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RE: Where can I get invert cultures?

Nestor-
I have lived in Florida since 1977.  I have lived in Gainesville, Tampa, and
now reside in Tallahassee.  Dealing with the heat is always a concern.   I
culture micro worms in those plastic Dixie cups you use see at parties and
picnics.  The solid colors, I've never tried the clear.  I use Gerber mixed
grain baby cereal prepared with tap water in a coffee cup in the microwave.
I keep adding cereal until it's of a cooked oatmeal consistency.  I fill
several Dixie cups with about 2 inches of the cooked cereal mixture.  Let
the mixture cool to room temp and add some micro worms from an existing
culture.  Next, I cover the cup with a square of clear plastic cut from a
fish bag and secure it with a rubber band.  Then I poke a small hole in the
center of the plastic cover using whatever is handy (i.e. toothpick, sharp
pencil).  The plastic cover contains any smell.  I add tank water to the
cultures when they look like they are drying out.  Sometimes I stir the
water in, sometimes I don't.   Once the culture takes off you will see the
worms accumulate on the white insides of the Dixie cup.  To extract the
worms I have used tongue depressors, chopsticks, and my finger.  The best
thing I have used is a paintbrush.  I can walk from tank to tank with the
culture in hand and dab the appropriate amount of worms into each tank with
the paintbrush.  Works great.

For my grindal worm cultures, which also have a tendency to smell here in
the south, I use Pretty Pet brand baby iguana food.  It comes in pellet form
and the grindals love it and are more prolific than on any other food I have
tried.  This food also loads the worms with nutrients, which ultimately wind
up in the fish.  Another GREAT advantage is that this particular brand of
iguana food smells like Fruit Loops!!!  The result being, your grindal worm
cultures have a mild pleasant smell.  I also throw 3 or 4 pellets in my
micro worm cultures for this reason.

Hope this helps.

Be good to yourself,
		      Brett
___________________________
Brett Kemker, Ph.D.
Dept. of Communication Disorders
The Florida State University
Tallahassee, Fl. 32306-1200
Ph:850.644.2238
Fax:850.644.8994

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-killietalk at aka_org [mailto:owner-killietalk at aka_org]On Behalf Of
Nesdive at aol_com
Sent: Thursday, February 03, 2000 4:09 PM
To: killietalk at aka_org
Subject: Re: Where can I get invert cultures?

Hi Brett
Where in Florida are you from?
I'm from Miami Beach and we experience some very specific parameters in our
aquariums. Lots of heat all year round, extremely hard water, and not very
many real Pet Shops around.
My microworm cultures were set up in shoe boxes because I needed a lot of
microworms ( I breed angelfish) , but my average temperature is in the high
70s or low 80s, and the yeast , even in small quantities, causes the worm
mix
to sort of cook, and this results in the odor that I experienced.
I haven't found a solution yet (except for putting the culture as far away
from my wife as possible), but on the plus side, one shoe box generates
enough worms to feed any and all spawns in a very short time.
Nestor
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