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White worm cultures are becoming the number one standby of modern fish-keeping for winter feeding. These little white worms, a relative of the earth worm, are about die exact same size as tubifex worms.

They’re cultivated in a big tin containing damp soil, bulb fibre, or peat, and also the nature of the soil should be such that it doesn’t pack tightly, and you should mix lots of leaf-mould with it. The original culture which you insert into the soil might be bought from a fish dealer.

Feed the culture, either by stirring in oatmeal (or drop it into holes in the soil made with a stick or pencil), bread wetted with milk, mashed potatoes, or Bemax. The worms will prosper and multiply. Don’t overfeed, as it’ll turn the soil sour. If this should occur, nevertheless, begin a new culture with some of the worms from the original one.

Place the tin in a cool place, a cellar if accessible is ideal–the greatest temperature is around 60°F.

Prior to feeding white worms to your fish, thoroughly rinse them in water for about an hour to remove any dirt or parasites. A pair of tweezers is helpful for separating worms that have congregated in a bunch.

One of the most helpful additions to an aquarist breeder’s kit is a phial of dried brine shrimp eggs. These eggs aren’t in themselves a food, but when hatched out they offer an outstanding early live food diet.

You are able to hatch the eggs in two-pound jam jars, in which a saline answer has been added. To make the answer, mix a tablespoon of salt with a pint of water thoroughly, shaking the container, then permit it to settle and strain via a piece of muslin to remove any sediment.

Pour this water into the jar and sprinkle some eggs on the surface, and then stand the jar in an aquarium to maintain at a temperature of 75°-80°F. This serves as an incubator.

The eggs will hatch in 48 hours, leaving the small shrimps dancing about in the container. To feed, strain the water via a pad made of a number of thicknesses of muslin, and rinse in the aquarium.

You should only make up quantities sufficient for one feeding in every jar, as the collection of newly hatched shrimps can only be done by straining, unless the salt water is also poured into the tank, and I don’t advise this whenever you are feeding young fry.

Mosquito larvae are an additional food you are able to collect from ponds. They may also be discovered in rain water butts, or even puddles. They hatch from the mosquito egg in a couple of days, and are easily recognised by their wriggly movement.

Their average length is about 0.25 inches, with a knob of a head on a worm-like body, with a Y-shaped end. They should not be given to fish under about 1.5 inches in length as the fish can effortlessly choke themselves.

It is as well to point out that as daphnia and mosquito larvae might be collected from foul pools, they should be rinsed prior to putting into your aquarium.

Cyclops are very little crustaceans, generally discovered in ponds containing daphnia. They’ve the appearance of having only one central eye, and it is for this reason that they’re named after the one-eyed giant in mythology.

These tiny crustaceans might be given to little fry fish just after the infusoria stage, but I think it advisable to feed only the larger fish with them. A double sac containing eggs in some state of development will probably be discovered on the end of the female’s body, and it is most likely these that the fish find so tasty.

Cyclops are usually netted in the exact same way as daphnia, but if a couple of are introduced into a shallow dish of water containing infusoria, they’ll breed rapidly. An old porcelain sink with the drain plug sealed, and sunk into the garden is an perfect container.

Daphnia are one of the best known live foods. They are found in nearly every country in not too clean ponds, though it is not certain that every pond will contain daphnia. The most likely ponds

are those on farms into which a certain quantity of manure finds its way. Whenever you find a daphnia-producing pond, I advise you to guard your secret carefully, lest the news gets around and also the pond is denuded.

How can you tell whether or not there are daphnia present?

A cloud of daphnia seen in a pond looks like a million bugs all crawling, but getting nowhere. The colour of these small crustaceans varies from grey, green, to red. The red coloured are the most sought after, as they’re believed to be the most nutritious.

Daphnia, like fish, require oxygen, and when an oxygen deficiency exists, they behave in the exact same way as fish-they rise to the surface. So on hot, humid days, you’ll see them just under the water’s surface. As daphnia consume oxygen, a big quantity tipped into the aquarium at one time will trigger discomfort to your fish.

Daphnia might be bought from most aquarium supply shops from the spring until autumn, or cultivated in the exact same way as cyclops. They could be graded to suit little fish, by straining in a big strainer comparable to those utilized for straining baby foods, or an old wire mesh tea strainer.

Dried Daphnia

Daphnia may also be obtained in a dried form. I see no reason why it should not be an outstanding food in this form, but it is rather left to speculation as to how a lot of the goodness is destroyed in the drying procedure. Apart from that, dried daphnia has the benefit of being effortlessly stored, and might be utilized when fresh daphnia is out of season.