Hello to everyone! Yesterday I got a starter portion of white worms in a little lump of dirt: I also got a portion of dehydrated cocos fiber, hard as a rock. After adding the prescribed amount of water it became nice and fluffy: I buried 2/3 of the starter portion in it. The remainder I buried in Seramis, fired-clay-granulate, a household name and product in its "native" Germany for growing ornamental plants. An absolute favorite with German aquarium fish lovers for growing grindal worms (I do it myself with satisfactory results) and, to a lesser degree, white worms - its color indicates the amount of moisture present: My question-list: - How much moisture do I have to put into the cocos fiber? The dirt in which the Enchytraeus albidus came was soaked with water, perhaps you can see it from the picture. The cocos fiber.. I have sprayed an sprayed and sprayed water, but the substrate is always a little dry to the touch. Is there any risk of developing mold? - What do I feed them? Their tiny cousins the grindals go bananas over fish flakes and fry granulate. Do white worms need something else? Hopefully they are just hiding to recover from their 5-day journey, but I haven't seen any of them until now. - How fast or slow do they multiply? I fed two or three of them to my Pygmy Sunfish and dwarf red Blue Gularises, they were enthusiastic. How long do I have to wait to give my fish a treat? Thanks in advance for any reaction and for any helpful suggestion! Miguel
I started my white worm culture almost 2 months ago. I went with organic soil and kept them in a small fridge at temps of 60-65 degrees. With the container lid closed the humidity keeps the soil perfectly moist. I started with feeding them whole grain bread with yogurt and yeast. Multiplication was really slow for the first 6 weeks. I then switched to hotdog buns and bagels with yogurt. It's about a week ago that I noticed an explosion in worms population. Eggs are everywhere and I am now seeing masses of worms gather around food. I did notice that they are most active in temps of around 65 degrees.
Thank you for your reaction! Today for the first time one, two white worms (literally) appeared under the transparent plastic with which I covered the cocos fiber, hopefully a good sign. Their tiny cousins the grindals needed much more than 6 weeks to opt for a population explosion. But it was in the cold season. I'd almost like to be a white worm in your culture when I read what gourmet food you treat them to , were it not for the fate awaiting them ... Going through notes I made/downloaded before embarking on the white worm adventure I read that they multiply enormously when given cooked rice.. In my grindal culture they did and it seems to work for white worms too. I gave 2-3 grains of rice some 2 days ago - no white worm sightings before I fed rice. I guess indoor temperatures have been ideal, too, exactly in the range you mention. I have to start thinking what to do in summer at indoor temps of >80F. I have only one fridge - too cold - and somehow do not like to have them near my own food..
I would suggest a wine cooler to keep your worms cool during summer. I found them around $75 brand new at local stores. And of course a bit cheaper on ebay.
What temperature produces a wine cooler?? If it's normal fridge temps, about 4 degrees C, I'll probably get over my problem with white worms in the fridge. It may sound funny coming from someone who some years ago merely had to leave his house to find a vineyard - not my own - around the corner, but I have never heard of a wine cooler. I do not drink wine, but everyone here does, some 20 years ago people still would make their own wine. Anyway, they keep wine either in a cellar, under the staircase or in the fridge.
That is 11C-20C.. My fridge is unable to produce such temperatures. Now I understand why I never heard of them wine coolers: the cheapest one is 132,22 Euros, some 160 USD. Imagine, a bottle of wine can cost as little as 2-3 dollars. I will have to find another way to cool my buddies. Right now temperatures are ideal. A starter portion arrived yesterday from Germany after 5 days traveling. The sender was so kind to send them for free (I paid the postage) after a portion got stuck in the unexpected snow of February. The worms arrived as compost. These ones were visibly in great shape . It would be interesting to find a solution: between grindals and white worms I have 6 cultures going now. The microworm starters in the fridge produced by myself finally froze to death - after months. It would be a waste of money (mainly postage) to buy new starters after summer.
