Micro Worms

[mildew]

Hi,
I've just bought a starter culture of white worms off ebay. It consists of the starter culture and tupperware box which is filled with oats. Does anybody know the best way to raise them? Temp feeding etc?

Rick

 

[paulf]

keep the warmish, I keep mine over the tank. sprinkle some readybrek over the every couple of days and make sure they dont get too dry, if they do, add a little tank water. They usually last about 2-3 weeks, so start another off in a week and halfs time

 

[mildew]

I take you start the next batch from your existing one?

 

[paulf]

I take you start the next batch from your existing one?

yes, just take a teaspoon full out and add some of the existing stuff in the new mix

 

[mildew]

Many thanks! On the case now, but my god they stink!!

Regards

Rick

 

[BigC]

Keeping your Microworm
Temp
The optimum temperature for reproduction is 24° - 27° ©. They will stand a little cooler but will not reproduce as fast. The hotter the culture the quicker they will breed and the quicker the culture will go bad.
Breeding
For breeding you will need the following:
• A Container; I use plastic containers with snap on lids. The surface area is more important than the depth. Punch a few small holes in the lid so the culture can breathe.
• Food; I use a smooth oat cereal, made up to a consistency of thick cream. The container should be filled to a depth of about ¼ of an inch.
When the original culture medium has become runny and is still a cream colour, get one or more plastic containers and mix up some food. Place this in the new containers, then take a teaspoon and scrape about a teaspoon of liquid off the surface of your original starter culture. Pour this on top of the food in the container (approx one teaspoon per square inch of culture container, depending on the temperature).
These cultures will eventually begin to have a grayish appearance; this is the time to renew them. I renew one and discard one so that I have a constant amount of cultures at any one time. You will learn with experience the time interval between restarts. Though the colour is a good indicator, they also start to give off an acid smell when they are coming to the end of their useful life.
Harvesting
As the culture multiplies the worms will start to climb the sides of the container. You can use a small damp paintbrush to brush round the sides of the container and directly into the fish tank containing your fry. NOTE: Do not place the brush into the medium as this can pollute the water and kill the fry.

 

[mildew]

Many thanks for your advice!

Rick

 

[Dragonscales]

Another easy way to harvest them is laying paper towel over part of the culture and poking a well into the center of the towel. Fill the dent with water and make sure the rest of the towel is moist as well. After a while the well filled with water will begin to fill with a ton of worms and you can just use a spoon to scoop them out.