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Live food is great for aquarium fish because it provides them with excellent nutrition and the opportunity to hunt as they would in the wild.
The latter caters to the fish’s natural instincts, which will make them happier in the long run. But these are not the only benefits.
Live food options like microworms are also necessary to feed the fish fry. Most fry are too small to consume normal fish food and require a more nutritious diet, aka more protein and fats.
Microworms are great for them because they’re highly nutritious and small, allowing the fry to consume them with ease.
Today, we’ll discuss the best way to ensure a steady supply of microworms for your fish fry, and that’s microworm cultures.
So, let’s get into it!
Microworms are tiny nematodes that belong to the Panagrellus genus. They grow up to 3 mm in length and no more than 100 microns in diameter, which makes them 4 times smaller than freshly hatched brine shrimps.
These nematodes can multiply and spread fast, as the female reaches sexual maturity at about 3-4-days of age.
Even more, the female microworm can produce hundreds of tiny offspring during its lifetime; some even go as far as 1,000 or more.
In conclusion, microworms are very small, packed with essential nutrients and fats, and are easy to breed and consume.
It’s understandable why they’re such great options for many species of fish fry. It also doesn’t hurt that they’re relatively easy to culture, which we’ll get into in a second.
In one word – carbs. Microworms’ favorite food is oatmeal, preferable with a hint of baker’s yeast for good measure. Other hobbyists use mashed potatoes or various types of cooked grains for the job, which work just as well.
The idea is to use the most appetizing food option that your microworms seem to enjoy the most.
Cooking it is another critical point because high-carb foods are prone to bacterial growth, mold, and even insect infestation.
So, you should boil and mash the microworms’ food into a thick paste to keep it clean and longer-lasting.
A well-designed microworm culture should provide you with a steady supply of live food for your fish fry, given that:
Now that you know the basics let’s see how you can setup up a sustainable microworm culture.
Make sure you portion the amount of microworms based on the number of fish fry you’re feeding. As a side note, the culture’s temperature will influence its lifespan and outcome.
The higher the temperatures, the faster the microworms will multiply, but the shorter the culture’s lifespan will be.
The ideal temperature for your microworm culture sits at around 68 to 85 °F, depending on your goals.
You should preferably keep more than 2 cultures. The reason for that is that microworm cultures can often become contaminated with mold, insects, parasites, and other pathogens that could spoil the whole thing.
I recommend having at least 3 cultures, especially since they’re easy to set up and maintain in the long run.
The general lifespan of a microworm culture is approximately 7 days, but this varies depending on environmental conditions and other factors which you may not control.
If you want to get the most out of your microworm culture, keep temperatures around 70 °F and only dispose of it when it gets rancid.
The most obvious signs include a foul smell, and the paste becomes runny like soup.
This is a sign that the yeast already present has taken over and started consuming the carbs; at this point, your microworms are on the decline.
You can use any tool, including your finger. Thriving microworm cultures will have tiny nematodes spread all over the container’s walls, always in close proximity to the food.
Only collect those climbing the walls and ignore the general mass of microworms crowding the carb paste.
Shortly, others will leave the general population and latch onto the walls, allowing them to collect them easier. You should only get the microworms that are separate from the main population to avoid picking off some of the paste as well.
The fish will eat it along with the worms, but many residues will pollute the water. So, try only to grab the microworms and avoid the paste.
You can’t. The idea is to let the culture run its course and then destroy it and start a new one. The culture will self-destruct primarily due to the worms’ activity.
The microworms will produce waste constantly, soon spoiling the habitat and causing the culture to crash. This generally takes 5-7 days from the starting day.
This is why you should have multiple cultures available to use when one crashes. As a pro tip: set up the cultures several days apart.
This way, you’ll minimize the risk of them spoiling at the same time and leaving you empty-handed.
You can set up another culture when one of your current ones crashes.
No, you cannot create a microworm culture without a starter. That being said, you will run across numerous articles claiming that you can, but then explain how to obtain your own starter to kick-start your microworm culture.
In other words, they’re talking about setting up a microworm culture without purchasing a starter, which is a different thing entirely.
In this context, yes, you can start your microworm culture without having to purchase a starter.
Here’s how you do it:
As you can see, this method still relies on a starter microworm culture. The only difference is that you’ll be making it yourself instead of purchasing it.
Naturally, the whole microworm farming process takes time; at least a week in most cases.
Purchasing your microworm culture directly will help you cut a lot of corners.
Microworms are extremely beneficial to fish fry and small fish species in general. They are highly nutritious and breed fast, providing you with a steady supply of live food for your fish.
It also doesn’t hurt that they’re easy to culture.
Just follow my recommendations, and you’ll soon have several rich microworm cultures with minimal effort.