# Do Microworms need light?



## AverageWhiteBloke (5 Dec 2018)

Just asking, got some on the way as I let my other cultures die off a while back. Getting some for my Endlers and the possible offspring that might come with that. I have a little blue plastic tupperware type box here but it's not see through. Just wondering if that will be ok or do they need some daylight?


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## dw1305 (5 Dec 2018)

Hi all, 





AverageWhiteBloke said:


> do they need some daylight?


No they don't.





AverageWhiteBloke said:


> ....got some on the way


Have you ordered them? If you haven't, I have plenty spare.

cheers Darrel


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## AverageWhiteBloke (5 Dec 2018)

Thanks Darrel, Yeah ordered them pal, I never thought about asking you I should have known. Never mind they were only £1.59 inc p+p for a 30gram bag so I'll see what condition they turn out and if not give you a shout if you don't mind. They should be coming today actually but it's a bit late for the post now so maybe tomorrow. I always do this, had cultures going but at the time I only had shrimp and Ottos so wasn't sure if either ate them although I have heard since on Mark's Aquatics shrimp are partial. I should have kept a bag in the fridge but that wasn't going to sit well with her indoors  Same goes for the boxes, the amount of Chinese boxes I've threw out and now I could do with one! I have one of them plastic tubs washing machine gel tabs come in sat here so was going to give that a rinse and stick them in there. Might be easier to see them on the blue background actually.

Now I know they're prob not coming today though I may be forced to buy a Chinese tonight. Only thing is my favourite place always does their meals in foil so I might have to visit a less favourable one. The sacrifices i have to make for this hobby has no boundaries


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## Edvet (5 Dec 2018)

Order some grindalworms to follw up


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## AverageWhiteBloke (5 Dec 2018)

They looked a bit of a faff to me ED, how do you keep yours? Just wanted some from my Endlers as they are quite small and had a rough time lately not being well. They seem to be on the mend at the minute but thought some nourishing snacks would cheer them up. Also hoping to spawn these at some point and I'm guessing the fry will have tiny mouths hence the micro worms.

Having said that I've had them coming up 5 weeks now and no signs, maybe with them being ill I suppose. They do have a slight black area in their stomachs but nothing major but they only look young to me so probably won't be large spawns. Knowing my luck they probably won't spawn at all haha. Never had any luck with guppies, the stock seems really poor if you ask me. First time I've kept Endlers and really liking the fish, some beautiful colours on them. Just a 50ltr tank with Ottos and Shrimp so got bored with nothing mid water to look at so they were perfect for the tank so got 2 males and 2 females. If they do breed like rats like people say I'm going to split them and keep females in this tank a few males in my 300 cube. If stocks run low due to natural wastage I'll throw a male back in, what a party he's going to have!

Wondering if Salt is maybe why I don't ever have luck with guppies, my water is very soft. I doubt shrimp and ottos like any salt at all.


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## Edvet (5 Dec 2018)

Add some Epsom salts?
Add floaters if you want to breed, guppygras, suswassertang, moss, sprite, anything to hide the young.
I have most succes with grindal in Seramis (https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/flies.55451/#post-537802) no parasites and just rinse when it gets "" black""  on the bottom.


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## AverageWhiteBloke (5 Dec 2018)

Interesting. For some reason I assumed they wanted salt as in sodium chloride due to them hanging around brackish water natively. I have been adding more magnesium than usual just to raise the GH a little. Maybe I should add even more. They have loads of place to hide btw, well over due a clip out and plenty of floaters.

I may have a go at the Grindal worms as well, My worry was more it stinking when I hear about people using dog food etc I thought it needed put on soil or coconut husks or something. Is there anything special about Seramis regarding pests? Just that have loads of pre-used cat litter that's been in tanks many times then washed and stored for next time. I wonder if that would be any good?


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## Edvet (5 Dec 2018)

You can give the cat litter a try, just soak it before. I put them in and feed them soaked quality dog kibble,  just a few 2 or 3 large pieces, soaked in water for 1-2 hours so they are very soft, put them on top of the substrate and flatten them with a fork, lay an old credit card on top, and use a wet brush to collect the worms, rinse the brush in the water. I use a few boxes of these so i can rotate. When the box gets to wet i put it on an incline so the water drains to one side and i can pour it of. The soaked dogfood adds water each time, and the metabolism of the worms adds some moisture too. If the culture gets foul, it does after a few weeks, i rinse the total setup with water in the plastic container it sits in, stir a bit so all gets moved around, let it sit a bit so the worms sink to the substrate ,and drain the foul smelly water, repeat  a few times. After that i ad a bit of food, it takes the culture a few days longer to be harvested again. In general i feed the cultures every 5-6 days. if the culture starts fouling you will see all the worms escaping the substrate (hence the clear containers are nice). I usually remove the worms escaping ( wash them of the lid in a container and use a brush to remove them of the sides) and start a fresh  container or take them to my 400 gallon.
I do still have and used in the past soil based  cultures, i always seem to get infestations, flour mites, springtails, flies, and when the soil gets soggy you have to restart. I think these work better outside and in wooden boxes so the moist gets out easier and it ventilates more.
My best wormculture in soil is in an old whine box with a wooden lid.
I believe my worm cultures are grindal mixed with some enchytraea (white worms), though some have more white then grindal. White worms need different cultures, cooler i think.


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## Edvet (6 Dec 2018)

One culture "crashed " this afternoon when i came to work.
Second pic is after rinsing out repeatedly ( and letting it stand a while so the worms sink to the bottom and pour out the muck gently)



 



After i let it stand a while i pour out the remaining water, i will feed it again tomorrow and can harvest again after 4/5 days


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## AverageWhiteBloke (17 Dec 2018)

@dw1305 do you still have some microworms mate? Not sure about this one. It's been running a week and don't seem to be getting anywhere. I didn't add any yeast as the worms came in a yeasty mix so I assumed that the yeast in there would just multiply. Also might be a bit cold where I have them, they are for a fish tank at work which isn't heated unless I'm in so gets quite cold. Going to buy some yeast today and set another up as the Endlers look ready to pop. Maybe I should keep this one at home where it's warmer.


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## dw1305 (17 Dec 2018)

Hi all, 





AverageWhiteBloke said:


> do you still have some microworms mate?


Yes I've got plenty spare. 





AverageWhiteBloke said:


> yeasty mix so I assumed that the yeast in there would just multiply. Also might be a bit cold where I have them, they are for a fish tank at work which isn't heated unless I'm in so gets quite cold.


Sounds likely to be the cold. 

PM me your address and I'll post some. 

cheers Darrel


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## AverageWhiteBloke (17 Dec 2018)

Nice one mate will do.



dw1305 said:


> Sounds likely to be the cold.



Am I right in assuming that if it is cold that these things will be dormant rather than dead? I know people keep them in fridges for a later date. Maybe getting them somewhere warmer could kick starts them?


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## Edvet (17 Dec 2018)

I keep them at room temperature, i always make a spare portion  and keep that in the fridge, tis will keep at least for 6 months ( i've kept them alive for 18 months). If you have a good culture running make a spare every 4 weeks, so you'll have 2 cultures running and one or 2 in the fridge (these can be small).


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## AverageWhiteBloke (17 Dec 2018)

Thanks ED, not sure how cold it is at my workplace but I reckon it's pretty cold. Looks like I'll have to take them home with me and bring them in just to feed. I only have a butane heater so can't really leave that on all night just to grow some worms.


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## AverageWhiteBloke (17 Dec 2018)

Edvet said:


> I keep them at room temperature, i always make a spare portion  and keep that in the fridge, tis will keep at least for 6 months ( i've kept them alive for 18 months). If you have a good culture running make a spare every 4 weeks, so you'll have 2 cultures running and one or 2 in the fridge (these can be small).


When you say a culture in the fridge do you mean just the worms in a yeasty syrup or do you put a tub in with the oats as well?

Sent from my STH100-2 using Tapatalk


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## Edvet (17 Dec 2018)

I make a new tub with oatmeal and bit of the old culture, let it be  for 12-24 hour and then put it in the fridge, do another one after a week or 2 to have a reserve.
oh and to feed the worms i use a piece of cofeefilter on top of the culture, i can brush them of without getting any oatmeal ( wil make a pic tomorow).


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## Edvet (18 Dec 2018)




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## AverageWhiteBloke (18 Dec 2018)

Thanks ED, nice tips. Darrel as me some on route so I'll get some filter paper. These ones I'll have to stash at home where it'll be a little bit warmer. I have like a little specimen bottle so I'll just fill this with some cooled boiled tapwater, brush a load in and bring them in with me. I only live 5 mins from work so should still be alive and kicking. Hardest bits going to be hiding them from her indoors. I can hear it now. What's this...I'm growing some worms....are you for real


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## Edvet (18 Dec 2018)

heheh
( by the way the smell isn''t bad if you keep the cullture fresh, slightly sweet)


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## AverageWhiteBloke (21 Dec 2018)

My worms have arrived so the Endlers are enjoying a feed on them. When you guys set another batch up do you scrape off some worms and add to a fresh batch of oats or do you take some of the old oat mix and add that to the new one?


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## dw1305 (21 Dec 2018)

Hi all, 





AverageWhiteBloke said:


> When you guys set another batch up do you scrape off some worms and add to a fresh batch of oats or do you take some of the old oat mix and add that to the new one?


I always have three cultures running, but only in small pots (the ones that have supermarket coleslaw or houmous in them).

When I re-culture put a dollop of the old culture into a new pot, and then put a fairly shallow layer of rolled oats in (cheapest source is usually Lidl or Aldi), wet it and give it a stir. I leave about a third of the original culture in its pot and just add more oats to it. 

I leave it over night, and the next morning adjust the wetness by adding more water, or more oats. I keep my cultures a bit drier than @Edvet does.

When the culture is running normally it gets wetter and I just add more oats. I keep on doing this until the culture starts to go drier and more yellow, and then I re-culture. Usually that happens when the pot is about 1/3 full. You get a bit of a "worm boom" before this happens and they end up all over the lid etc. which is a good indication of when to re-culture. I don't think that oat based cultures tend to smell very much, mine just have a slight yeasty smell. 

When the culture is doing well you get a "sheen" from the worms moving, and a ring of worms around the side of the pot. I harvest them by running my finger around the edge of the pot, but you can use a paint brush or cotton bud etc.

cheers Darrel


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## Edvet (21 Dec 2018)

I just add some spoons of the old mix and stir it.


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## AverageWhiteBloke (30 Dec 2018)

Cheers for the help on this one guys. Got three cultures going now so I'll keep up with them this time. Made a new one from the one Darrel sent me so I have that one, one on standby and the original one I made as actually got going! Looks like they don't need to be as warm as thought they just take a bit longer. I'll see if I can lay my hands on some grindals when they weather improves. Plenty of food available if these Endlers ever manage to pop. Thought they would be more prolific but evidently not!


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