Microworms - How to keep and culture them?

[shawnhu]

I bought a culture of Microworms from the NEDA auction, and need help in keeping them thriving as a culture. Could anyone point me in the right direction?

[arabu1973]

Mix some powdered flake oats with water just enough to make it a soft paste and put it in a plastic container say 4"x8" , the paste to be 0.5" deep, make some small holes in the lid (use a small needle), add the culture on top of the mix. To be sure that you do it right make two cultures because you need very little to start a new one.

[shawnhu]

Thanks for the info.

A few more questions. What temp should they be stored in, and how long does this food supply for the worms last? Any common mistakes that can be avoided by a novice at keeping these worms going?

[ShinShin]

Keep them on the warm side. Start a new culture about every three weeks as the tend to collapse. You should have several going at once.

Mat

[arabu1973]

I keep mine at room temperature. I have 3 cultures going at any given time that i start 3 week after the one before so every box i use it for 8-9 weeks before i empty and clean the box and start again with fresh culture taken from the box thats next for cleaning in 3 weeks time.

[shawnhu]

Thanks for that. I guess I'll have to remove mine from the fridge then!

[bs6749]

Thanks for the info.

A few more questions. What temp should they be stored in, and how long does this food supply for the worms last? Any common mistakes that can be avoided by a novice at keeping these worms going?

I use corn meal and make the "corn meal mush" as per the directions on the back. I also make sure that it is more of a paste than a liquid when it is "done". I put them into sandwhich sized tupperware containers and let them cool. Then I add a little bit of water so that there is a thin layer over the corn meal mush. It should all be the same consistency after you mix the water and corn meal together in the container. I used a knife to cut holes in the lid. I don't seal the lids onto the containers, rather I lay them gently so that they get more airflow. I get 5 weeks out of these cultures unlike the yeast ones which tend to go downhill after 3 weeks. It is much easier to do this way in my opinion since you don't need yeast that most others recommend. Keep them on top of a tank and that should provide the perfect temp for them. I keep mine below a tank in my fishroom. Keep multiple cultures at once that way if one goes bad you still have a backup. Might want to stagger them by 2 weeks or so.

[Bilbo_wh]

2 ways that work.

For super fast but short life cultures: Soak a slice of bread in warm water. Sprinkle yeast over the top or use a yeast spead (We have marmite or vegemite here). Add worms and keep on top of your tank so its quite warm. Worms go nuts for about 2 weeks then it stinks.

Slow but better: 1/2 to 1 cup of porridge made as per recipe but 1/2 tsp sugar instead of salt. Leave to cool and sprinkle yeast over the top. Add worms. I use a tub about 15cm square (TipTop icecream container) and the mix is about 2 cm deep. Cover and keep warm. Should last a month or more.

Very handy quick tip for collecting without making a mess. After culture has started to take off (about 3 days) cover 1/2 your culture with a damp paper hand towel. Simply use a plastic spoon and scrape off pure worms by the spoonful from the top of the paper towel. If the paper towel starts to break apart then get stronger towels :-). Public bathrooms in malls usually have the best roughest and toughest hand trying paper towels.

[mmorris]

I bought a culture of Microworms from the NEDA auction, and need help in keeping them thriving as a culture. Could anyone point me in the right direction?

Hi Shawn, that must have been one of my cultures you purchased. I pulverize Quick Quaker Oatmeal in the coffee grinder (clean first!:D). I mix it with water and let it set a few minutes. The oatmeal seems to absorb water for a bit so add more water if necessary until you have a thinnish paste. Sprinkle yeast over the surface and add a tablespoon or so from the old culture. Don't stir. Wipe the sides very clean and then when you want to culture some worms, wipe them off the sides with your finger. If you wiped the sides clean when you made the culture, you won't be dumping oatmeal into the water instead of worms. Like others have said, room temp. and a breathing hole. I stuffed a bit of ladies' nylon in the hole to keep out the fruit flies (with varying success). You'll know by the looks of the culture when it's time to restart it. ;)