Grindal Worms - Live food for Bettas

I have combined my own experience and some info from various websites and fellow hobbyists to put together this article. Hope this would be useful.

Any Suggestions and comments are welcome

What are Grindal worms?

Grindal Worms are the preferred feast to Bettas and other tropical fish varieties

Grindal worm (Enchytraeus buchholzi) are cultured by aquarists as a fish food. Grindal Worm are a popular forms of live food cultured by aquarists. They are used for conditioning tropical fish before spawning, or for young fast growing fish. Some aquarists feel that fish fed exclusively on Grindal worms become obese due to the fat content of the worms. However, the problem may lie more with overfeeding with the worms, rather that the fat content of the worms.

Grindal Worms are one of the smallest species of the genus Enchytraeus (adults grow p to 1/2 inches) in length. They are hermaphroditic, with each individual having both male and female reproductive organs. One worm mates with another individual and each fertilize the other. The worms exchange sperm cells during copulation and eggs are laid in transparent cocoons. Each cocoon produced by young adults contains many eggs; cocoons from mature adults produce about 20 to 30 eggs. As the culture density increases, the reproductive rate levels off. You may need to harvest them or move them to a bigger container.

Temperature

Grindalworms reproduce normally at room temperature. As the temperature begins to rise or fall below this range; their production rate will decline. Growth has been reported to occur more rapidly at the higher end of the range.

Soil characteristics

Grindalworms will grow in any kind of light loam soil of such a character that it does not easily harden when dry, while on the other hand it should not be sandy. Potting mix obtainable from most garden supply stores should be adequate. Choose a good quality mix as some potting soils contain a lot of coarse material in them. Leaf mold and humus are excellent additives that will improve the soil significantly. Some of the best mixes are those that have been designed for growing seedlings. These are generally very fine and hold moisture well, but remain loose. Whichever soil you choose, ensure that it doesn’t contain any chemical fertilizers, sterilizers, fungicides, pesticides and other man made chemicals or contaminants, as these additives will kill the worms.

After a period of six to nine months, the soil texture will begin to break down due to the activity of the worms, and the soil will become very acidic. This inhibits the production of worms, leaving you with only adult worms. To maintain your culture, the old soil should be removed and fresh soil placed in the box. The culture can be divided into several boxes at this time, as it is a good idea to have more than one culture in operation. You can transfer most of the worms by collecting from the old box and placing them in the new box. Another simple method to replace an old culture is to scoop away the top 2~3 cm of soil with most of the worms and gently mix it into fresh, moist soil in a new box.

Getting the culture started

The next step is to get your starter culture. These are often available from aquarium stores, live foods suppliers or from a fellow hobbyist. Once you have your starter culture, empty the contents on top of the media. Sprinkle a small amount of food over the surface of the soil and spray with water. Place the soil cover on the surface, put the lid on and move the box to an area that will stay between 15-24°C. For best results, keep the culture in a cool dark area. If necessary, a refrigerator with its thermostat turned up can be used. Allow the culture to stand undisturbed for at least 7 days to allow your Grindalworms to propagate.

Culturing Containers

Grindal worms will usually not survive in acid soils (i.e. < pH 5). Experience has shown that shallow plastic boxes work best. Typical worm boxes are 4 to 15 inches long, 2 to 12 inches wide and no more than 4 inches deep. In any case the use of several small cultures rather than a large one is advisable. Simple boxes made of pine or plywood are generally preferable to plastic, Styrofoam, or other man made materials because the joints allow better drainage and aeration of the soil.

Fill the box about two-third full with your chosen soil mix. The surface of the soil should be level and, not too firmly, to leave no lumps above to dry or mold. Afterwards, the soil must be moisturized until it’s reasonably damp, allowing any excess water to drain. There should be sufficient moisture to allow free movement of the worms but not enough to bring them to the surface except as they may congregate on the under side of the piece of glass resting on the surface of the soil.

However, the current trend for culturing Grindal worms is to use small individual flat plastic food containers stored in controlled atmosphere, which can be maintained at the desired temperature. This not only provides the ideal temperature, but it also keeps unwanted pests out of the culture.

The culture must be covered to block out light and keep out predators. Ants, beetles,Fruit flies and other insects that will feed either on the worms or the food. A secure lid and careful placement of the culture box will prevent such pests. An inner soil cover is recommended to keep the soil surface from drying out. Any flat material that can be pressed lightly onto the surface of the soil will serve as a cover such as a thin piece of scrap glass cut smaller than the surface area of the soil. Leave a border of about 1/2 inch of soil exposed to the air. The collection of moisture at the cover attracts the worms, making it an ideal place to feed them. By attracting the worms to the surface for feeding, it will be easier to collect them to feed to your fishes.

 

 

Harvesting

Put a plastic or Glass piece on top of the feed area, so that the worms stick to the lower surface of the glass piece, which can be taken out and cleaned / rinsed with water several times to remove any remaining feed and dirt, before feeding to your fishes




 

Feeding :

Grindal worms will eat just about anything organic. Apiarists feed their worms vegetable based foods such as plant material, oatmeal, bread soaked in milk, wheat flour, cereal, mashed potato and dozens of other similar foods. They will even eat flake and pelleted fish foods, dry dog and cat food, if they are pre-soaked beforehand. There are many opinions as to what is the best feed, i.e.:

• White Bread
• Oats
• Vegetables
• Fruits
• Fish feed pellets
• Baby foods rich in protien
• Dog or cat foods rich in protein
• A rotation or combination of all of the above would give a balanced diet to them which in turn will reflect in your fish’s health, growth and color.

Frequency and quantity of feeding:

Feed small amounts that your worms consume daily.You will need to inspect the culture for food levels two or three times a week. If the food is gone, then increase the amount of food given. If food remains, then remove the excess and reduce the amount provided.

 

Grindal worms should not be fed too heavily at first because surplus food tends to attract mites, fungal growth, and bacterial contamination. You will have to regulate the amount of food offered during the first month until the culture stabilizes. Replenish the food supply, as needed (ideally every three to four days). If the food supply is not entirely consumed between feedings, you are adding too much food for the worm population.