These little worms are nearly invisible with out a microscope, and they only turn out to be visible to the naked eye when really dropped into the water and then you are able to see them wriggling their way down to the bottom of the tank. They’ve now turn out to be established live food for very young fish just out of the infusoria stage.
They’re grown from a culture supplied by a dealer. You are able to make die stock in which the culture would be to grow and multiply with soya flour, semolina, or oatmeal. Mix the oatmeal with water, 1.5 oz. to half a pint of water, cook, and then permit to cool.
With soya flour or semolina, no cooking is essential, just mix with water until it reaches the consistency of floppy paste. The culture is then put into the stock to cultivate. After a time the stock will deteriorate, but this require not worry you as a fresh stock could be made up and began off with a spoonful of the old one.
The micro-worm has an affinity to wet or damp wood, and it is this that allows it to be collected and fed with out the stock also being introduced into the tank. Use a little paste pot with a metal lid to collect the worms.
Punch twelve holes in the lid, to ensure that twelve match sticks could be pushed into them with sufficient friction to hold them in position. Put a little quantity of the stock into the jar, roughly an 1/8-in. depth will do, and push the match sticks down until they just touch the stock. Leave the micro-culture for a couple of hours in a warm room, after which sufficient worms will have discovered their way up the sticks to offer a meal.
You’ll get the very best outcomes if the match sticks are thoroughly soaked in water prior to use.
Release the worms into the tank by immersing all of the matches in the water with a brisk sideways movement which washes them off. If a big quantity of worms is required, a number of paste pots could be made up.
You are able to purchase a set of six plastic containers set into a tray specially created for this purpose from most dealers.