Micro Worms

Feeding

Panagrillus silusiae

Microworms are an excellent first food for fry and small fish. Contrary to the suggestion in their name, they are not a worm at all, but rather a nematode. They rarely exceed 1.5 mm in length, are live bearing and any culture consists of mainly females, which explains the rapid increase in numbers in any culture. Microworms contain a high fat content

A simple plastic container is all that is needed - something like that used for take away food is great. A container with high walls is best.

Room temperature is quite acceptable.

The medium for the culture that I find is best is rolled oats - you will find the "minute oats" best. You can cook the oats as you would for yourself, but if using minute oats this is not necessary as the oats have been "cracked" as part f the processing prior to being packaged. Simply add the dry oats to the container to a depth of about a centimetre. To this, add some of an existing culture, including the fluid. I usually spoon off about 30% of the surface of an existing culture and spread this over the top of the new dry medium. To this add some water - about a table spoon or two will do - to achieve a thick paste consistency. You can stir all this together, but it is not necessary.

The worms will soon take over the medium and commence to multiply. If the medium seems dry after a day or so add some more water. Take care not to make it too wet this will shorten the life of the culture and the worms will drown. If you add some dry oats to the original culture, thus replacing that used to start the new culture, you will find that it will also display a new lease on life. Now you have two viable cultures.

After a few days the surface of the medium is glossy and seems to shimmer with the worms movements. Soon, worms will start climbing up the sides of the container. It is from here that the worms can be collected by scraping your finger around the inside of the container and feeding directly to the fry. If you find this activity unpleasant, you can rest paddle-pop sticks on the surface of the culture. The worms will cover the stick, and you can remove the stick and shake it in the fry tank to release the worms.

When the rate of reproduction of the culture is observed to drop, dry yeast can be sprinkled onto the surface of the culture. This causes a revitalisation of activity and there is an explosion of worms. While short-lived, the process may be repeated several times. As long as the medium is not runny, the worms will respond.

With care, cultures can be kept going for months. Without care they may only last a week or two, before showing signs of souring. A clear indication that things are not all going well is an unpleasant odour. At this time a new culture is the only solution. When the medium becomes really runny, it is time to start a new culture.

One problem that cane be experienced is that of fungus. The medium is perfect for fungus. Fungus usually results from not adding sufficient worms to a new culture. Once fungus takes hold of a culture it is best to throw it out, as the spores are easily transferred to another container, resulting in more disaster and disappointment.

There is some speculation that the worms may crawl over and into the gills of fry as they settle on the bottom, after dark. I have not experienced this. If you are concerned, simply leave illumination available to the tank so that the fry remain active - and feeding and growing.