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Live food cultures
- Thread starter AverageWhiteBloke
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Lindy
Member
I didn't want to trawl through 62 pages looking for them
is it like these?
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Hi all,
Those could be "White Worms". The little things, that look like grains of sand, are <"cereal mites"> (they have a characteristic slightly unpleasant smell) and I get them in my cultures as well.
cheers Darrel
On page 15.
Those could be "White Worms". The little things, that look like grains of sand, are <"cereal mites"> (they have a characteristic slightly unpleasant smell) and I get them in my cultures as well.
cheers Darrel
Last edited:
Hi all, I keep <"Grindal worms">, <"Micro-worms">, <"Vinegar Eels">, <"Daphnia">, <"Asellus, Crangonyx pseudogracilis"> and <"Black-worms">. I also "ranch" Blood-worms and Mosquito larvae. I would normally have <"vestigial winged Fruit-flies"> as well, but I don't have a culture at the moment.
I was going to suggest buying a copy of Mike Hellweg's <"Culturing Live Food"> but that doesn't look to be an option, unless you win the lottery. I'm offering a discount on my copy, yours for just £400 (plus p&p) but only for friends.
Vinegar Eels are good for very small fry, particularly ones that swim high in the water column. They are practically no maintenance to keep, but fiddly to feed.
I've had the same Grindal and Micro-worms cultures for ~10 years. I keep the Micro-worms in the coleslaw pots you get from supermarkets etc. I feed them on rolled oats, and I sub-culture them every 6 weeks or so. My Micro-worms may be Banana worms, but in use it doesn't matter. They eat yeast, rather than the oats themselves, but when you buy them the worms bring the yeast with them. They are good for fry, and some adult fish are keen on them. They are a favourite food item for Threadfin Rainbows and Dwarf Corydoras.
Grindal worms I keep on potting compost in one litre ice cream tubs. They also get oats, I grind rolled oats, but you can use "Instant Oat" cereal. There are a couple of problems with Grindal worms cultures, they tend to boom and bust, and it is really difficult to keep <"Cereal and House Mites out of the cultures">. I've learnt to live with Mites and I add a couple of red-worms (Lumbricus rubellus) to the culture, to act as a "Canary". I keep four cultures at any one time, this means that I haven't lost them all in a "crash".
Grindal/Micro and Vinegar eels are productive all through the year.
I don't keep specific cultures of Daphnia, Asellus or Lumbriculus any more. They have all done well outside in water butts and/or buckets, and I also get Blood-worms and Mosquito larvae from these in the summer. I keep a few Black-worms (Lumbriculus) inside during the winter (just in ice-cream containers, with some moss & floating plants) as an insurance, and there are normally a few in the filter as well.
cheers Darrel
any tips on culturing microworms without the god awful smell?
I've got some hungry clown killifish, and looks like I'm going to need to feed them live; I've cultured microworms before, but the smell isn't the best. Unless I just sub-culture every couple of weeks, might be a solution?
AverageWhiteBloke
Member
How you doing this? I did the porridge oats and yeast version and it isn't that bad just the smell of yeast when you open the lid which isn't the worst smell in the world. My understanding is when it smells vinegary it's time to start a new culture. The only issue I have is they are so small nothing seems interested in them.
Hi all,
The worms bring the yeast themselves (so you don't actually need to add any), but if you want a lot of worms quickly you can add yeast (the worms actually eat the yeast, the oats are just the substrate for the yeast).
I keep mine in the clear pots you get for coleslaw, hummus etc. in the supermarket. I just punch a couple of holes in the lid, and re-culture every 6 weeks or so (small blob from existing culture into the dried oats, moisten and then adjust the moisture with water or more dry oats).
Usually the culture looks a bit like hummus, and you can see a surface sheen, caused by the worms moving. When it gets wetter (it looks more like emulsion paint) I add some more oats, when the surface dries out I usually re-culture.
cheers Darrel
I use porridge oats (cheap at Aldi, Lidl etc) as well, and the cultures don't smell. I've never tried dried instant potato, but I think these cultures smell more.
The worms bring the yeast themselves (so you don't actually need to add any), but if you want a lot of worms quickly you can add yeast (the worms actually eat the yeast, the oats are just the substrate for the yeast).
I keep mine in the clear pots you get for coleslaw, hummus etc. in the supermarket. I just punch a couple of holes in the lid, and re-culture every 6 weeks or so (small blob from existing culture into the dried oats, moisten and then adjust the moisture with water or more dry oats).
Usually the culture looks a bit like hummus, and you can see a surface sheen, caused by the worms moving. When it gets wetter (it looks more like emulsion paint) I add some more oats, when the surface dries out I usually re-culture.
cheers Darrel
Edvet
Member
When i did microworms i had them in plastic tubs (icecream tubs and so). I mixed oatmeal with water and put it in the microwave till quite "solid" (like thick porridge i guess), let it cool and add fresh worms. I kept spare cultures in a fridge (stayed good for over a year). In the feeding tubs i put strips of coffee filter. The worms would cover those and then i could use a brush to wipe them off and feed them without touching the oatmeal. Transport a few scoops of the oatmeal to the fresh batch and you can keep them running.
zozo
Member
In the early days we did it in the garden with an old charged car battery, some wire and 2 screwdrivers, connect all to the battery stick the screwdrivers into the ground, wait a few minutes and they all come up, ready to collect.
Hi all,
I don't fish any more, but if I did our compost bin (a large concrete block structure) has tens of kilo's of worms in it.
cheers Darrel
I've tried that, and washing up liquid, but "English Mustard" powder (Sinapsis alba) works really well.
I don't fish any more, but if I did our compost bin (a large concrete block structure) has tens of kilo's of worms in it.
cheers Darrel
Hi all,
cheers Darrel
That is useful to know.
With a "see through" container you can see the worms extending up the side of the tub, and you can just swab them off the side with your finger (or a cotton-bud).
cheers Darrel
Not fishing too much myself now either - a dozen times a year now, if I'm lucky - but I did experiment with making maggots by hanging some form of meat over a bucket in a shed and the maggots would fall into the bucket - they were pinkies if I remember correctly, spawn of the green fly. Smelt bad tho, and clearly not a clean environment.
Edvet
Member
I never got them "up" over the oatrmeal more then a few milimeter, but you can almost cover the substrate with filterpaper and use the whole surface to collect without the risk of collecting "porridge" too
.
AverageWhiteBloke
Member
Mine are all up the sides and on the lid.I never got them "up" over the oatrmeal more then a few milimeter, but you can almost cover the substrate with filterpaper and use the whole surface to collect without the risk of collecting "porridge" too
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AverageWhiteBloke
Member
Ahh OK, thanks for the tip. It's only 6 days old this one. Been saving Chinese food tubs so I might as well get another one going in case anything happens to this one.
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AverageWhiteBloke
Member
While we're on the subject, I harvest mine with an ice lolly stick and just scrape it off and straight in the tank. Worries me about the amount of yeast in the water column, can it cause problems?
Edvet
Member
Put one portion in a closed tub in a fridge as a backup for emergencies.
Edvet
Member
"in the old days; grandpa said": there was a theorie yeast would be beneficial, so we got a packet of bakers yeast, dissolved it in a liter of tapwater, and dispensed this straight in the tank
.Never hurt, not sure it was realy beneficial either
Hi all,
When they explode like that usually you go into boom and bust and it is when you've added some more yeast.
cheers Darrel
Brilliant, just add some more oats, and it should calm down.
When they explode like that usually you go into boom and bust and it is when you've added some more yeast.
cheers Darrel
AverageWhiteBloke
Member
Yeah I added a pinch of yeast on this one with it being my first but as you say I'll just use the yeast that comes in with some worms on the next one.
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