Article Microworms

By Don Smith

Microworms are small (0.5 - 1.5mm.) nematode worms, which make excellent supplementary live food for fry which are either too big for infusoria or have outgrown the infusoria stage. They are also great secondary food for sub-adult fish or even adult fish of small growing species, particularly those with small mouths. Micro worms are very easy and cheap to cultivate and I have had good results over many years.

My preferred mix is one cup of quick oats to one and a quarter cups of warm water. Mix thoroughly and pour into a suitable container. I use white plastic two-litre ice cream containers. (Note that the mix is not cooked.) Allow cooling, and then seed the mix with worms, putting the lid on and leaving in a cool place.

The worms will multiply rapidly and after a couple of weeks (less in warm weather and longer in cool weather) the worms come out of the mix and crawl up the sides of the container. When they do, you just wipe them off with your finger and stir them into the top water of your aquarium. They will gradually sink but I don't believe that many get to the bottom - they wriggle like crazy in the water and the fish really gobble them up. I keep several cultures going and give my fish a feed every morning. Occasionally I give the mix a gentle stir - this seems to activate the worms and the next day there is a larger than usual crop on the sides of the container.

After some weeks (again depending on the temperature) the mix will start to deteriorate - darkening in colour and smelling "off". The worms still seem to be good food so I continue using them to seed new cultures. When the new culture seems to be well started then I throw out the old one. I take care when feeding not to get any of the mix into the aquarium, although it probably would not do any harm. Similarly, when seeding a new mix I make sure that I don't transfer any of the old mix in case it turns the new mix off prematurely.

Everyone I have talked to who has microworms has a different technique for growing them. They are very resilient and experimentation with their culture could prove rewarding. Different ingredients, wetter or drier mixes, higher or lower temperatures, higher or lower light levels might all be tried. For example, when I first grew micro worms (about the mid 1970's) I know I didn't use quick oats. I can't remember for sure what I used - it might have been semolina - but I do remember putting a couple of drops of Pentavite into each mix and I used 500ml. margarine container.

The point I make is that these creatures are not all that fussy so cultivate them in a way most convenient to yourself, but do keep two or three boxes going simultaneously to keep up a constant supply. I usually start one new culture every twenty-one days.

 

Nope, no worms here. These are only articles.