How To Raise White Worms For The Aquarium
Excerpt : Every successful breeder of tropical fish knows that feeding live foods to their charges is one of the best ways to maintain healthy and active fish... Live foods are overall high in protein.
Every successful breeder of tropical fish knows that feeding live foods to their charges is one of the best ways to maintain healthy and active fish...
Live foods are overall high in protein. They stimulate spawning, and help to intensify coloration. Live foods enhance the natural tendencies of fish to forage for their food as they would in their natural environment.
White worms (Enchytraeus albidus) are a great source of food for the aquarium. They are about 70% protein, 14.5% fats, and approximately 10% carbohydrate. The white worm in size is approximately 3/4" to 1 1/2", somewhere between Tubifex and Grindal worms. Fish love them, and they are appropriate for a large variety of carnivore fish, even the smaller cichlids.
Nick Lockhart,
Buy this Art Print at AllPosters.com
Also see :
Aquarium Plants And Lighting Mini-guide
Aquarium plants are as important to aquariums as water is to fish. Aquarium plants add more life to aquarium and make it to look beautiful while...read more
Saltwater Aquarium
Saltwater aquariums are for fish that can only live in salt
water obviously. Some of the fish are grouped for example
triggers and groupers. Each...read more
|
breeder for King Discus feeds white worms twice weekly to our breeding discus and juveniles. His goal is to provide a wide variety of food to keep the fish interested and feeding to stimulate breeding.
White worms are easy to raise. A plastic shoebox from the dollar store will meet the needs of most aquarists. As worms need to breathe, the container shouldn't be air tight. Cutting a small hole in the lid and placing a piece of breathable foam in the hole will suffice to allow enough oxygen to reach the worms.
Fill the container about 3/4 full with peat moss as the medium. The peat moss should be wet, but not soaked. Test by squeezing a bit of the medium in your hand. If a few drops emerge, then you have it right. If water emerges
Buy this Art Print at AllPosters.com
from the mass in a stream, you have it too wet.
Add your starter culture of worms. Finding a suitable starter culture can at times be difficult. A good source can be from auctions at local fish clubs, or from a fellow enthusiast. Also, looking in the classified in the back pages of magazines like Aquarium Fish Magazine or Aquarium USA can sometimes lead to a good resource.
Place a piece of wet crustless white bread on top of the medium for compost. Cover this with a sheet of plastic the size of the slice of bread. The plastic aids in keeping the bread from drying out. It is a good idea to bury the piece of bread in the medium when first starting a culture to prevent mold from occurring. Allow the worms a week to establish before feeding them. Check on them on a daily
Buy this Art Print at AllPosters.com
basis to insure that they are eating the bread.
White worms will need to be housed in a cool dark place, free from insects. We use an apartment sized refrigerator with a temperature control sensor that maintains the temperature at 55-65 degrees Fahrenheit.
One of the best foods for white worms is Gerber's Baby Oatmeal. Add a pinch of active dry yeast to the mixture. The trick is to feed the worms enough to insure they thrive, but not so much that it will begin to mold. A good rule of thumb is to feed only what they will consume in three days. A little trial and error work is needed here. If mold occurs, simply spoon it out of the medium, and replace the food, using less the next time.
White worm cultures will "crash" if the population becomes too large. This can
Buy this Art Print at AllPosters.com
be noted by the worms attempting to crawl up the sides of the container. Simply dump the medium onto a sheet of newspaper, separate the medium into two parts, and you have another culture to fall back on if the first crashes. Get another shoebox, top to 3/4 full with dampened peat moss, and you have the insurance of a supply of white worms.
To harvest white worms, simply wait until a nice clump of them are underneath the sheet of plastic, pluck them out with tweezers or your fingers, and clean appropriately before feeding to your fish. rinsing with dechlorinated water, by pouring from one container to another will do the trick, removing any soil or left over food. You can then feed the worms to your fishes.
The biggest thing to remember about growing white worms is to
Buy this Art Print at AllPosters.com
Also see :
Aquarium Lighting
Aquariums need light for the fish to survive, this doesn't
matter if it is a freshwater set up or a marine set up. There
are however different...read more
Aquarium Filter
There are two different kinds of filters; there are external
filtration systems and internal filters. Internal filters are
used in salt water and...read more
|
never let the medium dry out. It is also a good idea to have two cultures growing at the same time, in case one of the cultures "crashes." Keep an eye out for mold, feed the worms appropriately, and you will have happy, vigorous fish!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alden Smith is a published author who has been marketing on the internet for over 7 years. His website, http://www.kingdiscus.com, is a resource for articles, software and information on the tropical fish hobby. Visit his website for more information on live foods, tracking software, and articles on the tropical fish hobby, especially if interested in raising discus fish. weekly articles are posted, along with updates for Fish Minder software,
More Aquarium Articles
Aquarium Filter
There are two different kinds of filters; there are external
filtration systems and internal filters. Internal filters are
used in salt water and...
Tips on Setting Up Your First Fish Tank
Let's take a splash into the world of fish. Studies show there
is a calming effect on watching fish. Having a fish tank relives
stress, overall...
Buy this Art Print at AllPosters.com
Aquarium Tips
|
sitemap
Partners :
Memory and processors | Adsense Paying Keywords | Mortgages | Marketing articles | Canon EOS 550D
copyright www.aquariumtips.net 2006
Warning: include() [function.include]: URL file-access is disabled in the server configuration in /home/aquarium/public_html/php/footer.php on line 30
Warning: include(http://www.ultrasonicspabath.com/adsenselogger.inc) [function.include]: failed to open stream: no suitable wrapper could be found in /home/aquarium/public_html/php/footer.php on line 30
Warning: include() [function.include]: Failed opening 'http://www.ultrasonicspabath.com/adsenselogger.inc' for inclusion (include_path='.:/usr/lib/php:/usr/local/lib/php:../:../../:../../../:../../../../') in /home/aquarium/public_html/php/footer.php on line 30
|
Recently Added Aquarium Articles
Starting a saltwater aquarium
starting a saltwater aquarium is a task that can be fun and
rewarding, or devastating. It all depends on if you put it
together well where it...read more
Tropical Fish Aquarium
Tropical fish are beautiful and are brilliant for keeping at
home provided that they have the right habitat. When thinking of
keeping tropical fish...read more
Aquarium Ornament
Aquarium ornaments aren't there to add any benefits to the fish, they are just for you to add some decoration in the tank. You can have all sorts...read more
Aquarium Plants
It is not hard to understand why plants are present in so many aquariums. Lush and healthy plants are stunning to look at and will create a much more...read more
Causes and Solutions of Frequent Aquarium Fish Deaths
Aquarium tank fish death is one of the common challenges faced by aquarists. There are number of factors that could be responsible for the deaths...read more
Aquarium Equipment
Aquariums are not just a tank and a stand, the aquarium has to
be filled with certain equipment such as heaters and filters.
Aquarium equipment is...read more
Tropical Fish Aquarium
The following paragraphs summarize the work of tropical fish aquarium experts who are completely familiar with all the aspects of tropical fish...read more
Aquarium Aeration Basics
As we all know rivers and lakes are the natural habits for fish and other marine life. Rivers and lakes have large surface area which makes maximum...read more
Aquarium Tank Basics
Any new aquarium tank should first be given a thorough test to ensure that it is watertight. If after 12 hours there are no leaks, it may be...read more
How to Discover and Prevent Aquarium Fish Illness
Aquarium fish fall ill just like any other pet. The illnesses are as a result of disease. The common diseases that affect aquarium fish are mostly...read more
Some News About Aquarium
- Aquarium grooves to mass dance
Some of those strolling around the Tennessee Aquarium on Sunday got a little surprise: about 140 dancers moving to the rhythm of a newer version of the 1941 hit, “Chattanooga Choo-Choo.”
- Aquarium for city's I-4, C-2 property?
Ward 1 City Councilor Paul McGeary sees the property as home to a prestigious waterfront marine aquarium and research center creating jobs, tourist dollars and vitality on Gloucester's downtown working waterfront.
- Aquarium in competition to fund coral reef exhibit
NIAGARA FALLS—The Aquarium of Niagara is seeking votes to help it establish a$ 50,000 coral reef exhibit at its site at 701 Whirlpool St. The Aquarium, in competition with other agencies throughout the country, has filed a grant request with the national Pepsi Refresh Project for a$50,000 grant.
- Mass Dance Breaks Out at Tennessee Aquarium
Folks outside the Tennessee Aquarium were just minding their business, when all of a sudden music starts playing and people start dancing. read more
- Aquarium Launches Conservation Center
Baltimore's National Aquarium marked its 30th anniversary by launching a conservation center dedicated to preserving aquatic ecosystems worldwide.
- Audubon Aquarium, Southern Decadence and more in New Orleans
Events taking place in and around New Orleans.
- Aquarium unveils new Conservation Center
Expanding conservation, research role The National Aquarium is set Thursday to unveil its new Conservation Center, established to focus the institution's work in marine conservation and research, and to expand its scope to a national and global stage.
- National Aquarium Unveils Future with Launch of the National Aquarium Conservation Center
The National Aquarium was joined today by honored guests, esteemed partners, elected officials and supporters from the community to officially unveil the National Aquarium Conservation Center and kick off its celebration of the Baltimore venue’s 30th anniversary year. The Conservation Center enables the National Aquarium to become a global leader in conservation, research and education, and to ...
- Cabrillo Marine Aquarium is recruiting Sea Rangers
The Cabrillo Marine Aquarium's Sea Ranger Naturalists program equips volunteers from fifth-grade students through adult with the knowledge and skills necessary to provide interpretation, conservation and environmental monitoring at Cabrillo Beach, Point Fermin State Marine Park, the Cabrillo fishing pier and the Salinas de San Pedro Salt Marsh.
- Aquarium celebrates 30-year legacy
A major milestone ahead for what's become a Baltimore landmark. Soon the National Aquarium will celebrate its 30-year legacy.
|
