Microworms Help

[iSnail]

I just received my first microworm starter culture (came in a tiny tube) in the post today. Unfortunately, there were no instructions or anything with it so I did a search on the internet about them. From what I've read, I need some oatmeal or cornmeal but........I don't have any at home

Can anyone tell me what else other than oatmeal/cornmeal I can use to grow these worms in? If I leave the starter culture till the weekend when I can go to the shops, will the worms die? Can I keep it (starter culture) in room temperature?

Many thanks

 

[BigC]

Keeping your Microworm

Temp
The optimum temperature for reproduction is 24° - 27° C. 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 (cheapest brand of Porridge Oats), 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.

Regards
BigC

 

[iSnail]

Thanks for the detailed instructions BigC

Is there anything else other than oatmeal that I can use instead since I don't have any oatmeal to hand until I go to the shops this weekend? And if I don't start off the culture (that's in a tiny tube), can I keep it at room temperature and will the worms starve or suffocate to death in the next couple of days in its original tiny tube?

Thanks

 

[BigC]

Keep the tube on top of the fish tank hood in a warm spot where the lights are. They should be OK until the weekend providing you open the vial and let some air in every now and then. don't forget to reseal.
Regards
BigC

 

[iSnail]

That's great!! Thanks a lot for the advice