Vinegar eels

(start-up)

Place the culture in a jar of very vinegary water, throw in a piece of apple, and forget about it... You will quickly get millions of microscopic worms to feed your most delicate fry!

The vinegar eels are very small nematode worms that live in an acidic environment like vinegar, where they feed on bacteria. They therefore have no place in an aquarium or a pond!
However, some aquarists raise them because they are very useful prey for very small fry. Larger than infusoria but much finer than Artemia nauplii or young daphnia, they are well suited to the mouth size of certain oviparous fish fry. Of course, they will need to be filtered before being distributed, to avoid introducing the acidity of vinegar into the breeding aquarium!
To raise them, simply place the culture in a jar or a wide-necked bottle filled halfway with water and halfway with vinegar. Choose unpasteurized apple cider vinegar, and add a piece of apple (or a core) to promote the growth of bacteria. Ideally, place your culture in a dark and cool room, such as a cellar or garage.
For the harvest, use a syringe to take a few milliliters of the vinegar from the surface and pour it into the bottom of a test tube. Introduce a piece of cotton (or synthetic wadding) up to the level of the vinegar, then fill the test tube with pure water. The nematodes will rise to seek oxygen in the pure water part, and after one or two hours, you can use the syringe to take this water and pour it into your breeding tank. The nematodes will survive in the water until the fry eat them, but they will be unable to reproduce in it.
We provide you with the starting stock, which will allow you to start your breeding.

Indicative Pds: 16.2g