MicroWorms
By Bettas 'R Us
As soon as you receive your starter culture,
set up a larger culture without delay. The temperature should be from 65°F
to 90°F. The ideal temperature is 75°F. Any plastic container can be
used to culture MicroWorms, but a clear one is best. The container
should covered to to keep moisture in but small pinholes should be
punched in the cover for air exchange. Also, the cover will help protect
the culture from fruit flies that may try to invade. I have found that
most holes you can punch, besides small pinholes of a safety pin, are
still large enough for fruit flies to invade your culture. To prevent
this, you can take a paper towel and place on top of you open container
prior to placing the lid on. This will allow for air exchange through
the holes, but fruit flies will not be able to get past the paper
towel.
You can use many
different cereal-based media for MicroWorms culture, including cooked
breakfast cereals, oatmeal (what I use), moistened plain (not
self-rising) yellow cornmeal, wheat germ and instant cereal products
(i.e. Gerber Baby Oatmeal Cereal - any flavor). To prepare a high yield formula,
place dry Quick Oatmeal or baby cereal in a container to a depth of
about a half inch. Mix active dry yeast ( 1 - 2 teaspoons) in slightly
warm water until the solution is quite milky. This warm-yeast solution
should then be added to the cereal and mixed to a thick paste. Active
yeast is very important in order to maintain a high yield of of worms.
Add the starter culture on top of the new culture. Stir the culture
every 2-3 days to keep the culture from getting watery. Add a small amount of water to the culture if the surface
of the medium is drying out. In four to seven days the worms will have
covered the surface of the medium and will start climbing up the sides
of the container. At this stage they are easily collected with a razor
blade, a brush, a cotton swab, metal spoon or rubber spatula
(what I use). They can then be placed in a tank with your young
fish. I have found my adult fish (guppies and other livebearers, not my
adult bettas) enjoy them too if I have extras. I have also found
that by placing the microworms in a brine shrimp net and rinsing them
prior to feeding will decrease the addition of culture to the tank.
You have to sub-culture
every 2-3 weeks. If you fail to do so, you will end up with a foul
smelling mess and a dead culture. To subculture, start a new culture as
though you have received a starter culture. Once it is setup, take part
of your established culture and add it as though it were your starter
culture. The rest can be discarded when it stops producing worms.
This is a good food for
young fry, however I no longer find them useful. I have not used
Microworms in many months and have had excellent luck with my spawns, not
to mention I no longer have to mess with these stinky, messy worms ;)