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Jennifer, quite a few of us here have at least one or more microworm cultures. You can obtain a starter culture from one of us. I could send you a starter culture but I'm not sure how to pack it for delivery.
Where can I get the microworms from?
Jennifer Ooi
Living in Pearl of Orient
Jennifer, quite a few of us here have at least one or more microworm cultures. You can obtain a starter culture from one of us. I could send you a starter culture but I'm not sure how to pack it for delivery.
Fish.. Simply Irresistable
Back to Killies... slowly.
hmm... Jennifer, you have been playing truant on this forum haven't you? I would require you to attend make up classes :wink:Originally Posted by Jennifer
It was discussed not too long ago at this thread.
Jian Yang,
Both grindal worms and MWs are oxygen hungry fellas. Packing too many worms in a small container will be the best way to kill the culture and send the kids running!
I would suggest using a flat, round takeaway container with half a teaspoon of MWs.
Spread the MWs thinly in the middle of the container and bury that with a 1cm layer of dry oatmeal. Make sure that there's at least 1cm of space between top of oatmeal and the cover (this is the reserve breathing space).
With a pin, poke sufficient breathing holes on the cover.
Use filter wool to make up the difference, such that the wool touches BOTH the media and cover. This is to prevent the oatmeal from being tossed around during shipping.
Place this container into a ziploc bag, so that the MWs stays within the bag should they crawl out and also to prevent the aroma permeating the Post Office! Send it out on a Monday via Express.
MWs can tolerate desiccation (meaning=To dry out thoroughly) but intolerant of suffocation, and will survive the trip.... trust me, I'm very experienced in sending mush! :wink:
Alternatively, if you have a desiccated or 'bone-dry' culture, so much the better... but it will need to be revived first and using those few worms to re-sub another fresh culture.
I'm working on a page that'll describe what to do when one receives a starter culture via post and the article should be idiot-proof. Nonetheless, when in doubt, please ASK!
I'm back & keeping 'em fingers wet,
Ronnie Lee
ok Jian Yang, here's the page... best served chilled with salads
I'm back & keeping 'em fingers wet,
Ronnie Lee
Hi Ronnie, your article on MWC is very informative. I just got my MWC from Sia Meng and your article is just in time. But excuse me for being more idiot than your idiot-proof article: I am not quite understand on your "Preserve Culture". How do you restart the preserve culture? Like killies egg, just add water? Thank
Poh San, the idea of drying up a microworm is not new... but I first learnt of it from some KillieTalk members a few years back.
To revive, just add cereal, maple syrup and milk if you wish, stir it up real good and have a hearty breakfast!
Seriously tho, nah... you just add a little water. Some worms will hatch out, like killie eggs, and although the worm count isn't much (very very few actually), it's sufficient to restart another culture from it.
I didn't believe it at first, so I tried it... and all I can say is that it works.
So if you don't need a culture for an extended period, just let it dry out naturally... don't force dry it, otherwise, you'll end up with a truely dead culture.
Good luck.
I'm back & keeping 'em fingers wet,
Ronnie Lee
To be frank, your preserve culture looks just like a plate of delicous fried carrot cake to me!
By the way, any specific brand of oatmeal the worm prefer? Do I need to cook the oatmeal or just serve dry. Finally can I substitube with other cereal? I am currently shorts of oatmeal at home.
Carrot cake? hmm... I don't recall it being that good. Maybe I need to look at it again when I'm hungry!
Besides Quaker and Santorium, there's a cheaper packed-in-China (forgot the brand) but it's the cheapest. If it's fit for human consumption, it's good enough for MWs. Even my grindal worms is eating that.
No oatmeal? Corn cereal, as in corn flakes, will work just fine.
No cereal? Go microwave a whole potato for 5 mins on High setting, let cool and cut it into 1cm slices, and place your starters on it.
No fresh potatoes? Go get a pack of 'Mr Mash' potato flakes and mix to a mash potato consistency. Your MWs will do very ok in it.
No potato flakes? If you have a baby at home, then Gerber baby food (mixed vege or similar), is ok.
<sigh>... no baby at home? Get a slice of bread and dip it in milk. That'll work too.
No bread and no milk? Then I think ya better get off ya butt and go do some grocery shopping! (your fridge is empty!!!)
HTH (Hope That Helps) :wink:
I'm back & keeping 'em fingers wet,
Ronnie Lee
WOW!!! In this case I must go get a life. hehe.No bread and no milk? Then I think ya better get off ya butt and go do some grocery shopping! (your fridge is empty!!!)
I was given a container of microworm from Ronnie then found this threads on microworm culturing. Was searching high and low for the culturing method.
Thanks Ronnie. :-)
Well, has anyone here had any problems with molding cultures? At first, it was probably due to white bread too old...so I switched some to oatmeal. I'm fretting a bit right now as one of the new ones on oatmeal went moldy and another that look promising might just go that way too. The culture I started both from was quite old...
A few have also turned rancid...tossed them out too. I'm currently doing shotgun and seeing if I manage to set one up that for whatever reason doesn't go bad. Since white bread apparently has antimold agents in it I will go along and get some cheapo white bread today.
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