Instructions for Culturing White Worms
Culture Container.
The minimum size that I would recommend is (8 in x 6 in x 4 in deep) I use wooden boxes covered with a piece of thin
plywood as I find that I can control the moisture better than plastic boxes. Plastic boxes are perfectly acceptable
provided that they do not let in light. If the box is plastic them you need to make a few small holes in the lid so
the culture can "breathe".
Culture Media.
I use a general purpose potting compost, available from garden centers, provided that it does not contain too much
gravel or peat. White Worms do not like acidic conditions. I fill the container to a depth of about 3 inches with the
compost and gently firm it down.
Culture Moisture.
The culture media must be "very damp" but not "soggy"
Culture Temperature.
The optimum temperature for reproduction is 15 / 21 Deg. C. Below 9 Deg. C the worms will stop breeding and above
27 Deg. C the worms will start to die.
Feeding an established Culture.
I feed them on "Readybrek Original" mixed with water to the consistency of whipped cream, you can also use any fine
oat based cereal or very damp white bread cut into small squares and placed on the surface of the culture medium. Once
the culture is established I add 2 dessert spoons of Readybrek in two places per box. Wait until all the food is eaten
before adding more.
Starting your new culture.
Prepare a container as described above. Make a depression in the medium just large enough for the starter culture.
This depression should be roughly in the center of the box. Then empty the starter culture into the depression and very
gently firm in. Add only a teaspoon of Readybrek to the center of the starter culture and cover the box. The box must
be completely light proof!! Patience is now required because the worms will slowly disperse into your culture box . A
new culture will take at least 8 / 12 weeks to get established. So do not harvest too soon. Check the culture every day
to see how much food is left. You will find that as the worms multiply the food will be consumed more quickly. At first
the worms will eat very little and you may find that the food will grow a white hairy fungus. If this is the case
carefully remove the uneaten food taking care not to remove worms that are attached to the base of the rotting food.
Replace with fresh food. You can increase the number of cultures by adding some worm filled media from your new culture
once it is established, as you did to start your first culture.
Collecting worms.
There is no easy way to do this. This is what I do. Get a small plastic dish and put about 1/4 inch of water in it.
Open the lid of the box and use a pair of flat nosed tweezers to grab some worms as they eat the food. The worms will
generally point towards the middle of the food. I then dip the tweezers full of worms into the dish of water to wash
them off. When I have enough worms I wash the worms by filling the container with tap water and then gently tip most
of the water away leaving the worms. You may have to do this several times to remove food particles that you have
picked up inadvertently. The worms will start to retreat into the compost as soon as the lid is removed so you will
need to be fairly quick.
Notes:
1) White Worms do not like light. They must be kept in complete darkness.
2) Keep the compost very damp. If you use a plastic container the moisture from the food should keep the compost damp.
3) Once your culture is established you may find that it becomes a home for some small black flies and mites. These
"visitors" do not seen to have any effect on my cultures so I leave them alone. In fact if a fly strays into my Discus
tanks it is quickly eaten. I have heard of people putting a small piece of "moth ball" on the surface of the culture in
one corner out of the way of the food. I have no experience of this but if you want to experiment I suggest that you do
it on a second culture just in case it kills the worms.
4) Try not to disturb the culture compost too much. This action seems to send the worms underground for some time.
5) The culturing of White Worms is not an exact science. I have described what works for me. The size and quantity of
containers will depend on the food requirements of your fish. It is a simple production line that needs to supply the
demand.
6) Look for articles in fish magazines that describe the culturing of White Worms and other live cultures.
Health and Saftey:
KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN. NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION.
For the good of your own Health. DO NOT keep any live culture anywhere that it could come into contact with food or utensils used for human food preparation.
Note:
OUR CULTURES (8" x 6" x 3") box
24 Hours later:
