Thank you! A big problem now a days is finding a good seller on ebay who will sell you more than just a few like 20 worms for $15-$20.. Its ridiculous! It should be a solid chunk like what you took to start yours. If I was selling these I would be embarrassed to sell someone that tiny amount of worms.. Yes i literally counted only 21 worms. Ive bought 4 online and they have all been small.. UGH!!
This is my exact issue, plus getting several sellers who send the worms in a sealed baggy, in a paper mailer to get hot and squished. Most of the worms suffocated and drown in the condensation. of 6 cultures I bought, 1 came with some live worms, and even then, it was a small ball the size of a pea of them clumped together. Its gotten very frustrating. This last seller even said they sell their worms measured out by weight of worms and not media etc. Which was a total lie. Anyway, I have the little amount of worms still going and growing, but not anywhere close to being able to feed any of my fish without having to use the entire culture.
For me, I believe most need enough worms to be able to feed their fish right away, sustainably, keeping the culture started. I have noticed a couple sellers will specify their worms as "ready to feed". Which am now wondering if there is more worms in their listing. Who knows. I am at the point of giving up completely on buying anymore worms of any kind online. I have 1 seller that I bought a good amount of vinegar eels from that I will be checking out what else hes got. But aside from that, I am done with ebay.
Excellent Information and Video. I have the same size Group of Apisto Orange Flash and Triple Reds growing out in a 55g. No White Worm Culture YET! Time to get started.
David - In the spirit of giving back ... following your lead I've experimented and made some process improvements... Since the wheat bread is almost a waste, I stopped using it. Instead, I make a mix of whole wheat flour, powdered chicken starter, and corn meal in a 4:2:1 ratio. I fluff the bedding prior to feeding with ss plant tongs. Fluffing aerates the bedding and allows be to better monitor moisture, population and bedding density. I sprinkle the mix on the surface of the bedding, I mist with water, then I plop on 2-3 dollops of homemade yogurt that contains 6 live probiotic yogurt bacteria cultures. When the population density is great, I either split the culture or I harvest the entire bin by placing on a heating mat set on high. In about an hour, nearly all worms exit the bedding to escape the heat. Some will start a new culture, most will feed the fish. With excess worms, I use silicone ice cube trays and freeze them. I was simply culturing on my unheated basement floor which was fine for fall/winter/spring, but worms began to suffer in the heat of summer (basement now at 70~°F). Instead of a wine cooler, I repurposed a dorm size refrigerator using an Inkbird ITC-308 controller set at 58°F so the temperature is 55°F-60°F. It all seems to be working very well! mjvaquatics.com/white-worms/
David - Thanks for the great video. I follow your recommendations on potting soil and I use the same type of bread, yogurt, yeast flakes and a wine cooler for my white worm cultures. My issue is the culture gets way too wet. I have to drain the containers weekly or they turn into muddy puddles. I also don't get the numbers you are. Any thoughts on the moisture izzue? Thanks.
Sounds like either your yogurt is way too runny or the media is too wet to start with. If your containers are rectangular, move an inch or so of the media away from one end. Roll up paper towels and fill in the empty space. If possible prop up the container so the excess moisture drains downhill into the paper towel. I have done that lots of time to dry out a container.
I'm following your suggestions, worms LOVE❤️ THE FOOD. Can you over feed? I'm getting hairy mold on the bread. But there's tonnes of worms on the slices, so I don't want to throw it out. How do you get them off the bread?
@@GrowAndEatThis hey thanks for responding, much appreciated 👍. I know you are a gardner too. I raise enc, anc, and reds. I'm trying to use some of these principles with the cultures. Orr are they completely different? Happy easter to you too!!
I finally received my white worms today.. I used peat and whole wheat bread and GV whole milk Greek yogurt and nutritional yeast and put it in my little fridge. Did everything you said and hoping for the best. Are you in Dekalb, Illinois or Dekalb county Georgia?
@@GrowAndEatThis WOW if I had known that I would've asked if you wanted to sell me a starter culture. I go down to Sandy Springs every Tuesday. Do you happen to keep Daphnia? I'm close to Dalton GA
I take out old food and replace with new every 2-3 days. Eaten or not. I do not want any mold and I always want the worms eating fresh food to get maximum production.
I say in the video that some people use coco coir. I have never used it. I show how the soil looks when it is time to replace. How long that takes depends on how many worms you are raising. I get about 3 months out of a culture before I need to start swapping out the old soil with fresh.
The plastic mesh on top of the food will eventually get worms on the mesh as they eat down into the food. Easy and clean to harvest when they are on the mesh. 67F is going to be close to too warm, but if that is the best you can do give it a try.
So it’s OK to use potting soil? Is that not fertilizer in the ones you’re using? I figured that would cause problems to the worms and then later on the fish.
Even the bags that say they have potting soil in them are still safe. There is so little fertilizer in the bag that the worms will never know it is there.
HELP! I used to culture these successfully all year long, then 1 summer they stopped reproducing because it got hot, and then the culture started to get filled with clouds of mold for every tiny little piece of food I'd add in... so I started a new culture with new substrate and added some worms over... for a week they did great and were growing fast... then the mold started again and now I'm back to having problems... if I add ANY amount of food, within a few hours the entire bin gets completely covered in mold... and it looks like cotton candy... we're talking a 3" poof of mold sitting on top of the entire culture...
The only thing that concerns me about feeding white worms, and this is just from my lack of experience. But is there any concern for disease from feeding white worms?
Don't feed dead worms. Since the white worms are 'dirt' worms they will pose little risk of disease to 'water' animals. Just be sure to rinse in clean water before feeding.
If it is really bad you will have to basically start over. Fix up new culture media containers. Then take some of the infested stuff and submerge in water. Pour off the mites that float. Add more water. Stir things up again to get more mites up and floating. Do this several times, then drain out as much water as possible and add the remaining culture and worms to one of the new setups you have made. You are going to have to watch these new ones very closely for mites. The worms will survive being in water for several hours. Then be very diligent about feeding small amounts and taking out any left over food before adding more food. You can also chase the worms to the top with heat at the bottom. Put the culture on a heat mat or lot towel. That will give you more worms, along with mites, to do the water floating steps. You can beat this in white worms, it just takes a while!
Thank you! A big problem now a days is finding a good seller on ebay who will sell you more than just a few like 20 worms for $15-$20.. Its ridiculous! It should be a solid chunk like what you took to start yours. If I was selling these I would be embarrassed to sell someone that tiny amount of worms.. Yes i literally counted only 21 worms. Ive bought 4 online and they have all been small.. UGH!!
This is my exact issue, plus getting several sellers who send the worms in a sealed baggy, in a paper mailer to get hot and squished. Most of the worms suffocated and drown in the condensation. of 6 cultures I bought, 1 came with some live worms, and even then, it was a small ball the size of a pea of them clumped together. Its gotten very frustrating. This last seller even said they sell their worms measured out by weight of worms and not media etc. Which was a total lie. Anyway, I have the little amount of worms still going and growing, but not anywhere close to being able to feed any of my fish without having to use the entire culture.
For me, I believe most need enough worms to be able to feed their fish right away, sustainably, keeping the culture started. I have noticed a couple sellers will specify their worms as "ready to feed". Which am now wondering if there is more worms in their listing. Who knows. I am at the point of giving up completely on buying anymore worms of any kind online. I have 1 seller that I bought a good amount of vinegar eels from that I will be checking out what else hes got. But aside from that, I am done with ebay.
Excellent Information and Video. I have the same size Group of Apisto Orange Flash and Triple Reds growing out in a 55g. No White Worm Culture YET! Time to get started.
David - In the spirit of giving back ... following your lead I've experimented and made some process improvements...
Since the wheat bread is almost a waste, I stopped using it. Instead, I make a mix of whole wheat flour, powdered chicken starter, and corn meal in a 4:2:1 ratio. I fluff the bedding prior to feeding with ss plant tongs. Fluffing aerates the bedding and allows be to better monitor moisture, population and bedding density. I sprinkle the mix on the surface of the bedding, I mist with water, then I plop on 2-3 dollops of homemade yogurt that contains 6 live probiotic yogurt bacteria cultures. When the population density is great, I either split the culture or I harvest the entire bin by placing on a heating mat set on high. In about an hour, nearly all worms exit the bedding to escape the heat. Some will start a new culture, most will feed the fish. With excess worms, I use silicone ice cube trays and freeze them. I was simply culturing on my unheated basement floor which was fine for fall/winter/spring, but worms began to suffer in the heat of summer (basement now at 70~°F). Instead of a wine cooler, I repurposed a dorm size refrigerator using an Inkbird ITC-308 controller set at 58°F so the temperature is 55°F-60°F. It all seems to be working very well!
mjvaquatics.com/white-worms/
Interesting trick the heating mat. I was just wondering how to transfer the worms when the soil becomes a compact mass of mud. Will try with the mat
Good watch always! You’re the best at this!
Thanks!! That was helpful. I thought the worms would eat the bread so I would leave it in longer. Maybe this is the reason my culture never takes off!
I can't wait for the Iinstallnent!? That Yogurt looks yum yum! Can we please have a fish room tour. Thanks.
Hi David . Your video it’s excelente .
David, thank you for the tutorial.
Love the video. Thanks David. Very informative.
where did you get white worms to begin with?
Got the wine cooler today. Excited for the future of my worms. Hopefully it works🪱🪱
Hey Elizabeth, how did the wine cooler work?
@@shawndoe2834 it’s been amazing! Works perfectly. Worms are still doing very well!!!!
Thank you for this info.
David - Thanks for the great video. I follow your recommendations on potting soil and I use the same type of bread, yogurt, yeast flakes and a wine cooler for my white worm cultures. My issue is the culture gets way too wet. I have to drain the containers weekly or they turn into muddy puddles. I also don't get the numbers you are. Any thoughts on the moisture izzue? Thanks.
Sounds like either your yogurt is way too runny or the media is too wet to start with. If your containers are rectangular, move an inch or so of the media away from one end. Roll up paper towels and fill in the empty space. If possible prop up the container so the excess moisture drains downhill into the paper towel. I have done that lots of time to dry out a container.
Has anyone tried culturing them with just yoghurt and yeast, and skipping the bread? Just thinking of ways to avoid mites 🙂
I'm following your suggestions, worms LOVE❤️ THE FOOD. Can you over feed? I'm getting hairy mold on the bread. But there's tonnes of worms on the slices, so I don't want to throw it out. How do you get them off the bread?
Moldy bread has to go! I use my scraper to scrape off some of the worms with the dirt on them. The res just goes into the compost.
@@GrowAndEatThis hey thanks for responding, much appreciated 👍. I know you are a gardner too. I raise enc, anc, and reds. I'm trying to use some of these principles with the cultures. Orr are they completely different? Happy easter to you too!!
Good Video Man
Great video, was that triple red pair in a five gallon ?
Is the wine cooler 54 all the time or was that because the door was open?
Cooler is set to 53F or 55F. Either one works great.
My worms are escaping pretty bad what am I doing wrong I try my soils moist but seems like they do Bette the wetter the soil
They will try to escape if the the soil is too wet. Roll up a paper towel and put at one end to soak up the excess water.
Hi David, would you use the same system for Grindal worms?
Grindals are very different. Same potting mix, but I feed them a good quality dry dog or cat food. The cold would kill them.
I was raising more mites than worms. 😑 I tried so hard to eliminate the mites. Didn't happen 😕 I gave up.
I finally received my white worms today.. I used peat and whole wheat bread and GV whole milk Greek yogurt and nutritional yeast and put it in my little fridge. Did everything you said and hoping for the best. Are you in Dekalb, Illinois or Dekalb county Georgia?
Gwinnett County Georgia
@@GrowAndEatThis WOW if I had known that I would've asked if you wanted to sell me a starter culture. I go down to Sandy Springs every Tuesday. Do you happen to keep Daphnia?
I'm close to Dalton GA
How many times a week do you put in and take out new bread/yeast worm food
I take out old food and replace with new every 2-3 days. Eaten or not. I do not want any mold and I always want the worms eating fresh food to get maximum production.
Do you have to use soil? Can you use coco coir as bedding? How often do you replace the soil when it has become mostly worm castings.
I say in the video that some people use coco coir. I have never used it. I show how the soil looks when it is time to replace. How long that takes depends on how many worms you are raising. I get about 3 months out of a culture before I need to start swapping out the old soil with fresh.
Hi David, What is the plastic mesh used for? Also I don't have a wine cooler. it's about 67 degrees in the house, is that too hot?
of course I should watch to the end before commenting. I guess I need the Wine Cooler
The plastic mesh on top of the food will eventually get worms on the mesh as they eat down into the food. Easy and clean to harvest when they are on the mesh. 67F is going to be close to too warm, but if that is the best you can do give it a try.
About to start my first white worm culture just waiting for wine fridge to arrive what’s the best temp do you think and what is that screen you use
the wine cooler will probably have a preset for 55F. That is what I have mine set at. Year after year, same temp.
So it’s OK to use potting soil? Is that not fertilizer in the ones you’re using? I figured that would cause problems to the worms and then later on the fish.
Even the bags that say they have potting soil in them are still safe. There is so little fertilizer in the bag that the worms will never know it is there.
Quick question….does it matter if it’s low fat yogurt?…it has the live cultures in it.
I have used low fat when I could not get the full fat. Just be sure it has the live cultures. That is the important part.
HELP! I used to culture these successfully all year long, then 1 summer they stopped reproducing because it got hot, and then the culture started to get filled with clouds of mold for every tiny little piece of food I'd add in... so I started a new culture with new substrate and added some worms over... for a week they did great and were growing fast... then the mold started again and now I'm back to having problems... if I add ANY amount of food, within a few hours the entire bin gets completely covered in mold... and it looks like cotton candy... we're talking a 3" poof of mold sitting on top of the entire culture...
It will go away . X-Ray the cotton stuff with water. It will collapse down. Throw it away. May have to do a few times but it will stop.
The only thing that concerns me about feeding white worms, and this is just from my lack of experience. But is there any concern for disease from feeding white worms?
Don't feed dead worms. Since the white worms are 'dirt' worms they will pose little risk of disease to 'water' animals. Just be sure to rinse in clean water before feeding.
David, how to get white worm in backyard???
you have to get the initial worms from someone. They die in hot soil.
From where we can get firt starter sir?
Starter has to come from someone who has them already. Try local fish club. Don't know where you are so they may be hard to find.
How to get rid of mites ? They are spreading like fire in my cultures
If it is really bad you will have to basically start over. Fix up new culture media containers. Then take some of the infested stuff and submerge in water. Pour off the mites that float. Add more water. Stir things up again to get more mites up and floating. Do this several times, then drain out as much water as possible and add the remaining culture and worms to one of the new setups you have made. You are going to have to watch these new ones very closely for mites. The worms will survive being in water for several hours. Then be very diligent about feeding small amounts and taking out any left over food before adding more food. You can also chase the worms to the top with heat at the bottom. Put the culture on a heat mat or lot towel. That will give you more worms, along with mites, to do the water floating steps. You can beat this in white worms, it just takes a while!
cannot find site
davidwiththefish.com/
Looks great, i just wish you would use gloves or some tools to work with the worms but thats just my paranoia 😊👍
Your new video says they eat the bread
I tried the yeast bread and yogurt but it was to expensive and too much work. I resulted with feeding high quality dog food
Did it work just as well.