tbunting Posted February 7, 2010 Report Share Posted February 7, 2010 hi there fish keepers i had this relly good step by step micro worm ingredents and recipe sheet im just wanting to know if some one could please give me some as mine are just surviving in this heat and they are running out food please pm me or post a reply with the recipe tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbunting Posted February 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2010 hi there fish keepers i had this relly good step by step micro worm ingredents and recipe sheet im just wanting to know if some one could please give me some as mine are just surviving in this heat and they are running out food please pm me or post a reply with the recipe tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbunting Posted February 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2010 hi there fish keepers i had this relly good step by step micro worm ingredents and recipe sheet im just wanting to know if some one could please give me some as mine are just surviving in this heat and they are running out food please pm me or post a reply with the recipe tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbunting Posted February 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2010 hi there fish keepers i had this relly good step by step micro worm ingredents and recipe sheet im just wanting to know if some one could please give me some as mine are just surviving in this heat and they are running out food please pm me or post a reply with the recipe tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supasi Posted February 7, 2010 Report Share Posted February 7, 2010 Here Will that help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zev Posted February 7, 2010 Report Share Posted February 7, 2010 One Weetbix, crushed, a tiny sprinkle of yeast - such as Elfin or Edmonds sachet stuff - luke warm water to make mushy - add worms and watch them multiply... This usually goes wetter as it gets older without the need to add any more water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandysme Posted February 7, 2010 Report Share Posted February 7, 2010 Microworms Microworms are a useful live fish food for both adults and fry. They are a small white nematode worm found naturally in composting plant material and organic soil. Microworms should not be confused with white worms which are similar but significantly larger. Both worm varieties can be easily cultured for home aquarium use. I have fed microworms to my corydorus, bristlenose catfish, mountain minnows, and cichlids in combination with other foods. They are great for feeding to baby Siamese fighter fish after they have moved on from first stage food such as paramecium. Ideal for many other fish fry. Although not as nutritious as brine shrimp, microworms are advantageous in other ways. Unlike brine shrimp, microworms will not swim away from the fry. Instead they sit on the tank floor where clumsy new born fry can snack on them with ease. 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. How To Culture Microworms The essential parts required: •· Yeast to feed the microworms. Yeast may become self sustaining where cereal is used as the living medium for the microworms. •· Vessel for the microworms to be kept in. Should have a lid to promote humidity but small amount of ventilation is required. •· Medium for the microworms to live upon. This is generally moist cereal or potting mix. With a cereal based culture the yeast will feed on the carbohydrates and in turn become food for the microworms. Dry yeast can supplement the microworms diet. In a soil based culture the yeast cannot sustain itself and will need to be added at regular intervals. Commercial cultures from aquarium businesses are almost exclusively cereal based. A culture will remain productive for a number of weeks but will need to be freshly restarted after worm numbers have peaked. To make a fresh microworm culture: •· Select some cereal based food such as stale white bread or porridge. Baby cereal and wheat biscuit style cereals are excellent. Corn flakes seem less useful. •· Boil or microwave this mixture, place it in a Chinese container or similar. Allow it to cool then place some holes in the lid. Ideally the mixture could be autoclaved. This step reduces the number of mould spores that have the potential to take hold and destroy a microworm culture. A mature culture will out compete mould but freshly started cultures are vulnerable. •· The consistency of the cereal should be moist but not wet. Although these worms will stay alive for many hours on the bottom of the aquarium, a microworm culture can drown in only a few millimeters of water. •· Collect as many worms as possible and smear them over the top of the medium. Microworms only live on the surface where they can readily breathe. Sprinkle with dried yeast. Harvesting Microworms Worms can be harvested from a new culture in a week if the growing environment is warm and conditions are favourable. In cooler surroundings they will not die but will stop breeding. As the container becomes over populated the microworms will climb up the walls and form a thick coating. You can wipe them off with your finger or a small spatula to feed to your fish. When the culture is past it's peak or the microworms are not as productive due to temperature, harvesting the microworms is not quite as straight forward. Although countless worms may be visible shimmering on the surface, cereal and yeast will also be collected if the worms are scraped off. The yeast and cereal will foul the water when added, but a solution is available. •· Cover the surface of the culture with paper towel. •· Wait at least half an hour until the paper has become wet and microworms have burrowed through the towel to the surface. •· Microworms can now be scraped gently from the surface of the paper towel. If you let your microworm population increase until they need to be housed in a fish tank or other large container you will be able to harvest and freeze the excess for leaner times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted February 7, 2010 Report Share Posted February 7, 2010 This is what I use: 1. Pick two pottles, like a wide mouth jam jar with ventilation holes. 2. Take a small amount of porridge and cook it with water - it should be very thick, not runny at all. Let it cool completely. 3. Then place about a centimetre or two of the porridge in the bottom of each pottle. 4. Then, sprinkle yeast (activated baker's yeast or brewers yeast) over the top of the porridge - it should be a thin layer of yeast but it should cover the surface of the porridge. 5. Then dump the worms on top (it is best just to harvest off as many worms as you can without adding any old culture medium if you can. Keep two cultures going in case one dies. Place it in a warm but not hot area (like in the cupboard of your aquarium). Once the worms start climbing up the sides, you can harvest them. I use a wooden skewer from the kitchen section of the store, easy and disposable. Just run it along the sides to scrape off the worms (avoiding the substrate). Harvest the worms off the sides every day so that the population doesn't top out. It should last about 2 - 3 weeks. Renew one culture at a time so that you don't loose both. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrie Posted February 7, 2010 Report Share Posted February 7, 2010 if you want, send me your email and I can send you Alan Wakelins weatbix mix which has to be probably the best I know of, takes less than a minute to make I keep 4 cultures going all the time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrie Posted February 7, 2010 Report Share Posted February 7, 2010 with the weatbix mix, mine last for 2 sometimes 3 months Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrie Posted February 7, 2010 Report Share Posted February 7, 2010 posted in 4 sections????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted February 7, 2010 Report Share Posted February 7, 2010 Spammers suck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zev Posted February 7, 2010 Report Share Posted February 7, 2010 I have merged the four topics, please do not do this again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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