The Mighty Grindalworms

[stormhawk]

I was at Daiso IMM, did not find the boxes I wanted. Which Daiso did you spot these Pseudo?

[|squee|]

Woke up to a pleasant surprise this morning. BTW, those links are informative!

[Trichopsis]

stormhawk: Saw them at the Vivocity outlet.

[stormhawk]

That's it, I'm going to Vivocity tomorrow. Did you remember how big the boxes were?

[Trichopsis]

Stormhawk: IIRC, there was a range of sizes, but the largest was I believe the size of a shoebox. I was actually interested in getting one to store all my bottles of supplements/medications/test kits.

[stormhawk]

Shoe box size, I actually need something larger but I might take a look. Does it come with a lid?

[Trichopsis]

Stormhawk: Yes there's a lid, it's like those Toyogo plastic boxes, with a plastic catch on both ends to lock the lid in place.

[stormhawk]

Sounds interesting. The problem with some of these boxes is that the plastic has warped and they form a gap from which pests can enter the culture. The warp on the lid and on the lip of the container makes for an ill fit, even with the side clamps in place.

[Trichopsis]

Stormhawk: I was at Vivocity Daiso earlier on, and went to look at the black boxes I mentioned. Turns out that they come in only one size, 167 (height) x 285 (length) x 130 (breadth) mm. I guess they're a bit too small for your needs.

There were other large dark brown containers, which I didn't look at closely. These appear to be your typical giant tupperware boxes with the soft and flexible translucent white plastic lid.

[stormhawk]

The black box isn't actually too small for my needs, but I would have preferred a box with a bigger surface area. I'll have a look myself when I go down to Vivocity next. I need a small vermiculture box made out of plastic.

[Nicky]

With the guidance provided here I have 2 exploding population going that really keep my closed to 100pcs of fishes very happy. There are these small dots appearing on the plastic sheet on the top pad. What are those? Some of these dots went along with the worm into the tank and most did not get not consumed by the fishes.

Also.. When I followed the method of having some water at the bottom, I see many dead worms (drown I think) everyday.
I have now stopped having any water layer in the tub and the worms crawl all over the place. But that allows me to take out the pads daily, and rinse the container full of crawling worms in my tank, that how I'm doing it, and on weekends I can do it 2-3x daily !

[Shi Xuan]

Hi Nicky,

Nice to know that you have some grindal cultures too! As for the "dots", it might be some pest infestation or something, maybe mites. I think it shouldn't be a big problem from what you described as "exploding cultures". If their presence perturbs you, soak the pads in water to see if it helps.

Water bath not only provides humidity (the worms love it) but to confine the worms to the pads. Without the water, it's like some zoo animals being let loose. On the other hand, it works without the bath though, provided that the pads are kept moist and you need to have all the gaps sealed to prevent them from escaping... reminds of the 2001 movie, evolution.

[stormhawk]

The dots are not mites. They are the egg cases of the grindal worms. I would rather scoop the worms off the feeding plate with a small spatula or a clean paintbrush with a fine tip and rinse them separately. That way, no food gets into the tanks. If the worms are running into the water bath and drowning, they are either overpopulating the media, or seek fresh air, which means the culture box is not properly vented.

Its good to hear that your cultures are doing great Nicky.

[|squee|]

Also.. When I followed the method of having some water at the bottom, I see many dead worms (drown I think) everyday.

I've also observed that. Can anyone tell me if they are really drowning or its just skin castings or something?

[stormhawk]

If you see them wriggling or crawling in the water bath, they are drowning or already dead. Grindal worms can survive in water for a day or two but will eventually die.

[|squee|]

I don't see them wriggling or crawling in the water, but I do see tiny white tubes, like the worms got chopped up and the parts were left in the water.

[stormhawk]

Probably the skin casts like you said.

[Shi Xuan]

It's worm eggs...for one moment, I misread what Nicky wrote as the white dots moving around.

[stormhawk]

The egg cases are very distinct, one or more white oval shaped "things" in a slime case. Only mites I find every now and then are furry ones that are present in other parts of my house, but not at the fish tanks for some reason.

[|squee|]

Well it's been a week and they're doing well thanks to the help of you guys!

Do I need to clean off the "remains" of the food though?