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Fortifying the Food

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The Bug Farm
San Rafael, CA 94903  USA

© 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, J.Atchison

Use these for:

· Betta fry to 1/4 inch
· Corydoras fry and sub adults to 3/4 inches
· Larval Newts and Sallies
· Frog Tadpoles
· Apistogramma fry to 1/4 inch
· Killifish fry to 1/2 inch
· Gourami fry to 1/4 inch
· Guppy fry to 1/4 inch
· Most fry until you want to offer Grindal worms
· Ask us more about Microworms

Need complete information regarding microworms...more information than you thought you wanted? Pages of information in an e-Doc! Only $2.75...arrives in minutes. NO LIVE MATERIAL is included...this is an e-Doc not a starter culture.

Microworms aren't really a worm but are a nematode from the species Panagrellus. A microworm is extremely prolific, slightly smaller than baby brine shrimp and while some may say that they are not as nutritious as BBS, if your fry are too small to eat BBS, less nutrition is probably better than no nutrition.

With the price of brine shrimp cysts being to high and volatile at best, many hobbyists have turned to microworms as an alternative to baby brine shrimp. What they have found is that the microworm is a good value and nutritional subsetitute for the shrimp...with some added anvantages.

While we recognize that there are plenty of different ways to culture these critters and claims of cultures without smell and cultures staying viable for weeks on end, we share our experiences with you as a starting point.

We make up containers of culture each week. The cultures can last longer and sometimes we let them, but the longer they go, the more likely they are to start to smell. T

So how easy it to make up a culture of Microworms? Mix up a batch of regular, unsalted oatmeal according to the directions on the box. We make ours a little thicker by adding a little more cereal and then cooking it 15 extra seconds in the microwave. Put a 1/2 inch of the mixture on the bottom of a butter tub and let it cool to room temperature. A couple of small nail holes punched through the top of the container are good but the worms may clog them anyway. When the batch cools to room temperature, a small pinch of Fleischmann's active yeast on the top of the mix really makes the mix take off. Don't add too much yeast. Add a portion of your starter to the container by placing a spoonful onto the top of the oatmeal. In about a week you can begin to harvest. After just a couple of days you will probably see part of the mix become more fluid-like and glistening in the light. That glistening is the worms wiggling...the fluid is well...let's not talk about that.

Harvesting is easy. We use a dull knife and scrape the buggers off the side of the butter containers. The stick is swished into a beaker with an inch of water in it. After a few scrapes you will be able to see millions (give a take a few) of worms clouding up the water. We use an eyedropper to feed individual fry containers.

"We grow food not bait"