Awesome Video David, still helping people out who are coming into the hobby! Started micro Worms already and going to get these guys going this week. Thank you for all your quality information in your videos 🙏🤟
I just ordered white worms on ebay and will use your method . Nothing speaks better than long term experience. I did culture micro worms and it turned out excellent but most of my fish won't eat them. I guess they are to small. Great straight forward video.thanks for sharing your method. I hope to find out it's the best!
This is the BEST video I found to help me start my first culture. :D I wasn’t very enthusiastic at first because of all the various conflicting info I found that made my head spin. Thank you SO much for this ! It’s perfect and you give me confidence to be successful at it. 😊
Really hopes this helps you. Once you figure out how to get into the habit of caring for them, the amount you can grow is enormous. I really spend about 10 minutes every other or third day feeding and taking care of the cultures. For that effort I have more live food to feed than I have fish. Even when I had 120 tanks I had plenty of food.
Great video. People make the "you have to move old cultures to new ones" part sound so hard and annoying when it is actually very easy. I must try this out. I have limited myself to daphnia and mosquito larvae but it is time to get real. If I am able to get this going I am sure my corydoras will thank me. By the way, you had some pretty good looking arcuatus corys there :)
I know this video goes back a ways but let me tell you Mr your method is by far the best I ever used. I had another standard way which wasn't that good. switch to your method and the very next day my worms were at the top and eating good. wow couldn't believe my eye. Thanks
Hola me podrás ayudar de que tipo de yogur debo tener el natural y que tipo de levadura debo aplicar como lo hago yo alimento con alimento de perro pero no veo mucho movimiento que crescan me podrás guiar por fiss
Very very helpful... You a legend, thank toy very much... I am using peat free from any fertilizers...I was feeding with plants and fruits and now gonna try your way too, let's see how it goes... Thank you!!!
Thank you so much for this video. I actually just purchased worms from someone that got them from you, and how to culture them as well. I am excited to save myself money, and have nice heathly fish. I keep a ton of nano predators. I also keep ADF's this definitely get them breeding. Thank again.
Hi dear ! again . any kind of yogurt we can use? And how is the temperature you keep ? looking for your respond , And how many days you give next food to them ? thanks
Great vid thanks! However I'm confused about what the plastic mesh is for? Doesn't seem to do anything? Can just harvest from the sides of the container? Also another note, I'd make sure you don't use potting mix with any fertiliser in it right??
Put the mesh on top of the food. Worms will get on top of the mesh same as they climb up the sides. Easy to remove clean worms that way. There is so little fertilizer in the potting mix the worms will never know it.
the media needs to be slightly damp. Not wet. If the mold is the cottony white stuff just lift it off or spray with a little water to tap it down. It will go away in a few days.
Shipping right now is so unreliable. Shipping to you first goes to Kentucky or someplace like that and then comes back down. If the fish club ever gets to meet again I can bring a cultture there.
Hi David, I really likes your video for you was explaining and showing and obviously teaching how to culture these worms, my question is where to get the worms to start this culture for I'm in Saudi Arabia now because it is where I work, so again where can I find this white worm to start my culture?
Thank you for the kind words. I think that you are out of luck. White worms are horrific in shipping, especially overseas. They are way too temperature sensitive, plus anyone opening and checking the box is going to s*** themselves. A really good alternative is earth worms. Easy to grow, easy on the temperature requirements, and what fish doesn't like a piece of earthworm!
Do the lid have to have holes? I find flies inside my culture that has ventilation holes and that completely ruins the batch. I am hoping the lid can be completely sealed.
Has to be air exchange. I either put really tiny holes along the edge or one or two larger holes and then stuff some filter material or cotton into those holes.
Your first white worms have to come from someone. You are not going to find them in the garden or yard. Getting the first culture to start with can be the toughest part.
I did. Managed to keep them alive for almost a year. Never enough to feed my fish. Total waste of time. Same for the supposed full refrigerator worms. They live but dont reproduce enough to feed.
I have never read where these come from in nature. A great substitute is earthworms. The little red wrigglers, not the big worms. Easy to raise, produce a lot of worms, and eat veggie kitchen scraps. Just feed the small baby worms so the larger ones keep producing.
I use a variety of air holes. Tiny drilled holes on a couple of sides up high. A slit on the high side with filter material to keep the worms in. I don't put holes in the top since I stack 2 containers and the stacking would block the air holes.
Hello, I have used your technique with success thanks! Do you perhaps know why enchytrae eventually crawl up against the lid or want to crawl out of the container?
Just getting too many worms for the amount of media. Which is what you want. That is why a super rich culture if it is harvested heavily every day will stay super rich for a long time. Got to harvest.
They live in small town in Poland and are avid coal miners. Except for the weekends when they drink the local vodka. Das Vadanya! Who knows, it could happen
@@djrramsey i did try it last week..with the organic mix made from coconut coir.. I took out the old bread from the worms and place it to a new dirt...and today i check the bread were all eating up and all you see was whiteworms in the new culture that i start it with just the old feeding bread from the other culture...nice
Hi David. I recently purchased a white worm culture and the starter culture media contains gnats or some sort of mites. Any advice on how to get rid of them or swap the worms over to new media without transferring the pests with them? Btw, thank you for taking the time to make these videos. You make venturing into new things alot easier
Mites and other unwanted guests in a white worm culture become a problem slowly due to the colder temp. Virtually impossible to eliminate. If it gets bad, collect a bunch of worms and put them in a water container. The mites and critters will float (not all of them). Pour them off and add more water. After a couple of times the worms in the water should be pretty clean of mites and bugs. Turkey baster them into at least 2 new starts. That should get you a couple of clean cultures to get going. Often you can scrape off the top of the culture and find that the mites and gnats are not in the middle layer even though lots of worms are. This can be a new culture also. Sometimes I just scoop out half of the media and put in new media. Then start feeding the worms on the new side. They will outrun the critters. I wish any of these tactics worked on grindal worms.
You have to start out with some white worms. I would suggest you raise small earthworms. Not night crawlers. Great food and easy to raise in huge numbers.
To repeat a reply from below. Your first worms have to come from someone that has them. They are extremely heat sensitive. 70F and up and they start dying. Find them at a fish club. Contact the closest one to you (use google) and email them asking who has some. Go get them. I got mine in Raleigh. I live in Atlanta and the person who brought them to me was from Michigan. Long trip for a fish workshop. All my worms come from that first and only time. You do not say where you live so not much else for an answer. I will try some shippping to people but not until the weather has cooled way way down. No chance of living in these temperatures. And yes they breed in the containers.
If you are in the lower 48 states I can try shipping to you. Yes they breed in the media. Just need a starter culture to begin with. Send me a private message with your email and shipping address. I will email you back with pricing and if it looks like a good try for shipping to you.
If your starter is small then it could be a month or more before you are feeding any. A good size starter, fed correctly and you should have worms to feed in a couple of weeks.
There are holes. I have done them a lot of ways. Sometimes I put very small holes at the top of the sides. Then with the lid on and stacked the holes are not covered. I have also cut small holes and stuffed them with cotton or filter floss. The worms are kept in a dark wine cooler. They do not try to escape unless the culture has truly gone south and the worms have to get out or die. What a mess that makes.
Hey David, I have done my culture like yours for the past 7-8 months and my worms are no where near what yours are. I’m beginning to think they are not white worm. They look like starter cultures! The worms are tiny, and have blunt ends. They are the size of grain of rice. Any ideas? I guess I need to add, I keep in a wine fridge at 55 and they remind you of a maggot but really tiny.
That sounds like fly maggots. The little nasty flies with big dark wings. Do you have any flies in the boxes hatching? White worms are much longer and very skinny. I would poke around in your media and see if you have any white worms in there at all.
Hi Dave, no I haven’t noticed any, I got the culture when it was too warm out, so I figured if a few made it I would give a try. Do you have an email I can send you some pictures? I then just went with grindals cause of them being more heat tolerant. Honestly my grindal worms look more like the white worms just smaller than your white worms.
you can get it from online or pet shops or you can collect them from someone who already has a culture. You can always find people who has these worms in fb groups
@@jozukojoestar where is your location..i am also from BD... 01611834659 is my cell no...i need this starter very urgent for my betta fighter...plz help me... Plz plz plz
How do you know your culture is almost done and you have to start a knew one? Is there something in the soil that gets used up? Great video. If I can find some white worms, I'd like to give it a try. Thanks.
The surface of the soil will show a lot of wetness and get a 'shiny' look to it. All the worms will be moving up on the surface, getting out of the souring soil. With experience you will learn to tell as it is getting close. With that said, I missed 2 containers doing the mass exodus last night. What a huge mess.
Hello David.. i recently received a white worm culture but because of the delay in shipping. I think all worms are dead. If so , is there is a chance for any eggs in the culture medium to hatch if i keep the medium for few weeks??Thanks in advance.
Give it a try. I really do not know exactly how they reproduce. I thought they just split in half. Seems the smallest ones I ever see are about half the size of an adult. So who knows?
@@GrowAndEatThis Thanks a lot David. I will definitely give it a try. As i read they will produce eggs in cocoons. I will update here if i am successful with it..
Mr. Ramsey, Hello! What´s the risk of fungus, as the bread, yogurt and the yeast, go getting old, and rot? Or even...is there a risk of inserting bread particles mixed with the worms inside the aquarium? Thx in advance..
any left over food is removed when I add new food to the containers. It isn't going to mold in 2-3 days. If some little piece of bread gets into tank it won't be a problem. Just rinse the worms a time or two to clean up the water you are squirting along with them.
Problem with soil from the garden is there are so many organisms already growing in that soil. All of them are going to be competing with the worms you want to raise. I would think you would have to heat treat it for a hour or so to try and kill all the mites and natural organisms that are in the soil.
I know some people sell cultures and ship. These worms do not ship. I don't know where you live, but find a local fish club. Someone will have them and can hand you a starter culture. Take a cooler with an ice pack and a towel on top to keep the worms in the 50Fs.
@@GrowAndEatThis thank you so much for the advice. I will try to locate one. Where I live we don't even have a dog club . When I first moved here 18 years ago I wanted to join one so bad because I used to compete in AKC agility. Unfortunately the closest one was 80 miles away. So that ended my participation. I will check with the lady I bought my tank from on craigslist. She was really into the hobby with 10 tanks. She also lived 90 minutes away, but it will be worth it.
Hello from 🇬🇧. Thank you for the upload & information. 1st time I've seen your video, I've subscribed. Just to make sure I've got this right. Put earth in containers. Put white worms in. Put in cut bread slices with natural/ live yoghurt & top with that other stiff (I'll have to rewatch it & take notes as already forgot). They will feed off it & mulitply. Do you have to change the soil at any point? If so, when? Thanks
Over time the soil will get very wet. Time to change it out, or change part of it as I show in several videos. The old stuff is great for the garden or plants.
If I was to restart a culture by putting the worms in water then transfer to new container does it matter if you use tap water or dechlorinated or should you use rain water?
Hêy Mr David. Maybe I am so worried but in the worst cases we accidentally swallow the eggs of the worms. we will have a big problem with it? Any chance that they will survive inside us? I am trying to make a grindal worm culture
hello I really liked your videos on fruit flies and white worms but i have a saltwater tank and i wanted to know if i can feed my fish with those foods, they are very easy to make at home and would be easy for me to make and i want my fish healthy.. Thank you!
very high protein, but also 15 % fat... So therefore this question : feeding enchytraeus to your fish maybe not more then 1 time a week ? I'm interested in your opinion, experience...
65% or better protein. That is going to put in some fat for any animal protein. Consider sardines, supposedly very nutritious and certainly a food source for many fish and animals. 1 sardine is roughly 3 g of protein and a whopping 1.4 g of fat. Almost half to fat to protein. I do only feed white worms or any other worms in the mornings. Never at night. I do not want that heavy of a food in the stomach and intestinal tract when they go to sleep at night. Just asking for trouble. Then they get high roughage foods like daphnia and brine shrimp or flake/pellets if they will eat it. I feed all my fish white worms almost every morning. Just my opinion.
@@GrowAndEatThis : thanks for your reply. This really helps me. Maybe a fish that eats sardines can tolerate a higher fat content in its food, compared to f.e. amazone fish ? I am trying to get my hands on a decent study about fat content in food for tropical freshwater fish, but have not find anything yet. Anyway, good information. The feeding time (of the day) is also something to consider, so that information is more then welcome. I feed microworms to my corydoras, and they are also active in the evening (and maybe night ?), so i also feed them in the evening. My culture of enchytraea is still growing, but i will soon be ready to feed my fish.
@@GrowAndEatThis : ow yes i was thinking : fat from fish (sardines) is a different kind compared with animal - meaty fat (worms). Some say that fat from meat is harder to digest by fish, compared with fishrelated fat (?). There is a discussion on feeding discus beefheart, for the same reason. Anyway, you feed your fish white worms every day without problems, so thanks for sharing your experience.
I do not have the ability to do any flash freezing. White worms just explode and really cloud up the water. Baby brine shrimp might could be frozen if it was in shallow water so it freezes quickly.
i read about waste from the worms, pH going down in soil, and ammonia from the waste of the enchytraeus crashing the culture. I don't want to lose my culture, so can you explain us David, because i don't want to lose my (new) culture. Can you f.e. wash the ammonia out rinsing the existing culture with water ?
Every few months, depending on the culture, you have to start new containers. The soil just gets so full of moisture and waste that it becomes toxic. You will know when it is getting close. The worms abandon the container. They will be all over the sides and the top with no visible worms in the soil. Make a new culture fast, that one is going to crash. I keep 4-8 containers going all the time. Some are new, some are really good, and some are getting close to crashing.
@@djrramsey : thanks for your reaction David. I bought a culture in water, that was sold for direct feeding purpose to the fish... My new culture was already on the sides after one day (in clean soil). I i harvested the onces that were on the sides of the plastic box, only one time. a few weeks later already, there were almost no worms left. Seems like my culture had to reprogramme to my kind of soil or something (not sure ??). Today it seemed that my culture is reproducint slowly (i think). I'm gonna setup a second container tommorrow with only a few of them left, hoping the 2 containers will kick off anyway. Strange, but i experienced a very slow start...
Hello DavidEverything you show works fine for me and my worms are doing good.However after 1 month now and feeding every 3 days the worms do not ever come up to the topThey all just remain in the top soil big fat and happyDo I have to wait for the soil to start going bad?
You may have just not built up enough of the bacteria in the soil. When you do the worms will really take off. Then they will be all over the top and sides. When you feed, take out what ever is left of the old food and put in fresh each time.
You know he knows his stuff, when he teaches you how to cut bread.
Awesome Video David, still helping people out who are coming into the hobby! Started micro Worms already and going to get these guys going this week. Thank you for all your quality information in your videos 🙏🤟
I just ordered white worms on ebay and will use your method . Nothing speaks better than long term experience.
I did culture micro worms and it turned out excellent but most of my fish won't eat them. I guess they are to small.
Great straight forward video.thanks for sharing your method. I hope to find out it's the best!
Nothing like seeing a spaghetti commercial pop up before this video plays!
nothing like eating angel hair pasta while watching this video
Jennifer Cooper or watching the series Strain on FX while doing this work collecting.....yikes!
LMAO 😂😂😂
@@michaellou7101 I was literally thinking thag
ꋪꏂꀤꈤ
This is the BEST video I found to help me start my first culture. :D I wasn’t very enthusiastic at first because of all the various conflicting info I found that made my head spin.
Thank you SO much for this ! It’s perfect and you give me confidence to be successful at it. 😊
Really hopes this helps you. Once you figure out how to get into the habit of caring for them, the amount you can grow is enormous. I really spend about 10 minutes every other or third day feeding and taking care of the cultures. For that effort I have more live food to feed than I have fish. Even when I had 120 tanks I had plenty of food.
Great video. People make the "you have to move old cultures to new ones" part sound so hard and annoying when it is actually very easy. I must try this out. I have limited myself to daphnia and mosquito larvae but it is time to get real. If I am able to get this going I am sure my corydoras will thank me.
By the way, you had some pretty good looking arcuatus corys there :)
These will be a great addition next time I have to help the froglets in my garden get through a dry period like we've just had.Great stuff.
🇬🇧
I just got my first culture.....your video is the best one I have watched, thank you so much!!!
The best info and video so far very helpful for me as beginner to start white worming. Love for you from Indonesia.
This is my comfort RUclips video I love this man
Absolutely great video and way more informative then any of the other probably 30 I’ve watched
Muy bueno tu canal me gustaría preguntar¿ la levadura que utilizas es la que utilizan los panaderos ?
no, es Levadura nutricional
So impressed! Thanks for the great video. Quick, concise and a history to trust!
I know this video goes back a ways but let me tell you Mr your method is by far the best I ever used. I had another standard way which wasn't that good. switch to your method and the very next day my worms were at the top and eating good. wow couldn't believe my eye. Thanks
Hola me podrás ayudar de que tipo de yogur debo tener el natural y que tipo de levadura debo aplicar como lo hago yo alimento con alimento de perro pero no veo mucho movimiento que crescan me podrás guiar por fiss
are these grindal worms?
Very very helpful... You a legend, thank toy very much... I am using peat free from any fertilizers...I was feeding with plants and fruits and now gonna try your way too, let's see how it goes... Thank you!!!
2 Preguntas ¿ ese alimento es GRINDAL? Tus envases no tienen ventilación
White worms are not Grindal. Completely different. Small holes in top for ventilation
No alcanzo a leer esta muy rápido y disculpe soy de Chile pero no sé qué tipo de levadura ay que poner y que tipo de pan y el yogurt debe ser natural
What is the purpose of the mesh?
hi David. what is the name of this worm. this enchytraeus or am I mistaken. thanks.
that is what they are. yes.
(Enchytraeus albidus) the smaller grindal worms are (Enchytraeus buchholzi)
Thank you so much for this video. I actually just purchased worms from someone that got them from you, and how to culture them as well. I am excited to save myself money, and have nice heathly fish. I keep a ton of nano predators. I also keep ADF's this definitely get them breeding. Thank again.
Good luck with them. Very little cost for a lot of fish nutrition.
What are these worms called? Is it tubifex worms?
Thinking about winter coming closer and having limited supply of daphnia, need to try this out. Thank you very much for sharing :)
This is best video get I have scene on the micro worms. You make it look like magic! Very nice work
I was expecting you to lick your finger after scraping the lid... 9:00
HAHAHAHA!
All I was thinking was don't lick your finger!
Do you need to add air holes to the lids? I just got my first culture in the mail. Very excited.
Yes to air holes. Just put something to keep the bugs and gnats out. Filter material works great.
Hi dear ! again .
any kind of yogurt we can use? And how is the temperature you keep ? looking for your respond ,
And how many days you give next food to them ? thanks
Plain yogurt with living bacteria. 55F, every 2-3 days.
Fantastic cultures!! Can you please advise about the temperature that you keep them? Thanks!
Ideal temp is 53F to 58F. Easiest way is with a small cheap wine cooler. Temp makes a huge difference.
@@GrowAndEatThis thank you!
good afternoon tell me which land is better to use
Any commercial potting mix or seed starting mix. Do not use outside dirt. It is full of organisms already.
you can increase the temperature in the cooler to 20 C (68 f) with no effect on growth rate to save energy.
How often do you do this feeding/harvesting process?
That is my question too...
Great vid thanks! However I'm confused about what the plastic mesh is for? Doesn't seem to do anything? Can just harvest from the sides of the container? Also another note, I'd make sure you don't use potting mix with any fertiliser in it right??
Put the mesh on top of the food. Worms will get on top of the mesh same as they climb up the sides. Easy to remove clean worms that way. There is so little fertilizer in the potting mix the worms will never know it.
@@GrowAndEatThis Mmm..just looks like barely any are on them and it would just get in the way. Think I will pass on it
Hello good sir. Any advice for the dirt. Do I wet it first? I have a culture I been trying to split but it just won’t work they keep molding over.
the media needs to be slightly damp. Not wet. If the mold is the cottony white stuff just lift it off or spray with a little water to tap it down. It will go away in a few days.
Anyone know how to keep other bugs from thriving? I not have like 4 different bugs in their
دمت گرم، very good
How long time to harvest for new Container?!
David,
I'm in near Hartsfield Airport in Atlanta.
Do you ship any cultures?
Shipping right now is so unreliable. Shipping to you first goes to Kentucky or someplace like that and then comes back down. If the fish club ever gets to meet again I can bring a cultture there.
Hi David, I really likes your video for you was explaining and showing and obviously teaching how to culture these worms, my question is where to get the worms to start this culture for I'm in Saudi Arabia now because it is where I work, so again where can I find this white worm to start my culture?
Thank you for the kind words. I think that you are out of luck. White worms are horrific in shipping, especially overseas. They are way too temperature sensitive, plus anyone opening and checking the box is going to s*** themselves. A really good alternative is earth worms. Easy to grow, easy on the temperature requirements, and what fish doesn't like a piece of earthworm!
Do the lid have to have holes? I find flies inside my culture that has ventilation holes and that completely ruins the batch. I am hoping the lid can be completely sealed.
Has to be air exchange. I either put really tiny holes along the edge or one or two larger holes and then stuff some filter material or cotton into those holes.
Do you add salt to your feed or the the water you add to the soil?
no salt added at all. Probably some in the bread? but never paid any attention to it.
How do you get the first few white worms to start the colony?
Your first white worms have to come from someone. You are not going to find them in the garden or yard. Getting the first culture to start with can be the toughest part.
thanks for sharing method , but can we start without the breeder worm? and how ? can we do the same and keep it long time to start?
Have to get the first worms from someone else. Try fish clubs, especially betta or killifish organizations.
What sort of ventilation is provided and how do you make sure the worms can't get out it?
can you feed these to pond fish ect shrebkins and gold fish
Aren't those fish more vegetarian? I have not fed to my koi outside. I think it would be too rich a food for them.
@@GrowAndEatThis ive thrown in some maggots for them before and they have eaten them ok just wondered about the worms thanks for reply anyway
Can we do that without a starter culture? in my country its not sold anywhere as far as i know.
Sorry, you have to have a starter culture to begin with.
Hello. Did you try growing "Tropical white worms also called Warm White Worms or Room Temperature White Worms (Enchytraeus doerjesi):"
I did. Managed to keep them alive for almost a year. Never enough to feed my fish. Total waste of time. Same for the supposed full refrigerator worms. They live but dont reproduce enough to feed.
@@GrowAndEatThis what was the temperature and the medium you tried growing them in ?
Can we start this culture without starter..? Bcoz here this worm is not available for sales .. can u pls share where to find thus worms in nature..?
I have never read where these come from in nature. A great substitute is earthworms. The little red wrigglers, not the big worms. Easy to raise, produce a lot of worms, and eat veggie kitchen scraps. Just feed the small baby worms so the larger ones keep producing.
Is this grindal worms or bigger than this
Thanks so much for this video!! I subbed!
Are there any air holes? I just got a my first culture in the mail today!
I use a variety of air holes. Tiny drilled holes on a couple of sides up high. A slit on the high side with filter material to keep the worms in. I don't put holes in the top since I stack 2 containers and the stacking would block the air holes.
Hello, I have used your technique with success thanks! Do you perhaps know why enchytrae eventually crawl up against the lid or want to crawl out of the container?
Just getting too many worms for the amount of media. Which is what you want. That is why a super rich culture if it is harvested heavily every day will stay super rich for a long time. Got to harvest.
@@GrowAndEatThis thanks! I thought they did not have enought oxigen or the soil is to much polluted..
where do white worms live and what do they do
They live in small town in Poland and are avid coal miners. Except for the weekends when they drink the local vodka. Das Vadanya! Who knows, it could happen
I NEW TO THIS WHITEWORMS CULTURING..CAN I USE ORGANIC ECO FRIENDLY that made from coconut coir To culture whiteworms
Yes you can use the coconut coir. It will take longer to get the bacteria going and the worms really taking off. But it will be fine.
@@djrramsey i did try it last week..with the organic mix made from coconut coir.. I took out the old bread from the worms and place it to a new dirt...and today i check the bread were all eating up and all you see was whiteworms in the new culture that i start it with just the old feeding bread from the other culture...nice
Do you need to poke holes in the containers?
Small holes near the top. Or a larger hole with something to let air pass but not the worms
How often do you culture? How often do you feed them?
I feed every 2-3 days. I take out any old food. I make new cultures when the old ones get ready to crash. Roughly 3-4 months
Hi David. I recently purchased a white worm culture and the starter culture media contains gnats or some sort of mites. Any advice on how to get rid of them or swap the worms over to new media without transferring the pests with them? Btw, thank you for taking the time to make these videos. You make venturing into new things alot easier
Mites and other unwanted guests in a white worm culture become a problem slowly due to the colder temp. Virtually impossible to eliminate. If it gets bad, collect a bunch of worms and put them in a water container. The mites and critters will float (not all of them). Pour them off and add more water. After a couple of times the worms in the water should be pretty clean of mites and bugs. Turkey baster them into at least 2 new starts. That should get you a couple of clean cultures to get going. Often you can scrape off the top of the culture and find that the mites and gnats are not in the middle layer even though lots of worms are. This can be a new culture also. Sometimes I just scoop out half of the media and put in new media. Then start feeding the worms on the new side. They will outrun the critters.
I wish any of these tactics worked on grindal worms.
Pretty epic method for finicky fish! Excellent video. 👌🏼
how do nyou start the first culture? where do you get the worms
You have to get the first worms from someone who has them. Never seen them in the soil, and I have tried getting them to live around my compost piles.
My bread molds quickly. Any effect on feeding?
Moldy bread is bad. My bread only molds if left in the container more than 3 days. I keep the bread in the freezer until I need it for the worms.
try rice cooked in milk. it will mold slower and gives excellent results
Это лучшее видеоинструкция, из всех что я видел!!!
Thank you, respected Mr. David Ramsey!
Я не понял, чем он червей кормит.
Я не понял, чем он червей кормит.
Sir I just want to ask , I'm from Philippines, how to produce that thing if I can't purchase the white worms?
You have to start out with some white worms. I would suggest you raise small earthworms. Not night crawlers. Great food and easy to raise in huge numbers.
are this worms, Enchytraeus albidus or Enchytraeus buchholzi?
E. Albidus
Where can I get the worms and do the worms just breed on there own in these colonies
To repeat a reply from below. Your first worms have to come from someone that has them. They are
extremely heat sensitive. 70F and up and they start dying. Find them at a fish club. Contact the closest one to you (use google) and email them asking who has some. Go get them. I got mine in Raleigh. I live in Atlanta and the person who brought them to me was from Michigan. Long trip for a fish workshop. All my worms come from that first and only time.
You do not say where you live so not much else for an answer. I will try some shippping to people but not until the weather has cooled way way down. No chance of living in these temperatures.
And yes they breed in the containers.
+GrowAndEatThis ok thank you
If you are in the lower 48 states I can try shipping to you. Yes they breed in the media. Just need a starter culture to begin with. Send me a private message with your email and shipping address. I will email you back with pricing and if it looks like a good try for shipping to you.
Bought a batch today and I'll have time to stock up supplies and away I go! Might need to buy some more fish to feed after looking at your success!
Amazing method , is it possible to do the same to grindal worms ?
Thanks
Grindal worms are completely different. Room temperature. The yogurt would be a spoiled mess in the container.
Thanks I will try this
Can i give this feed to my grindal worms?
dog or cat food for grindals. I would worry about the yogurt going bad in the grindal worms and wiping it out.
Has fast do they reproduce?
If your starter is small then it could be a month or more before you are feeding any. A good size starter, fed correctly and you should have worms to feed in a couple of weeks.
Are these same as grindle worms?
Grindal worms are completely different than white worms. Different size, food, culture and temperature requirements.
can i put them with the red wigglers in the same bin? it seems they eat the same thing
Different temperature requirements.
Hi, do you have holes in your container and how do you keep the worms from scaping? Great video by the way.
There are holes. I have done them a lot of ways. Sometimes I put very small holes at the top of the sides. Then with the lid on and stacked the holes are not covered. I have also cut small holes and stuffed them with cotton or filter floss. The worms are kept in a dark wine cooler. They do not try to escape unless the culture has truly gone south and the worms have to get out or die. What a mess that makes.
Thank for the tips, will do that as I just received my starter culture.
I will put some small holes in and see how it goes. Thanks again great tips
Hey David, I have done my culture like yours for the past 7-8 months and my worms are no where near what yours are. I’m beginning to think they are not white worm. They look like starter cultures! The worms are tiny, and have blunt ends. They are the size of grain of rice. Any ideas? I guess I need to add, I keep in a wine fridge at 55 and they remind you of a maggot but really tiny.
That sounds like fly maggots. The little nasty flies with big dark wings. Do you have any flies in the boxes hatching? White worms are much longer and very skinny. I would poke around in your media and see if you have any white worms in there at all.
Hi Dave, no I haven’t noticed any, I got the culture when it was too warm out, so I figured if a few made it I would give a try. Do you have an email I can send you some pictures? I then just went with grindals cause of them being more heat tolerant. Honestly my grindal worms look more like the white worms just smaller than your white worms.
where can we get the first worm if we just wanna start
you can get it from online or pet shops or you can collect them from someone who already has a culture. You can always find people who has these worms in fb groups
@@jozukojoestar bro r u frm india .? If u know anybody is cuturing this in india pls let me know . Im searcing fr it 3years
Ok bro if any one sell in India,pls share d information bro. Tq
When you were a kid, they take a shit and u see worms in it. That is one of the places you can find. In some manure.
@@jozukojoestar where is your location..i am also from BD... 01611834659 is my cell no...i need this starter very urgent for my betta fighter...plz help me... Plz plz plz
How do you know your culture is almost done and you have to start a knew one? Is there something in the soil that gets used up? Great video. If I can find some white worms, I'd like to give it a try. Thanks.
The surface of the soil will show a lot of wetness and get a 'shiny' look to it. All the worms will be moving up on the surface, getting out of the souring soil. With experience you will learn to tell as it is getting close. With that said, I missed 2 containers doing the mass exodus last night. What a huge mess.
Cool beans! Thank you for the information, I greatly appreciate it. Sorry about the mess.
Trying to buy online. Very confusing. Are this white worms same as Grindal?
This video states they are white worms. Completely different than grindal worms. Different size, conditions and food.
Hello David.. i recently received a white worm culture but because of the delay in shipping. I think all worms are dead. If so , is there is a chance for any eggs in the culture medium to hatch if i keep the medium for few weeks??Thanks in advance.
Give it a try. I really do not know exactly how they reproduce. I thought they just split in half. Seems the smallest ones I ever see are about half the size of an adult. So who knows?
@@GrowAndEatThis Thanks a lot David. I will definitely give it a try. As i read they will produce eggs in cocoons. I will update here if i am successful with it..
Mr. Ramsey, Hello! What´s the risk of fungus, as the bread, yogurt and the yeast, go getting old, and rot? Or even...is there a risk of inserting bread particles mixed with the worms inside the aquarium? Thx in advance..
any left over food is removed when I add new food to the containers. It isn't going to mold in 2-3 days. If some little piece of bread gets into tank it won't be a problem. Just rinse the worms a time or two to clean up the water you are squirting along with them.
Does it matter if you use potting soil mix with fertilizer? I have some Miracle Grow Potting Mix but it has time released fertilizer. Thank you.
Don't worry about the fertilizer. If you see any of the fertilizer little balls in the mix just toss them out. But I ignore them. There are so few.
Problem with soil from the garden is there are so many organisms already growing in that soil. All of them are going to be competing with the worms you want to raise. I would think you would have to heat treat it for a hour or so to try and kill all the mites and natural organisms that are in the soil.
What use does the needle point yarn do?
The worms will crawl on top of the needle point plastic. Makes them pretty clean to get out.
I have no idea where to get some culture. Can you sell me some? thanks for doing this video.
I know some people sell cultures and ship. These worms do not ship. I don't know where you live, but find a local fish club. Someone will have them and can hand you a starter culture. Take a cooler with an ice pack and a towel on top to keep the worms in the 50Fs.
@@GrowAndEatThis thank you so much for the advice. I will try to locate one. Where I live we don't even have a dog club . When I first moved here 18 years ago I wanted to join one so bad because I used to compete in AKC agility. Unfortunately the closest one was 80 miles away. So that ended my participation.
I will check with the lady I bought my tank from on craigslist. She was really into the hobby with 10 tanks. She also lived 90 minutes away, but it will be worth it.
dID YOU TRY GROWING THEM IN scouring pads?
Yes. Not impressed. Hard to beat the results I get now.
Are this grindal worms
The miracle grow potting mix I can get contains root feed is this ok to use?
I wouldn't pay extra for the miracle grow stuff even though he says that's what he uses, unless the fertilizers actually help the worms?!
Why is it necessary to put the mash on it?
The worms will crawl on top of the mesh making them very easy to harvest cleanly.
Hello from 🇬🇧.
Thank you for the upload & information. 1st time I've seen your video, I've subscribed. Just to make sure I've got this right.
Put earth in containers.
Put white worms in.
Put in cut bread slices with natural/ live yoghurt & top with that other stiff (I'll have to rewatch it & take notes as already forgot).
They will feed off it & mulitply.
Do you have to change the soil at any point? If so, when?
Thanks
Over time the soil will get very wet. Time to change it out, or change part of it as I show in several videos. The old stuff is great for the garden or plants.
@@GrowAndEatThis Thanks
Is this for fishing
this is for feeding to small tropical fish
If I was to restart a culture by putting the worms in water then transfer to new container does it matter if you use tap water or dechlorinated or should you use rain water?
I would always use either rainwater or dechlorinated water.
Hêy Mr David. Maybe I am so worried but in the worst cases we accidentally swallow the eggs of the worms. we will have a big problem with it? Any chance that they will survive inside us? I am trying to make a grindal worm culture
I dont think they can survive the acids in the stomach, so I think it's 100% ok
You will be fine don't worry about it
David, please tell me, how often I have to fiddling worms?
Reef tank fish will eat this ?
I honestly have no idea. Hopefully another person will have some answers for you.
hello I really liked your videos on fruit flies and white worms but i have a saltwater tank and i wanted to know if i can feed my fish with those foods, they are very easy to make at home and would be easy for me to make and i want my fish healthy.. Thank you!
excellent video, what type of substrate you use and how it stays wet, it can also be used for grindal worm
I use the same media for grindal worms. I use a commercial potting soil mix or straight peat moss with some chicken grit (ground oyster shell)
Can I use fruit flavoured yogurt or it’s must be absolutely nature ?
I think the sugars and artificial flavorings are going to cause problems. But try and see with a small container. Who knows.
@@GrowAndEatThis thanks You ill try then but I’ll put real flavoured fruit not fake
Do you put any holes in the top?
Yers, but cover them so bugs and gnats can not enter.
very high protein, but also 15 % fat... So therefore this question : feeding enchytraeus to your fish maybe not more then 1 time a week ? I'm interested in your opinion, experience...
65% or better protein. That is going to put in some fat for any animal protein. Consider sardines, supposedly very nutritious and certainly a food source for many fish and animals. 1 sardine is roughly 3 g of protein and a whopping 1.4 g of fat. Almost half to fat to protein. I do only feed white worms or any other worms in the mornings. Never at night. I do not want that heavy of a food in the stomach and intestinal tract when they go to sleep at night. Just asking for trouble. Then they get high roughage foods like daphnia and brine shrimp or flake/pellets if they will eat it. I feed all my fish white worms almost every morning. Just my opinion.
@@GrowAndEatThis : thanks for your reply. This really helps me. Maybe a fish that eats sardines can tolerate a higher fat content in its food, compared to f.e. amazone fish ? I am trying to get my hands on a decent study about fat content in food for tropical freshwater fish, but have not find anything yet. Anyway, good information. The feeding time (of the day) is also something to consider, so that information is more then welcome. I feed microworms to my corydoras, and they are also active in the evening (and maybe night ?), so i also feed them in the evening. My culture of enchytraea is still growing, but i will soon be ready to feed my fish.
@@GrowAndEatThis : ow yes i was thinking : fat from fish (sardines) is a different kind compared with animal - meaty fat (worms). Some say that fat from meat is harder to digest by fish, compared with fishrelated fat (?). There is a discussion on feeding discus beefheart, for the same reason. Anyway, you feed your fish white worms every day without problems, so thanks for sharing your experience.
Do you make airholes in the lid?
Airholes in the lid or on the sides up tight against the top so the worms are less likely to crawl out. SMALL holes.
have you ever frozen any live food if you have more than you need for the moment or does that even happen?
I do not have the ability to do any flash freezing. White worms just explode and really cloud up the water. Baby brine shrimp might could be frozen if it was in shallow water so it freezes quickly.
@@djrramsey you may have just saved me from finding that out the hard way!
Really helpful. Can the same ingredients perhaps in lesser quantity be used for grindals?
grindals are room temperature. The yogurt will spoil and mold making a mess. They will probably eat the rest without a problem.
I can't find any white worms seller in Indonesia. How can I buy it and deliver it to Indonesia?
Since they can not handle heat shipping would be nearly impossible. I would raise earthworms. The can be cut up to whatever size you need.
White worm and grindal worm diffrence..?
totally different. Different sizes, foods, temperature requirements. White worms in the 50Fs, Grindal worms room temperature.
i read about waste from the worms, pH going down in soil, and ammonia from the waste of the enchytraeus crashing the culture. I don't want to lose my culture, so can you explain us David, because i don't want to lose my (new) culture. Can you f.e. wash the ammonia out rinsing the existing culture with water ?
Every few months, depending on the culture, you have to start new containers. The soil just gets so full of moisture and waste that it becomes toxic. You will know when it is getting close. The worms abandon the container. They will be all over the sides and the top with no visible worms in the soil. Make a new culture fast, that one is going to crash. I keep 4-8 containers going all the time. Some are new, some are really good, and some are getting close to crashing.
@@djrramsey : thanks for your reaction David. I bought a culture in water, that was sold for direct feeding purpose to the fish... My new culture was already on the sides after one day (in clean soil). I i harvested the onces that were on the sides of the plastic box, only one time. a few weeks later already, there were almost no worms left. Seems like my culture had to reprogramme to my kind of soil or something (not sure ??). Today it seemed that my culture is reproducint slowly (i think). I'm gonna setup a second container tommorrow with only a few of them left, hoping the 2 containers will kick off anyway. Strange, but i experienced a very slow start...
Hello DavidEverything you show works fine for me and my worms are doing good.However after 1 month now and feeding every 3 days the worms do not ever come up to the topThey all just remain in the top soil big fat and happyDo I have to wait for the soil to start going bad?
You may have just not built up enough of the bacteria in the soil. When you do the worms will really take off. Then they will be all over the top and sides. When you feed, take out what ever is left of the old food and put in fresh each time.
would that feeding method work for Grindal worms?
Is this grindal worms?
No, these are white worms. Totally different size shape and growing conditions.
So I should stop using mashed potatoes?