Yanni Posted May 4, 2023 Share Posted May 4, 2023 I recently got a grindal worm culture and accidentally killed off the adults because I put a piece of filter floss on the only small ventilation hole which sadly suffocated most of the adults. Luckily, they left behind a lot of baby grindal worms and there seem to be thousands of them. They are doing well and seem to constantly be moving and eating the food I put in the container. However, I need to feed some fish that depend on these live foods like Elassoma Gilberti so I was wondering how long it takes for baby grindal worms to grow to adult size. Would it take longer than a week? Are there any processes to make them grow faster? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted May 4, 2023 Share Posted May 4, 2023 I drill many holes in my culture lids. I use thin linen from Walmart and duck tape it to the lid to keep mites etc out. I prefer feeding fish wafers but find they grow fast and more prolific with dog kibble. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yanni Posted May 4, 2023 Author Share Posted May 4, 2023 Quote I drill many holes in my culture lids. I use thin linen from Walmart and duck tape it to the lid to keep mites etc out. I prefer feeding fish wafers but find they grow fast and more prolific with dog kibble. I'll continue using dog kibble for now but I heard they are a main contributor to introducing mites into your colony! I'm not too sure if this is true but hoping that it is not. I've heard people microwave the dog kibble before hand or just keep them in the freezer. Are these methods reliable or even safe to do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted May 4, 2023 Share Posted May 4, 2023 I soak dry kibble in distilled water until soft. When I solely fed fish wafer I had zero mite issues. I needed higher production so started adding dog kibble. Now I have mites galore that I battle constantly. So I can believe dog kibble is a heavy contributor. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yanni Posted May 4, 2023 Author Share Posted May 4, 2023 Quote so I can believe dog kibble is a heavy contributor. That's interesting, I'll keep an eye on it and start a second culture just to be safe. As for growth, what is the average amount of time it takes for a small grindal worm to grow to adult size? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted May 4, 2023 Share Posted May 4, 2023 I’m not real sure. Mine grow fast. When it looks like it’s all very tiny worms that usually means my culture crashed. I’ve been waiting 3 weeks to see if any afults show up in this one. As of today it’s overrun with mites so getting tossed. These are my thriving cultures 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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