Grindal worm culture

[Mr Gumby]

Hi folks,

Just ordered a starter culture of grindal worms which is being supplied in peat moss. Yes I went with the cheapest option 😁

I'm intending to use the scour pad method so I'm after any tips and tricks to transfer from one media to the other?

[Guppysnail]

How I transitioned to scrubby pads was by getting the culture going very well on coconut coir. Placing the plastic over the food so the worms crawl onto the plastic for harvest. Instead of harvesting I sat the plastic covered in worms on the food on top of the scrubbies . I’m working on transitioning all my cultures to scrub pads. 
The harvest is cleaner and I can just rinse vs the coconut getting polluted. 
Another way I’m getting ready to try is to scoop the centerpiece of coconut for about a teaspoon full where the concentration of worms is and put that between scrubby pads that way the coconut stays away from my harvest plastic and they all come up through the scrub pad

Edited November 17, 2022 by Guppysnail

[Mr Gumby]

thanks @Guppysnail, that looks like the way forward

less mess and easier feeding

trying to get a decent selection going, luckily keeping nano fish means I can still feed micro worms to the adults as a snack but the grindal worms should fill them up a bit more alongside live BBS

My chili rasbora will even go for vinegar eels which is handy to keep the culture ticking over 🙂

[Guppysnail]

Scrub pads are definitely the way to go. There is no smell. No need to ever reculture you just add a little extra water in the bottom and drain it away to rinse it because reculturing is a pain. Oddly enough all nine of my cultures were hit by a little white stinging mite that stung me and killed off the cultures. But this one in the same exact drawer had zero mites. I think it might be because it doesn’t have the smell at the ones on the coconut hold or it came in on my coconut because it happened right after I replaced the substrate and re-cultured. 
I’ve also found that when you put your holes in the lid instead of using filter floss because I still got regular mites with filter floss I taped a paper towel over the holes and up until the stinging mites which I’m still convinced came in on the coconut I didn’t have a mite problem.

I do the paper towel trick for my microworms also because I kept getting fruit flies with the floss

[Mr Gumby]

On 11/17/2022 at 1:53 PM, Guppysnail said:

Scrub pads are definitely the way to go. There is no smell. No need to ever reculture you just add a little extra water in the bottom and drain it away to rinse it because reculturing is a pain. Oddly enough all nine of my cultures were hit by a little white stinging mite that stung me and killed off the cultures. But this one in the same exact drawer had zero mites. I think it might be because it doesn’t have the smell at the ones on the coconut hold or it came in on my coconut because it happened right after I replaced the substrate and re-cultured. 
I’ve also found that when you put your holes in the lid instead of using filter floss because I still got regular mites with filter floss I taped a paper towel over the holes and up until the stinging mites which I’m still convinced came in on the coconut I didn’t have a mite problem.

I do the paper towel trick for my microworms also because I kept getting fruit flies with the floss

that's good to know, I've always used filter floss but I'll give paper towel a go.

Do you have any issues with moisture using the towel?

[Karen B.]

Greetings!

I am about to receive my culture of grindal worms for my little pigs… er I mean pea puffers! The silly things won’t eat bloodworms, what a pain. I want to switch between snails and worms.

So… I am looking for any tips and tricks. I did read on the internet but there seem to be many ways, some even talk about using TOTES… I must admit I was hoping to use much smaller container. What size would you recommend? I have 7 pea puffers. 

I am a bit confused about your use of scubbing pad… maybe because english is not my main language? What kind of scrubbing pad? When/how do you use it?

If I use a tupperware, put a few holes in the lid, cover said lid with stocking, am I safe vs fruit flies and others insects or the paper tower route is better?

I read coconut coir is to be used. And feed some quick oat or damp piece of bread every other day. And use some plastic grid for the worms to gather on. Am I understanding the process correctly?
 

@Mr Gumby @Guppysnail

[Comradovich]

@Karen B.

Scrubbing Pad: What you're looking for is basically Scotch-Brite Pads. They're green, rectangular, and come in boxes of 8-10. Main thing is to get a pad that isn't treated with oven cleaner or soap. Here's an Amazon link for reference.

As far as containers, you could use smaller tupperware or the like. The only thing with a smaller container is that you want to set up several, as it can crash faster on you with less surface area to contaminate with disease or chemical contaminants. Good rule of thumb with small cultures is to treat it like you would a nano-tank. Check it regularly so you catch anything going wrong early enough to fix it. That is the rule I broke with my 5.5G getting planaria. Had I caught that earlier, I probably would've lost less shrimp, scuds and snails. Check regularly, check often.

When I raise something like vinegar eels, for example, I like to start up several bottles of them at the same time. If any one bottle goes wrong, I've got spares to keep the colonies going. And since I just got eggs laid, I'm honestly kicking myself for getting rid of the vinegar eels instead of keeping them after the Scarlet Badis passed. Looks like I'll be scouring aquabid or ebay for another colony sooner rather than later. And this thread gave me just enough info on grindal worms to add them to my shopping list.

[Mr Gumby]

As @Comradovich says multiple cultures is the way to go if you're going with smaller ones.

[Karen B.]

On 4/13/2023 at 11:32 PM, Comradovich said:

@Karen B.

Scrubbing Pad: What you're looking for is basically Scotch-Brite Pads. They're green, rectangular, and come in boxes of 8-10. Main thing is to get a pad that isn't treated with oven cleaner or soap. Here's an Amazon link for reference.

As far as containers, you could use smaller tupperware or the like. The only thing with a smaller container is that you want to set up several, as it can crash faster on you with less surface area to contaminate with disease or chemical contaminants. Good rule of thumb with small cultures is to treat it like you would a nano-tank. Check it regularly so you catch anything going wrong early enough to fix it. That is the rule I broke with my 5.5G getting planaria. Had I caught that earlier, I probably would've lost less shrimp, scuds and snails. Check regularly, check often.

When I raise something like vinegar eels, for example, I like to start up several bottles of them at the same time. If any one bottle goes wrong, I've got spares to keep the colonies going. And since I just got eggs laid, I'm honestly kicking myself for getting rid of the vinegar eels instead of keeping them after the Scarlet Badis passed. Looks like I'll be scouring aquabid or ebay for another colony sooner rather than later. And this thread gave me just enough info on grindal worms to add them to my shopping list.

Thank you so much for your explanation! So if I understand correctly, I use the pad as the substrate instead of the coconut coir?

@Mr Gumby

Edited April 14 by Karen B.

[Mr Gumby]

@Karen B. Yes just the pad, I put a pad on the bottom with two strips on top of that so I can feed them in the gap. I lay a piece of clear plastic on top which the worms gather on. When feeding the fish I just lift the plastic off and dip it in the tank 

[Guppysnail]

On 4/13/2023 at 10:58 PM, Karen B. said:

Greetings!

I am about to receive my culture of grindal worms for my little pigs… er I mean pea puffers! The silly things won’t eat bloodworms, what a pain. I want to switch between snails and worms.

So… I am looking for any tips and tricks. I did read on the internet but there seem to be many ways, some even talk about using TOTES… I must admit I was hoping to use much smaller container. What size would you recommend? I have 7 pea puffers. 

I am a bit confused about your use of scubbing pad… maybe because english is not my main language? What kind of scrubbing pad? When/how do you use it?

If I use a tupperware, put a few holes in the lid, cover said lid with stocking, am I safe vs fruit flies and others insects or the paper tower route is better?

I read coconut coir is to be used. And feed some quick oat or damp piece of bread every other day. And use some plastic grid for the worms to gather on. Am I understanding the process correctly?
 

@Mr Gumby @Guppysnail

I use small shallow containers. Longer is more important than deeper. I use organic potting soil. I tried both coconut and scotch brute green scrubbies. I can’t keep them moist enough. The potting soul is note stable for me. 
I soak algae wafers until softened. Some folks use fry dog kibble others use flake fish food. I prefer wafers because I get the strongest cultures. I also want to make sure the worms are proper nutrition for fish and I don’t know nutritionally how dog kibble compares to fish food. 
I use cloth on the lids. I duct tape it down because gnats and mites run rampant if I don’t so I think nylon would be fine or any breathable fabric. I also had a much higher mite and gnat issue when I used coconut. I heard you are supposed to bake it after I already used it. I did not bake so that might be why. With potting mix I don’t need to bake so it’s easier.