Microworm

[DR.V]

Hi all ...

Does anyone know if discus fry will eat microworm ? I know they eat baby brine shrimp but just wondering if they mircoworm too ?

Which one is more nutrious ? microworm or baby brine shrimp ?

Also, does anyone know how to culture them ?

Thanks a lot

[animagusbc]

Microworms are really easy to culture. You will need the following:

I Container
3 pieces of Brown Bread
Baker's Yeast
Lukewarm Water

You will need to soak the top piece of bread with Lukewarm Water until all the water is absorbed. Put Baker's Yeast on top of the bread and put a bit on to coat all the bread. Place your Microworm culture on top and you should have a container filled with Microworms in the next couple of days. To harvest them, just take your finger and scoop up what you need from the sides of the container.

I usually have about 3 tubs running as you will need to restart the culture every 2 weeks so you don't run out.

I have fed Microworms to week old fry but will usually go to Grindal Worms after 2 weeks. Grindals are just a tad bit larger than Microworms.

Hope all this helps.

Jonathan

[Crocky]

HI DR V

I have raised my only lot of fry on micro worms.
Brine shrimp dosen't foul the water like micro worm they swim around and the worms just go the bottom of the tank.
I only use micro worm because I couldn't get enough eggs to hatch.
With the cultures the best containers to use are 1 litre paul icecream (clear) as the worm climb up the edges and I use a peice of paper towel to wipe the side as I was told to never put your finger in the culture as it shorted the life of the culture.
To make it up all you need is 1 1/2 cups of oats 1 cup of hot water and 1 7g yeast sachets (tandaco) brand.Mix it togeather and let cool then add worms,this make enough for 3 culture which last about 3 weeks

Brad

[DR.V]

Wow ... sounds very easy.

Thanks for the info guys.

[gelf]

Hey Dr V.
I've been culturing microworms for ages, and I think I've tried every method ever sugested as well as a couple of my own experiments. I've even found a technique that allows you to harvest about 20% of the worms each day ranther than the relative few that climb the sides of the containers (though this is a bit messy and I've found produces more worms that I could certainly use).
I keep and breed Aus and NG Rainowfish which have tiny fry so I start feeding with vinegar eels, infusoria and green water, then microworms and powdered flake after about 1 week, then grindal worms and crushed flake before finally introducing them to vastigial wing fruit fly, small meal worms and black worms once the fish are large enough.

Here's my technique:
I use 2L ice cream containers with a slice of white bread. I mix 1/2 teaspoon with about 50mL water then pour this over the bread. I then add the microworm culture from another established culture and seal the lid.
After a couple of days the worms are crawling up the sides of the container in massive numbers. I use a small brush or makeup brush to whipe the worms from the container and swish straight into the tank. I've found that if I used my finger then much less worms would crawl up the side of the container the next day.

Be careful not to overfeed as the worms sink, and drown after a couple of hours. I've found my golden mystery snails are excellent at cleaning up the uneated dead worms.

If you're after a culture (with full instructions) I have them for sale. Check out http://www.gelf.com.au/fish and download my catalogue. Everything in it is stuff I've grown myself.

Cheers
Tony

[DR.V]

Hi Tony , thanks for info.

Appreciated it.