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Grindal worms and Springtails are one of the best live food for aquarium fish.
Fish eat them fast!
I've been culturing Grindal worms in the same containers with different types of Springtails.
Here is an example of one of my mixed cultures on polyester foam.
There are thousands of Grindal worms and Springtails in this container.
It's a very easy to setup and keep them going.
I prefer to use 16oz food containers with cover.
You can stock containers on top of each other to save space 😉
Poke holes in the cover for air circulation.
Grindal worms and Springtails thrive in humid environment at normal room temperatures.
And they all feed on the same food.
In this example I use polyester foam as a medium for keeping the moister and surface for breeding.
Add dechlorinated, preferably aged water.
Just enough to keep the medium moist.
Aged water has algae and microorganisms for springtails and worms to feed on.
The next step is an optional.
I like to add land moss as the medium too.
I washed and soaked the land moss underwater for a couple weeks before adding it.
Please check my previous videos about growing land moss underwater for details.
Now let's add Grindal worms.
I took some Grindal worms from my older well established culture.
Put Grindal worms on the top of the medium / moss.
Drain excess of the water from the container.
Add some food for Grindal worms to feed on.
I use cereal for feeding Grindal worms and Springtails.
Now let's add Springtails.
I use different ways of collecting Springtails and Grindal worms shown in previous videos.
In this example I use a pipette.
The culture is set and ready on November 7th, 2021
I check on the culture at least 3 times a week.
Make sure the culture is moist.
Give amount of food that can be consumed completely in a day or two.
Any leftover food may get spoiled and prompts growth of mold.
Use a stick or brush to swipe the mold away.
It could take 4 to 6 weeks before the population increases noticeably.
Here you can see my culture on January 10th 2022 - two months after the initial setup.
There is uncountable amount of springtails!
All springtails like to gather around wet spots as you may noticed.
The white springtails are the most prolific breeders among white, silver and orange springtails that I tried.
Grindal worms like to gather on chunks of food.
It's time to split the culture and start feeding my fish.
I already moved some of the moss with Grindal worms and Springtails into a new container.
And there is still plenty of worms and springtails in this container for feeding my fish.
I use soft brush for picking Grindal worms.
Wash worms in a cup with water for making feeding portions of desirable amounts.
I always keep more than two cultures of Grindal worms with Springtails.
Grindal worms coexist peacefully with Springtails in the same containers on different mediums.
May 26th, 2022
I moved all my Grindal worms and Springtails cultures on new medium - dry leaves.
In the previous year I tried using dry leaves as medium with great success.
Dry leaves have great water retention property and serve as food for different critters.
I was able to go on a couple weeks long vacations without loosing any cultures 😊
Check my previously published videos for more details.
Simple to setup - your fish will thank you!
Have fun and happy pets 😊
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