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Re: [Killietalk] Killietalk Digest, Vol 60, Issue 29

Message: 5
Date: Sun, 13 Jul 2008 10:37:10 -0500
From: "Tomoko Schum" <tomokoschum at knology_net>
Subject: [Killietalk] Questions about Grindal worms on poly media
To: <killietalk at aka_org>

Hi y'all,



Thanks to the help I received on this list, my grindal worms have been
growing very well on polyfill for a few months now.

Now I have a few questions.
My first question concerns harvesting.  Do you find laying an acrylic sheet
on top of the media the easiest way to harvest the worms?

I have cut the lid from the plastic box I keep the worms in to cover 80% of the polyfill. The cat food and worms are under this. Simply wash off the worms into a container and squirt the liquid & worms into the tanks.

Here is a link to my Fish page and the with out dirt culture pictures:
http://inkmkr.com/Fish/LiveFoods/WithOutDirt/index.htm#10



I have been just collecting balls of pure worms that congregate at the edge
of their food.  Since I use green Scotch Brite pad as the top layer, I can
see grindal worms really well.

However, I sometimes end up picking up their food, too.  I have a few
acrylic sheets that I can use to collect worms and I am wondering if laying
an acrylic sheet makes it easier to collect the worms.

I think it does. Certainly it offers a place the worms can crawl out of the way of the masses.


My second question is about the frequency of media cleaning/sub culturing.

How often do you clean the poly fill sheet?

Do you just throw away bottom layers of poly fill and start a new culture by
using the top sheet?

I wash mine off every 3 weeks or so. I change the liquid completely every other day, pour off the liquid and add more dechlorinated water.




I see a lot of tiny brown dots in the media.  They are not moving at all.
Are they poop?  Do grindal worms have egg capsules/cocoons like earthworms
do?

Yes, they do and those brown dots are the egg capsules. Each contains 3 to 5 worms just like the Red Wiggler, etc.
I will attach a photomicrograph



I need to start a few new cultures at the moment.

I inadvertently contaminated a few grindal worm boxes with microworms.

Microworms seem to be outcompeting the grindal worms for food and grindal
worms are now climbing the wall.

If they are crawling out they are getting away from a deadly situation for them. 2 much waste, bad food, etc. Usually in these cultures the small over take the larger unless the small is at the bottom of the food chain, ie being eaten




I am not sure if grindal worms are looking for a new home due to the
shortage of food or space.

Their media seems to be getting foul quickly after the microworm invasion.



Your help will be greatly appreciated.



Tomoko
--
I recommend Macs to my friends, and Windows machines
to those whom I don't mind billing by the hour.


Attachment: GrindalEggCapsules791.jpg
Description: JPEG image

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