the Australian Blackworm Co. was founded.
Now with well established production techniques, a growing market, (as people found out how disease free the new product was), the quantity of worms being sold increased dramatically.
Demand was such that Mal constructed a second production unit ... this time fully enclosed in a shed. The advantages of this
purpose built ‘factory’ are obvious.
It could be worked in all weathers, (and it can get mighty cold in Beechworth), and pests were kept out. The troughs were commercially available, plastic trout rearing ponds - 6m long and half a metre in both depth and width.
These were set up in tiered banks.
Ergonomically friendly ... no more bending to ground level and environmental control was easier to achieve. So production now started running at about 10 tons per year.
Mal was never one to shy away from a challenge and so to further developments.
Looking for new ways of presenting his product Mal hit upon the idea of freeze dried worms.
He began experimenting first freezing blocks of worms then drying them and after some ups and downs, and the purchase of a state of the art dryer, freeze dried blackworms came onto the market.
These have proved to be a boon to fishkeepers ... easy to keep fresh, and nutrient laden.
So much so that Mal has recently installed a new bigger freeze drier that looks like something from Cape Kennedy !
Freeze dried worms have rapidly overtaken the live form in popularity, mainly due to overseas interest on the product.
Latterly, Mal has increased production with two additional sheds and now produces almost half a ton of worms per week !
He has also further expanded his export business and has established a reputation as a world authority on the “Little Aussie Blackworm” !
So next time you give your fishes a treat with a meal of lovely wriggly blackworms, or a sprinkle of the freeze dried, ponder a moment on the development efforts of the Blackworm King ... Mal Davidson ( not forgetting Beth of course !)
Thanks from the ASV to Mal,
not only for the lecture but also for the generous donation of both live worms and a variety of the new types of freeze dried,
including such added ingredients as spirulina and garlic.
A great evening,
thanks again Mal.
Daryl M.