Neptun
Grindal worm (grindal) is very good as a food for feeding young fish, in addition, it can be used for feeding small fish species. It is relatively easy to breed at home independently. Therefore, it deserves the attention of aquarium fish lovers.
Latin: Enchytraeus buchholzi
English: grindal
This worm is quite small 0.5 to 1.2 cm long with a diameter of about 0.4 mm.
The reproductive capacity of the grindal worm is enormous. Under the right conditions, it can double its biomass every three days. We will try to create such ideal conditions.
Grindal worm breeding
It is better to breed it in boxes made of non-coniferous boards. Approximate dimensions of the container for breeding 20x15x8 centimeters. The box must be tightly closed from above with plywood or glass, so that various insects or their larvae do not get into the nutrient substrate. The distance between the substrate and glass should be equal to about 1.5 centimeters. In addition to insect protection, a glass cover or a cover made of other material will prevent the soil in which the grindalis develops from drying out.
Do not use metal, glass or plastic crates for cultivating grindalas, as they are very poorly air permeable. Therefore, a favorable microclimate will not be achieved in them, which will reduce the productivity of your plantation or lead to the death of your grindaloo plantation.
Substrate
Cubes of loose top peat, boiled before use, have proven to be the best soil. You can also use scalded with boiling water long-fiber moss sphagnum. In the literature, you can find positive feedback on the use of soil of the following composition: peat, forest earth and pine needles mixed in equal amounts. Peat mixed in half with humus from deciduous forests is also used.
Before using the prepared soil, it is better to disinfect it by boiling it in water for about two hours. If this is not done, insects, whose larvae have been dormant in the soil and peat, may develop in such soil after mixing it with nutrients other than grindal. The development of mites is especially to be feared. If this happens after starting the culture of grindal, it should be separated from the mites before continuing its breeding. Do this by placing the soil in water. The grindal worm will sink to the bottom and the mites will flotate to the surface of the waterб the mites should be destroyed. The substrate and the box should be disinfected as described above. Only then can you continue breeding Enchytraeus buchholzi.
After disinfecting the substrate, nutrient mixtures are added and the grindalium culture is started.
It is better to keep the substrate temperature at 18 – 23 degrees Celsius. At lower temperatures the reproduction of Enchytraeus buchholzi is delayed. At higher temperatures, there is an increased risk of dormant mite larvae developing. If the substrate temperature rises to 30 degrees Celsius, the grindal will try to leave the box to escape the heat or die.
Grindal what to feed?
Despite its small size, the grindal worm is very voracious. The grindal should be fed every day.
The nutrient mixture is prepared from alcoholic yeast and finely ground oat flakes scalded with boiling water. One tablespoon of this nutrient mixture is added to the substrate and mixed thoroughly.
Once – twice a week, fish oil, vitamins, oatmeal-based infant formulae, tolkono should also be added to the substrate. Well-established feedings with low-fat and non-sharp cheese. To do this, cheese is dried. Then rubbed on a grater into small shavings. After that, let it dry completely. After the cheese shavings are completely dry, they are ground into cheese flour. You can use a coffee grinder for this purpose.
The resulting cheese flour can be mixed with dried nettle powder, dandelion powder or even lettuce leaves. For five parts of flour, one part of vegetable powder is used. This feed is also added to the substrate once or twice a week.
To feed fish with grindalum, it should be separated from the substrate. To do this, the substrate with worms is placed in a kapron net, which is lowered into the water in the same way as when washing moths. Worms through its cells crawl out into the water. Excess water is drained. The grindal remaining in the dish can be fed to the fish. When feeding grindal to fish, make sure that the food is eaten completely. Grindal can live in the water for only about one day. Therefore, if part of it is not eaten by the fish buried in the sand, it will die there and decompose and spoil the water.
Grindal worm to spare
The grindalus can be stored in stock. For this purpose, it is separated from the substrate as described above. Cleaned and washed worms can be folded in a thin layer in a slightly moistened cloth. In this form at a temperature of zero degrees Celsius grindal can be stored for about three months with virtually no loss.
Hope you enjoyed the article and enjoy your fish.
If you have any other questions – ask them in the comments. I will try to answer them. And if I can’t, then perhaps one of the regular visitors of the site will be able to answer them.
