First time live food culture

Can anyone recommend a live-food for someone culturing it for the first time?

What the best in terms of nutrition and ease of setup & maintenance?

In thinking particularly of something that cant escape and be found where its not supposed to be (thus resulting in the sale of all my tanks!). Does that rule out microworms etc?

How do you start off with something like this - can you buy a starter culture or eggs or stock?

Hi Jim.

Probably the easiest to start with is microworms. They dont go rambling around the house.

I use an instant potato mix (for mash get smash). Mix in a tub with tap water untill it has a consistency that is not runny nor thick.
I make it between 1-3cm deep. It dosent have to be exact.

Add the culture of worms and place a lid on it will some small holes for air to get in. Or you can just leave the lid on lose.

After a few days the worms will cover to whole top of the media. Then i place a small square of kitchen towel at one end directly on top of the culture.
The worms wriggle through the towel on to the surface of it and in the process clean themselves of the potato mix media.
This makes it handy to collect them. I simply scrape a plastic spoon across the towel to collect thousands in one scoop.

Most media mixes contain oatmeal. My problem with this is it stinks. The potato mix works just as well and only gives of a very slight starchy aroma.

A culture will last 1-2 months before renewing. This takes about 10 minutes.

As for the nutritional value, i cant remember, but i can check if you wish.
What i do know is it works well at getting small fry past the early days untill i can get them on to larger foods. Even fish 2-3cm long will take them.
Just use a bare bottom tank for fry. The worms will stay wriggling on the base attracting the fish.

Another bonus is they last at least 2 weeks in water without dieing off. So no fowling the water with uneaten rotting food.

If you want a starter culture i will bring some to one of the meetings.
Also i have some good literature on various live foods that you can borrow if you wish.

White and grindle worms are also very easy to culture.

for bigger fish cherry shrimp are easy as pie to breed, and will only need a small tank and air filter (so long as its somewhere warm you might not need a heater)

or you could use earthworms in something like a kids sandbox full with compost, put a big flat stone on top somewhere and throw in veg trim for food every now and again. when you want to collect just lift the stone, take the worms you need and purge them on wet kitchen paper overnight to empty the crud out their guts

@platy: how would you cultivate white worms and where could one get a starter colony?

root through these fantastic articles www.irishfishkeepers.com/index.php/artic...51-foods-and-feeding. outstanding work by puddler

joey wrote:

how would you cultivate white worms

Kev.

Hi Joey
I have whiteworms, I think arabu73 also has some, get in touch and I'll get a starter pack ready for you
Andrew

hi all
i have white worms as well if anyone wants

Thanks folks for all the advice.

@stretnik - interesting vid - the University of Youtube - a great institution!

@dar - thanks for that - plenty of reading in there for more

@platty252 - thanks Darren - that's excellent - I'll definitely take a donation from you if thats OK

Jim wrote:

Thanks folks for all the advice.
@platty252 - thanks Darren - that's excellent - I'll definitely take a donation from you if thats OK

No problem Jim. Just say where and when.
I can also give you some gammarus to culture Like john mrntionrd.

Awesome Darren - many thanks.

This is why I love this forum - so many of the members are entirely selfless nad more concerned with helping other fishkeepers than with any personal gain or upmanship