Microworms

Published July 17, 2010 | By admin

Breeding Bettas, Siamese Fighting Fish – Microworms

Microworms are a small nematode that are an ideal size for Betta fry. They will fall to the bottom of your fry tank and wriggle around so they are an easy food for fry that have just left the bubblenest. The other great thing is they are readily available in most localities where fish are bred.

Therefore to start off a culture you need a medium such as a slice of bread, corn meal, a wheat breakfast cereal, some oats or something similar. You then place the medium in a plastic container, add just enough water to make the medium moist but not soggy, then sprinkle some dry yeast over the top and then add the Microworm culture. Then in a few days when the culture matures you should have Microworms climbing the side of the container which you then harvest and feed to your fry.

So that’s Microworms in a nut shell, pretty straight forward really? Well for me that’s the way it started out and then my cultures slowly peetered out as I didn’t plan ahead. I then tried to revive them which wasn’t very successful so the first point worth mentioning is to have several cultures going at the same time that are at different stages. You could start with 2 cultures and then start a second two about 1 week later and then another 2 in a weeks time. Now these time frames and quantities are just a guide and you will quickly work out how many culture you will require for your specific needs.

The next discovery I made was the medium you use is vitally important for several reasons. When I first started I was using a popular Australian breakfast cereal which is made primarily of wheat and comes compressed into the shape of flat brick. Now the reason I used this was because the the author of the article I did my research on stated that she had tested several mediums and discovered that this wheat based product was the one that smelt the least. You see the biggest draw back of most Microworm cultures is they do smell so if you have your breeding tank set up in your house the smell can be unpleasant (that’s just one of the reasons why my set up is in the garage).

Therefore after my first cultures started to peeter out I started some more using the same medium and for some reason the microworms just weren’t climbing the side of the container which made them difficult to harvest. Therefore I decided to start some more cultures using a different medium and the one I chose was oats. We already had instant oats in our cupboard as we boil them into porridge for breakfast, so for me this was the obvious choice. So what I did was place the oats in a saucepan and add about an equal amount of water to boil them into a porridge. This will take you about 3 or 4 minutes if you use quick oats (not rolled oats) and then you’ve got your medium. Then place it in a container, add yeast and the Microworm culture and in 3 or 4 days they will be ready to harvest.

It's not my intention to promote one retailer over another but if you live in Australia these are the oats I used. Not bad for $1.19!

Just in case you're wondering, this is what's inside the plastic. And yes there are no preservatives and practically no salt.

Add about a 50/50 mix of oats and water to saucepan and then cook into a porridge. Depending on the oats you use, it should only take 3 or 4 minutes.

When cooked it should have a consistency like this. Then place it in the fridge to cool before placing in the plastic container.

Once cooled place the porridge into a plastic container. Sprinkle some dry yeast on the surface. Add some Microworm culture and then mist lightly with water.

You can see the Microworms climbing the side of this muture culture. Just scape them off the side and place in 1/4 cup of water from your tank and then squirt them gently into your tank to feed your fry. Since I made this culture I've decided that tall round containers are better as it makes harvesting better and less messy. When I used wheat this container was ok but this culture has oats and the Microworms are so prolific they are also on the inside of the lid as well.

So this is what I did and the amazing part was the Microworm culture really took off. I had so many many Microworms climbing the side of the container it far exceeded any of my previous cultures with the wheat. They were so much easier to harvest and just looking at them they actually looked larger and more active than than my previous Microworms. You see, when I harvest them I scape the Microworms from the side of the container and then place them in about a 1/4 of a cup of water from the breeding tank. I then suck them into a syringe and then squirt this solution gently into the tank for the fish to feed on. Therefore when they are in the syringe they are quite easy to see and it does appear the microworms from the oats culture are much larger and active than those from the wheat culture.

Therefore I mentioned this to my wife who is a Nutritionist and she wasn’t surprised at all. She said that oats are high in protein, low in saturated fat and salt, there are no added preservatives, plus they have other beneficial qualities as well. So basically oats are great for humans and what I’ve now discovered is Microworms seem to do well on then as well. So it stands to reason if you feed your Microworms the right food then this could only be good for your Betta fry as well.

So as I write this I’ve been using the Microworm cultures that are made from oats for the last 2 weeks and my fry are doing well. It is basically all I’ve been feeding the 5 fry that are left from my second spawn and they do appear to be growing well. Therefore if you research Microworms on the internet and if you check enough sources you’ll find some breeders don’t think much of the nutrtional value of Microworms and will basically just start their fry off on Baby Brine Shrimp nearly right from the start. Other will recommend Microworms and say that the nutritional value is fine.

What I tend to think though, is the opinion that you form will be based on what you feed your Microworms. I have noticed a stark difference between the Microworms from the oats culture to those from the wheat culture. Therefore if you’re tempted to feed your Betta fry Baby Brine Shrimp because the nutritional value is better than Microworms then it may be worth experimenting with Microworms from an oats culture. As I said I’ve only just started using these Microworms so the jury is still out for me. In the next few weeks though I will be starting my third spawn and I intend to just feed the fry on Microworms until they are larger enough to eat Grindal Worms. So this will be a good opportunity to put it to the test.

Therefore don’t get me wrong I’m not suggesting you shouldn’t feed your Betta fry Baby Brine Shrimp and if you are happy hatching and harvesting them by all means keep doing what works for you. For me though, I find Baby Brine Shrimp to be a bit of a pain. After all, you need to make your hobby as enjoyable as possible and if there are aspects to it that are a bit of a drag then find a better way that is easier (but just as effective). That way you won’t burn out and will be around for a long time to come.

So give the Microworms in an oats culture a go and please feel free to leave a comment and let me know how it went. I sure there are other additives you can add to your Microworm culture to enhance their nutritional content even further and I will be researching those as well. So please stay tuned for more about microworms.