HOW TO - Cultivate Whiteworms

cultivate White Worms

by Mark Paterson

One of the most common live foods you can culture for fish, reptiles, invertebrates or small amphibians are white worms Enchytraeus albidus and they have been used since the early days of fishkeeping as they will live underwater for several hours, are eaten by most fish and are fairly easy to maintain. They are white in colour, 1 mm in diameter and grow to 30 mm long. Their nutritional value consists of 70% protein, 14.5% lipids, 5.5% minerals and 10% carbohydrates so they are excellent for conditioning fish for breeding but as they contain a lot of fats they should be fed as part of a varied diet. White worms are hermaphrodites, so each individual has both male and female reproductive organs. During copulation worms exchange sperm cells and can lay eggs 12 days later. In ideal conditions, white worms can reproduce very rapidly and increase their population exponentially. They need a cool dark environment with a temperature range of 12–21 °C. White worms mature faster at higher temperatures but they will slow down above 21 °C and die at temperatures lower than 5 °C. A watertight container (non-transparent containers are better as they don’t like light) with a tight-fitting lid, such as a large ice cream container, is suitable for a white worm culture. You will need to puncture several air holes in the lid. The holes should not exceed 2 mm in order to prevent contamination from insects such as ants, beetles, flies, and mites. If you use a plastic container you will need to routinely mix the culture media as plastic doesn’t ‘breathe’

well and the culture may sour. Wooden containers also work well and can ‘breathe’. Half fill the container with peat and/or compost for the culture to live in. Don’t use commercial compost with fertilisers in it. A good substrate consists of a 1:1 mixture of soil and peat moss as this creates a substrate that will remain loose under moist conditions and provide adequate air flow. You can use soil from the garden but you will need to bake the substrate in an oven or microwave at a high temperature for 20 minutes or so to kill any possible bugs or bacteria that may be in it, which may compete with the worms for food. Adding a small amount of aquarium charcoal may help reduce the smell of the culture. The substrate needs to be damp but not wet for the worms to do well, i.e. if you squeezed a handful of substrate just a few drops of water would come out. You will also need a small spray bottle for water so you can spray the soil and food so it is moist but not soaking wet. For food to sustain the worms a small amount of dry cat food, pond pellets, oatmeal, a quarter slice of bread or a thin slice of luncheon seem to work well. If the food goes mouldy take it out and replace with fresh food. Place a small piece of glass or Perspex® on top of the food that is about half the size of the container. This will help when harvesting the worms. To harvest them, lift the glass or Perspex and remove the worms with a small paint brush or wash them into a glass with a spray bottle. Another very efficient method is to lay a mesh material on top of the substrate and place the food on top, the white worms will gather in a mound on the top of the mesh making it possible to collect a large amount of white worms without the soil. Remember white worms like it fairly dark and will start to dig back into the dirt once the lid is removed so don’t take too long harvesting them. It is advisable to feed white worms in a bare bottom tank. Otherwise, feed slowly through a pipette or a worm feeder. White worms will remain alive underwater for several hours. As with all foods, uneaten white worms should be removed to prevent water pollution. Lastly, don’t overfeed white worms since fish will greedily feed on them. Regular maintenance is crucial in order to maintain peak production in a white worm culture. Without regular maintenance, a culture can quickly crash. It is worth keeping two cultures going so you have a backup if one crashes.

Mark Paterson

References: https://www.fishlaboratory.com/fish/whiteworm-culture-enchytraeus-albidus https://cflas.org/2014/07/19/white-worm-care-sheet/