August 30th, 2021
After culturing Grindal worms on soil and polyester foam, I want to try culturing Grindal worms on live moss I picked in a local park.
Or buy Grindal worms on Amazon (paid link):
Wash the moss thoroughly with tap water.
The same way I usually prepare land moss for growing underwater in my aquariums.
The point is to get rid of any dirt and critters that come with the moss.
Fill the container with tap water to submerge moss.
Let it sit for a couple days so any critters still left will drown.
September 3rd.
Drain water from the container.
This land moss grows nicely all year around underwater in aquariums.
Check my videos about growing land moss underwater for more details!
Now let's make needle sized holes in the lid of the container.
The holes provide air circulation in the container while reducing water evaporation.
Also, I cut a piece of plastic to put on top of the moss in the container - that is optional.
The container is ready for worms.
The next day, September 4th.
It's time to seed Grindal worms I collected from an old culture.
Just put worms on top of the moss.
Crush a flake of cereal on top for Grindal worms to feed on.
Put a piece of plastic on top and cover the container with the lid.
I keep all my aquariums and terrariums on the same shelf next to the window away from direct sun light.
Check on Grindal worms culture every day.
Grindal worms like moisture and often bathe in drops of water for hours.
However, they drown in deep water.
For that reason, I remove excess of water from the container.
Make sure Grindal worms don't get trapped in the water.
Feed Grindal worms a flake or two of cereal daily.
And remember to cover the container to prevent water evaporation.
September 25th.
It's been about 3 weeks since I seeded this Grindal worm culture.
Grindal worms like to crawl on the wet surface of lid and walls - everywhere.
It could take up to 6 weeks for the culture to grow noticeably.
I already can collect some Grindal worms from the piece of plastic and from the lid.
Here I use a pipette to wash worms with water off the plastic.
Use collected worms to set up another culture or to feed your fish or whatever other pets you have.
I let my Guppies and Endlers eat Grindal worms 1-2 times a week.
Grindal worms have very high nutritional value.
The amount of worms I collected in this example is enough for one feeding of about 6 adult guppies.
So, 3-4 cultures of this size containers should be enough for a continuous food supply for 6 guppies.
I am setting up a new Grindal worm culture on moss.
We can seed the new culture by moving some of the moss from the old culture to the new container.
There should be enough Grindal worms and eggs on this piece of moss for seeding the new culture.
Spread the remaining moss evenly in the old culture.
Remember, this is live moss - it grows continuously in moisten environment.
Feed Grindal worms everyday the amount of food they can eat before the next feeding.
Leftover food may spoil and the whole culture gets stinky.
So, after 3 weeks from the initial setup I already have two Grindal worms cultures.
Here you can see the second Grindal worm culture a couple days later on September 29th.
The patch of brown moss is basically dead.
The healthy growing moss is green.
I am not in a rush to remove the dead moss - it serves as food and as a medium for worms.
Also, I like to add Springtails to all my Grindal worm cultures.
Here you can see Springtails walk on the water’s surface.
Springtails are tiny harmless critters that feed on detritus including waste produced by Grindal worms.
Grindal worms and Springtails thrive in the same environment.
And my fish enjoy eating Springtails as much as Grindal worms.
Springtails may invade Grindal worm cultures whether you want it or not.
So, adding Springtails is optional.
Check my videos about Springtails for more details.
Here you can see a couple month old culture of Grindal worms.
The whole purpose of culturing Grindal worms is to feed fish.
Feeding time! Let's feed my Endlers.
Here I use a soft brush to pick some Grindal worms from the piece of plastic.
And then just drop the worms into the aquarium.
Wriggling worms are very attractive live food for fish.
Personally, I prefer to use a pipette for feeding Grindal worms to fish.
With a pipette I have better control of how many worms my fish get.
And Grindal worms are less likely to cling in clusters.
Also, I freeze Grindal worms and make pellets for feeding fish on days when there are not enough live worms available.
Check my videos about it for more details.
Have fun and happy pets :)
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