Vinegar Eel or Turbatrix aceti are a small nematode worm that is both harmless and non parasitic they feed on a culture medium known as mother of vinegar an ingredient used in the making of vinegar. Vinegar today is pasteurised in much the same way as milk to rid the liquid of these small worms.
We as aquarists/fish breeders can utilise these small nematodes to feed very small fry.

Initally you will need is a small quantity of Vinegar Eel starter culture available from various sources. (Thanks Donald)

The everyday items needed to culture Turbatrix aceti are:
Jam Jars
Cotton handkerchiefs and elastic bands
Red or White Wine or Cider Vinegar
Apple Slices


All you need to start your Vinegar eel cultures


Fill the Jam Jar half full of your preferred Wine/Cider Vinegar.
Some aquarists like to dilute the vinegar with a little water but I like to use mine neat.


Next take your starter culture and pour some into the Wine/Cider Vinegar in the jam jar.


Add a slice of apple. This will sink over the comming days.


Finally cap with a slice of cotton handkerchief and secure with an elastic band.
This lets the culture breathe and stops it getting infested with flies.

These cultures are best kept warm [room temperature] in the dark and covered as mentioned above.

Harvesting

Method 1:
Pour the medium siphoned off your culture through coffee filter paper. Keep the vinegar; return this to your culture. Now rinse the eels trapped in your filter by running some fresh water through this. Finally invert into a glass of clean water. Leave them in the water to purge them before feeding.

Method 2:
Siphon off some of your culture from near the top into a long necked bottle [i.e. a wine bottle]. Fill the bottle until the vinegar just starts to enter the neck of the bottle. Then take a small amount of filter wool to form a plug. Push this down until it sits on the vinegar, leaving most off the neck empty. Fill it up with fresh water. The eels will crawl through the filter floss into the fresh water. They can then be harvested with an eye-dropper or turkey baster, and fed to your fry.

Another little livefood for small fish fry that can be cultured by the home aquarist for you to try

ATB
C

Further interesting reading
www.waynesthisandthat.com/eels.htm