90 replies to this topic

[plsharevme]

hello, if this topic still live? now I currently have 4 containers grindal worm.

 

first containers is buy from started worm and is very well establish but now it almost full of mites 70% mite 30% worm, how i can remove the mites?  

can i just fill the container with full of water and let it 2 or 3 hour to kill those mites?

 

the second container is spit from above containers it appear also some mites and how can i reduce the amount of mites? it beding is souring pad (hard pad) i use 4 pad and the water level i fill untill 3/4 of the pad it is correct?

 

the third container i use sponges, i learn from this thread but when i put water untill full cover the bottom sponges it float, how to make it no float? lol, newbie here.

 

i feed my worm oatmeal just want to ask is organic oat more better? use oat as food will couse grain mites?

 

is new culture how long to take to well establish conlony? 

 

thanks

[gerald]

I would try to separate enough worms from the mites (using water) to start a new clean culture, and keep it in a different room where it is less likely to get re-infested.  Destroy all the mite-infested cultures and don't keep anything else that might sustain mites in that room for a few months.  Good luck! 

[plsharevme]

I would try to separate enough worms from the mites (using water) to start a new clean culture, and keep it in a different room where it is less likely to get re-infested.  Destroy all the mite-infested cultures and don't keep anything else that might sustain mites in that room for a few months.  Good luck! 

thank today I separate worm and mites by water, I think grindal worm culture easy to populate but also very easy destroy by mites, and the mites alway win vs grindal worm. the time I spend with grindals worm more then I spend with my fish. Lols

 

However how long to take grindals worm from the new colony to establish?

[plsharevme]

 

Just update, how to get rid of mites, if your base is sponge pad then is much more easy with this method is fill the container full of water until excess top pad, then just pour the water slowly away, repeat this step few times. let most of the mites out of the box, the water in the box I use 4 pad, the water level I fill until over 1 1/2 or 2 pad.

 

Tips: 

 

• I find out if use cat food or dog food it quite smelly, I use oatmeal pure 1 the smell will cut down quite a lot.
• If you put too many waters inside it also will cause smelly, make sure the surface no too dry.
• DO no feed too much of food, make sure it finishes eat within 24hours
• Use sponge base is a better option as it more easy to maintain and the soil method need alway change base as long as use it become acid.
• soil base more easy to attract mites, when it infected with mites it very hard to rescue compare to sponge base.
• The level of water is half of your sponge or 30% of your sponge, each time feed worm spread surface to wet.
• It very hard to keep the mites out 100% when you see the mites inside need take a step to prevent it grow more than worm.
• Mites are more like smelly food like cat or dog food, put few into the containers after few hours throw the pallet will remove most mites and use water to remove most mites as mention above.
• When the worm is more then mites and it success make territories the mites will slowly become less and less same if mites more then worm then worm become less and less.
• Last tips when start culture worms the key is patient patient patient. Early of a stage, you will see no much progress but after the end, you will see grindal worm is growing so fast and consume a lot of food.

Thanks and sorry for my bad English. I just new register hope can contribute some experience bad or good.

[gerald]

THANK YOU plsharevme ... Excellent advice !  I've always had trouble keeping grindal worms and will save this.  I've edited your text below to make it smoother English.  Your meaning is very clear in most cases, so editing for grammar was easy to do.   If there's anything I messed up or misinterpreted, please fix it.

 

How to get rid of mites in a Grindal Worm culture:  If your base material is synthetic fiber scouring pads (rather than soil), it is much easier to eliminate mites.  Fill the container full of water above the top pad, let the mites float to the top, then just pour the water slowly away, and repeat this step few times.  Normally I keep 4 layers of scouring pads and add enough water to cover the bottom 1.5 or 2 pads.  Additional Tips: 

 

• Cat food or dog food can get quite smelly; I use oatmeal which causes much less smell.
• If the water is too deep it can also make the culture smelly.  The surface pad needs to be moist, but not too wet or too dry.
• Do not feed more food than the worms can eat within 24 hours.
• Cultures using sponge or scouring pads are easier to maintain than soil cultures, which must be replaced when they become too acidic.
• Keep the water level between 30% to 50% of the total pad depth. Spread the food on the top pad surface to make it wet. (Use spray bottle to soak food?)
• Soil cultures are more prone to mite infestations, and once infested with mites it harder to rescue the worms, compared to synthetic pads.
• It very hard to keep the mites out 100%. When you see mites, use the water method (above) to remove them before they outcompete the worms.
• Cat food or dog food can be used as bait to attract and remove a lot of mites in a few hours.  Remove and wash the top pad when it is covered with mites.
• The key to starting a worm culture is patience!  During the first couple weeks you will not see much progress (and it is easy to overfeed), but eventually the grindal worms will begin reproducing faster and will consume a lot of food.

[Matt DeLaVega]

Very good. Please start your thread plsharevme if you are interested. Many of us would like to hear updates on culture techniques. Don't worry about English not being your native tongue. It was very understandable. I think it is cool that you are brave enough to post in another language at all. I don't know if I could muster up the courage.

[sromes1]

Guest_EricaWieser I had the same issue with the scouring pads for white worms. seems the cheaper less dense ones work the best but still hafve the worms stay imbedded in them. you ever grow whiteworms soiless?