Excellent for discus. Don't over feed, once a day is fine. Quite high in fats, but digestable fats. Not aware of any parasite risk.
I feed live and frozen forms, when I can get them.
I just got 2 cultures of white worms and I was wondering if they are good for discus. So far only 2 of my discus eat them and they are the bigger discus but those 2 really like the worms. At first none of the discus would eat them but then once they try them, they really chase after them in the water.
Can white worms give them internal parasites?
How nutritious are they? anyone using them and how often do you feed them?
Excellent for discus. Don't over feed, once a day is fine. Quite high in fats, but digestable fats. Not aware of any parasite risk.
I feed live and frozen forms, when I can get them.
Paul
Comfortably numb.
What do you mean when you can get them? do you culture them? or do you order them and give them all as food without starting a culture?
I thought that once you have a started culture you can raise them and have them available constantly?
Or do they go dormant at some point and no worms are available for food?
Once per day I am sure my discus will appreciate
hehe, I have cultured them but I work away from home so it's not practical for me.
Paul
Comfortably numb.
My fish all go nuts for them. Unfortunately they don't reproduce nearly as fast as I wish they did. I've started up a third box (shoebox size), and I should probably do 5 or 6 boxes.
How long do you wait before you start to harvest in a culture? I just started 2 cultures in plastic boxes of 12 x 8 appx. For now there are not enough worms to feed a lot.
also what do you keep them in? I used potting soil but there is some trace of dirth inside the white worm. Is it better to keep them just in peat? or is potting soil ok?
Starting a White Worm Culture
* Use a margarine container (or a plastic container of similar size) with lid.
* Put a few holes in the lid to let air pass through. Fill the container ½ full with peat moss and then put in a piece of bread soaked in milk on top. You can add a piece of lettuce in order to easily remove the worms when needed. When the bread becomes spotted with mould, remove the spots with a spoon and replace with dry bread crumbs.
* Place put your worm culture on top of the base you have created. The worms will mix through the bread and peat and become an established culture. Wait at least 4 days before using the worms. This allows them to start the reproduction process.
* Pick out worms from your culture to feed your fish. Use approximately 3 to 5 worms per fish.
If you choose not to add milk soaked bread, you will have to soak the peat until it is completely saturated and use other foods for the worms such as bread crumbs, dry fish food or veggies. Using this method does not always bring good results.
Maintaining A White Worm Culture
As your culture becomes more mature, create another one. Take out half of the peat moss with the worms and put into a new container. Add more peat moss to both containers topping them up to ½ again. Moisten the new peat moss and add more milk soaked bread.
You can also use Red Wiggler(Eisenia foetida)
Cheers
Francis
My methods are a bit different but not much. Damp potting soil is fine. A margarine container seems a bit small but I'm sure it works. I've fed them pretty much everything recommended and nothing seems to work any better than anything else so I'm feeding rolled oats now. Wait 4 days? I think I waited about 4 months! I started with a really small culture though. I feed a lot more than 3-5 worms per fish; they're tiny! Discus like red wrigglers as well but I feed them left over vegetable and fruit scraps in a shallow bin.
Thanks Martha for your info....pretty easy to get those white worm cultures in British Columbia.
Cheers
Francis
the worms have some dirt inside of them. Does that happen with peat as well or is it only hapening in potting soil? If they stay cleaner in peat I would change the medium slowly on the culture so not sure about that.
What I have is a bit big maybe but I have spead the culture in different spots and added litte pieces of milk soaked bread here and there. is that ok?
Yesterday most of my fish eated them. Some really go after them now
thanks.
I can't see why peat would be any cleaner. You can see dirt inside of them? Mine look as white as they can be. I have no idea what's inside of them. A little dirt isn't going to hurt the discus.
no, mine have quite a bit of black earth inside of them, so I guess I will switch medium if you do not see that. Mine are like earthworm with some bits of black dirt inside. I guess it is the potting soil.
Peat is probably cleaner because maybe it has less fine particles of dirth? not sure why mine are dirthy and not yours but I can only think of the peat vs earth.
Does anybody know where I can buy them in states?
hendri
Hendri,
You Can get them from Dan Ogrizek:
ogrizekdan@gmail.com
(303)405-6242
I have brought from him in the past and happy with the service. He has been culturing all types of live food for years. He advertises in the back of TFH. I also think a member on here "white worm" sells them?
Kenny
What I have is a bit big maybe but I have spead the culture in different spots and added litte pieces of milk soaked bread here and there. is that ok?
Soaking bread in milk tends to go mouldy quickly. I just use water I add a little dried yeast to some warm water and soak the bread in it. Works well and the woms multiply quickly.
Joe