Microworms - how to

[Chuckmeister]

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.

(the red line is the weetbix line, above are the farmable microworms)

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.

[LexyBoi]

Thanks for this, really helped clear some stuff up for me!

[Ged]

Fantastic article Chuck

Microworms are one of the best live foods that can be provided to your fish.

I use a similar process as Chuck with a few small differences. I tend to use Chinese takeaway containers, the rectangular ones not the round ones. These are readily available in bulk from supermarkets. I drill holes in the lid to provide some air to the culture. I have used weetbix and bread but like to use oats, ensuring that the mix is wet but not saturated.

Once I have good production of microworms from one culture I start another culture. This is normally after a week but will be governed by temperature. I keep the process until I have five or six cultures going. Then as one starts to decrease production I use it to seed the a new starter. This way the one I throw one out is replaced by the new one.

I tended to place the cultures on top of one of the tanks. I would be guided by production and would alter the position on closer or further away from light to control the temperature.