Microworm Cultures – how to
by Chuckmeister on Jun.09, 2007, under General Advice
Microworms are great for all fish but in particular they are exceptional for raising of fry. Even extremely small fry like the egg laying calvus benefit enormously from this great food source as its very small and can be easily digested by small fry.
Acquiring and maintaining this food source is very simple. Starter kits are available from most good local fish shops. They come as a fully functioning culture and though usually small is ample enough to get you going with your own. They are also cheap, usually not costing more than a few dollars.
Once you have sourced a starter culture the process is really quite simple. people have many different ways they prefer to make their cultures but this is the way I do mine.
What you need is a container. When I do cultures I tend to do 3 or 4 at a time so that I have a good supply of food on tap. I like to use old chinese food containers.
Some yeast
A cereal or cereal based product. I use weetbix with good results but some people prefer bread,oats,porridge etc
A little water – luke warm
First I take my container(s) and lay a bed of weetbix on the bottom. Usually a container will take 3 or 4.
I then use enough of the warm water to mix into the weetbix to make a thin type of paste. Don’t mix in enough to make your brew runny like water but like a smooth consistent paste.
When you are happy with that sprinkle on a teaspoon or 2 of the yeast. I tend to stir mine in and then sprinkle more on the top which I leave to stand for 30-60 minutes.
Once you have completed this it is simply a matter of scraping off the surface of your starter culture getting as many of the worms as you can and transferring it to your brand new one.
Within the week you should start to see your worm culture exploding with activity.
Over time you will see the worms crawling up the side of your container. This means harvest time. Simply use your finger,scraping down the side of the container until you have a thick glob of worms on the end. Dunk this into your tank to feed your fish or dunk your finger partially into the tank and move onto the next.
Cultures usually last for a number of weeks. When you either see a drop off in production or you open the lid, see a horrible dark brown goop that makes you nearly fall over then you are well over your time to restart another culture.
Microworms are a small white nematode worm.Although not as nutritious as brine shrimp, microworms are advantageous in other ways.Microworms are less expensive than brine shrimp as the population is self sustaining. Unlike brine shrimp no eggs are required to start a fresh batch. The only ongoing cost for the fish keeper is the food required to sustain the microworms.
Chuck
13 Comments for this entry
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February 7th, 2008 on 3:17 pm
Good site thanks
So i dont need to pay a starter pack i can do it with what i have in the house
February 7th, 2008 on 4:10 pm
Hi Adrian, You will need to source some worms somewhere, usually a starter pack from your local fish shop and then just maintain the culture as needed. You can then help mates that are interested by skimming some of your culture and passing it along. If you ever lose your batch you can then grab some off your mate to start again
October 6th, 2008 on 3:42 pm
can you make them like using something rotten ? cause my local fish shop doesnt have any
October 6th, 2008 on 4:13 pm
Hi Ejcj. No can not use something rotten. What you are talking about is maggots and although maggots are probably fine to feed your fish I would imagine they are not a very hygienic way of producing food.
If you are having problems sourcing a microworm culture I would suggest trying to find a local cichlid or aquarium club and start from there. There is often a chance that there is a local forum with classifieds around your area to maybe post up a wanted to buy ad.
October 6th, 2008 on 4:20 pm
but any kind of wont to feed betta fry which doesnt necessarily be purchased .
October 6th, 2008 on 4:23 pm
Is there any kind of wont to feed betta fry which doesnt necessarily be purchased . ?? i just bred my bettas already two 1/3 week but they havent eaten since they were hatched im worried something might happend . Im feeding them liquifry but they dont seem to eat those i need ideas ideas !!
October 6th, 2008 on 4:24 pm
mistakes Sorry*
Is there any kind of food to feed betta fry which doesnt necessarily be purchased . ?? i just bred my bettas already two 1/3 week but they havent eaten since they were hatched im worried something might happend . Im feeding them liquifry but they dont seem to eat those i need ideas ideas !
October 6th, 2008 on 4:33 pm
please help me
i beg you!!!
March 26th, 2009 on 9:46 am
I am a beginner in the freshwater fish arena. I have a few male siamese fighters and a few females. I want to start breeding and have been researching about the feeding of the fry. There is a lot of talk about microworms. I am having great difficulty sourcing a microworm culture kit. Are you an australian supplier and do you recommend microworms to feed the fry or other form of food. I have purchased a liquid feeder for fry, but everything I read tells me it is not that successful. I also have started a 4 foot freshwater community tank with 2 Angels, 2 glass catfish, 1 spiny eel, 3 rummy nose tetras. I started it 2 weeks ago, and wonder how many fish I can put in it. Can I add a ghostknife in. I know they get large, but I love these fellas. Can I feed the live microworms to these guys too. Please advise how long it would take to arrive to me in North Queensland Australia.
July 4th, 2009 on 8:43 am
Hi Chuck, Do you need to buy a starter or can you start with no worms and they just turn up? Trying to get my head around this cultures thing.
Rob
July 4th, 2009 on 6:04 pm
Hi Rob, Yes you have to get a culture of these worms from somewhere. Often your larger aquarium shops will supply these. If you can not manage to find any retail try joining a local aquarium forum and asking the members for help. Many people use microworms and often forum members will help you out with enough to get started often at no charge.
December 11th, 2009 on 11:05 pm
you can buy the culture from ebay for 99p each or buy 2 get 1 free i received mine yesterday and have already had enough worms to feed my large tank of fry. hope this helps.
February 2nd, 2010 on 2:17 am
Hi, Beside microworms can i feed my fry and adult bettas :BANANAWORM
WALTERWORM
VINEGAR EEL?? theres a package on ebay with all these is it worth getting these?? Real help full site buy the way!!!!