# Sticky  Live food Pool - GTA Buddy System



## Sunstar

*Live food Pool - GTA Bug Buddy System*

Live Food Bug Buddies...

Okay, here is an idea that might be something we should really think about doing. After the green water discussion, perhaps it is best to put it here.

Live foods are sort of hard to come by, and if there is away to group together a group who are willing to swap for genetic diversity, trade for something you need or sell to those who have nothing to start with.

This can serve purpose of acquiring live foods, or helping if a culture crashes and no back up is available.

Anyone in for this? Anyone wants to help me figure this out? I need rules of guide lines.

I was thinking we can keep our names in a list for what we want, what we are looking for.

UPDATE: Going to Update the list. Come on Bug Buddies :3

Your thoughts?

Live Food Haves:

Sunstar: Microworms, vinegar eels, 
wng368: Baby Brine Shrimp (is this a culture?)
UnderTheSea: Phytoplankton, Live Rotifier culture (In progress)
Zebrapl3co: white worms
Ppulcher: Vinegar Eels, Red worms (In Progress)
juanitow: red worms
newbiefishfanatic: Pond snails (On the house)
Blossom112: Guppy fry, Vinegar Eels, Microworms (poor little slags) (almost all gone, I repeat, poor little slags)
Bigshark: red ramshorns, Microworms
Slobodan: daphnia, microworms, white worms

Live Food Wants:
theeyrietrainer: Microworms
desjardo: Daphnia, red/black worms
Sunstar: Daphnia, red Wigglers, White worms. Phytoplankton starter.
wng368: Black Worms
Zebrapl3co: Something the size of bloodworms
Ppulcher: Microworms, grindle Worms
Kyle775: White worms
Bigshark: Any Culture or trade
matti2uude: Microworms

Stores that have live foods:

Big Al's Oakville: Black worms (warning may contain leeches)
Big Al's Hamilton: Wingless fruit flies
PJ pickering: Wingless fruit flies

Rumour: Petsmart plains road may have live foods in future. For reptiles tough, they now carry Silkworms and hornworms, as well as the normal stuff.

*Word from the Wise:*


Bwhiskered said:


> Did anyone know that you can start a daphnia culture from sun dried daphnia bought in some pet shops. Use some old or better yet green water in a gallon jar and sprinkle in some dried daphnia and in a week they should be swimming around. They can then be fed with brewers yeast a tiny dusting at a time.


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## Katalyst

This is a great idea! I killed my last microworm culture being out of the country for too long. 

I currently have vinegar eels.  Would like to swap for some microworms & possibly other cultures after Christmas if anyone is interested.


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## Sunstar

I could get you some Microworms somehow.


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## desjardo

I am still looking for Daphnia. But if I dont have by new year I am ordering a culture. So I will 100% have daphnia, and would like to find some red/black worms.


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## Sunstar

red worms as in red wiggler? or blood worms?


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## wngt368

Have - Baby Brine Shrimp, and baby snails ( red ramshorn)
Want - Black Worms


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## UnderTheSea

This is a great idea guys. I'm working on Live Rotifier culture. I now have phytoplankton.


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## Sunstar

Glad its a good idea. Just I think this should help, hopefully, solve the live food location issue.


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## Ciddian

Yea great idea Sunstar!

I have nothing to offer ATM  I wanna start up a redworm bin soon and depending on how that goes could make for a nice feeder worm. I do have vin eel but they arnt going so well.

Mum does have a pool that i can gather from in the spring.  Lots of crap grows in the water that is collected on top of the black cover.


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## Sunstar

So the red worms are the red wigglers? There's a bait store across the road. I might investigate it. I've raised red wigglers before.


Thanks for the sticky!


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## Ciddian

Yaya! Currently I only have those fat nightcrawlers which you cant breed from what i've been told but i havent looked into it.

this was the site i was gunna get, or build my worm bin from

http://www.cathyscomposters.com/


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## Sunstar

Oh I had my night crawlers breeding when I was a kid. I'd catch them mating. and sure enough, I'd find babies. I sold lots for fishing.

I bougth from them years ago. I got my worm bin...somewhere... where....hmmmm lid is outside...


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## coryp

i some times have adult brine shrimp going but they tend to crash on me after 1.5 - 2 months (i think its the size of the tank i use)


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## Sunstar

I was curious. Where do you get your eggs?


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## coryp

Sunstar said:


> I was curious. Where do you get your eggs?


lfs has sanfan bay brand


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## ameekplec.

There's a great park behind my parent's place, and I've caught daphnia there as a kid. I can look into it in the spring.
Also in the spring before we open up the pool, I always have mosquito larvae and live blood worms.

I otherwise have nothing to offer at the moment.


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## Zebrapl3co

Great idea Sunstar.

I have white worms.
and I am looking for some kind of worm that is about the same size as a blood worm.

*Never pay again for live sex! | Hot girls doing naughty stuff for free! | Chat for free!*


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## PPulcher

Cultures I have:

Vinegar eels
Redworms (small population just now)

Culture's I'd like:
Grindal worms
Microworms

"Commodity" Live foods I feed:
Blackworms (someone at KWAS orders them monthly - much easier than culturing!)
Baby brine shrimp (I hatch them daily).


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## juanitow

I too have a small red worm population (around 2lbs)


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## pat3612

Iam just wondering with all the good food on the market why go to all this trouble .


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## juanitow

pat3612 said:


> Iam just wondering with all the good food on the market why go to all this trouble .


For me, raising food is like raising fish! You work towards completing the circle of life.
Also, red wigglers are awesome because they process garbage into awesome compost, for those who garden.
Some fish hobbyists find that fry of certain species do better on live foods.


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## Sunstar

pat3612 said:


> Iam just wondering with all the good food on the market why go to all this trouble .


There is also a cost factor. Sometimes it is cheaper/easier to produce your own life food. Some fish love it, and it ensures you get decent food into your fish while on a budget. (I am in such a boat myself)


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## coryp

dont forget about breeding pourpouses i dont kno of many fish that can be conditioned on flake or pellet ... and it will progress much faster and the spawn will be more viable if done on live food ... larger yeilds/survival rate imo


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## PPulcher

pat3612 said:


> Iam just wondering with all the good food on the market why go to all this trouble .


If you are raising fry, you often need small foods. Certain fry won't go after 'dead' powdered foods and need the stimulus from wriggling things to be induced to feed.


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## Sunstar

it is the wiggle factor of seed shrimp which have my celestial pearls finally feeding. they will eat flake, but cyclops and seeds are that much more interesting. 

Also all fish seem to enjoy wiggling little food. my platy, as huge as they are, eagerly eat the microworms. The whole tank goes fraggin' bananas.
'


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## characinfan

*have snails, want plants*

I'm downtown TO


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## newbiefishfanatic

*snails*

i have small pond snails! if anyone wants them, come and get 'em! completely on the house!


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## Sunstar

I do believe that everyone has been added. 

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to make this better and easier to use?


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## coryp

pagers? lol maby sort into food item and then hyper link to a list with people that have the item


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## Sunstar

Pagers what?


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## newbiefishfanatic

*Things are good*

If my 2 cents are worth anything (probably just 2 cents lol) but I think this is good as is! Everyone whos got stuff and wants stuff is right at the beginning, and we can all be contacted through either the thread or by PM. I think the only thing that should be done is getting the word out!


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## blossom112

lol arent guppys sometimes considered food sorce .......
Well .... if your not to squeemish you can add me for baby guppys   
I do know people use them as feeders
I have about 20 depending on size people are looking for


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## Sunstar

poor things. I added it.


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## blossom112

YES i feel the same ....but if there is a need it dont bother me  pets or feeders ...
now if we were talking shrimp,snails and plecs well thats a different story lol


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## Sunstar

I am trying to emergency breed some pinhead crickets. I have a baby gecko that needs them. Petsmart doesn't have them. I bought a pair of large females. I hope that does the trick. I am lookingg through my planters for other live food.


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## blossom112

lol too bad i told julie no .... she wanted pet crickets lmao ...
might be worth wile to tell her yes lmao


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## newbiefishfanatic

what petsmart were you looking for them sunstar? im sure the one at kennedy commons has them, that where i get all my crickets for my baby beardie...and im sure theyre pinheads...


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## Sunstar

Burlington. The closest one to me without having to have a trecherous bike ride.


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## newbiefishfanatic

oooooooooooooo yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.  burlington, forgot. me sowwy. thats too bad. im going to burlington (as you know) soon. ill let you know closer to the date and if you want some crickets, i can bring you a whole crap load!


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## Sunstar

if you can get some of the absolute tineyst, I'd appreciate. Need any Microworms?


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## newbiefishfanatic

wtf are microworms?


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## Sunstar

small nemetodes that fry enjoy. Actually my full sized platy get a kick out of them. they're tiney an need to be restarted every couple weeks or it smells like an old pair of running shoes.


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## newbiefishfanatic

restarted? no idea what that means...i will look into them online and ill let you know!


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## Ciddian

Oohhh when the weather gets better sunstar I'd love a starter from you.

Blossom.. Whenever i get my butt over there i'd be happy to take some fry off of your hands.


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## newbiefishfanatic

i found a link on how to make microworms, i posted it on the forum. thanks for the information about them! i may try to make my own first, then when i probably fail, ill take some of yours! LoL


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## blossom112

no hurry cid they are still poping them out omg and still fat ?
lol


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## Sunstar

they will be fat for months likely.


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## Sunstar

Just for the record, I have started a new batch of vinegar eels and probably will have another one going in a short while. (I need them for betta fry IF they hatch...)

So I may have some avail in a few weeks for anyone who wishes some.


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## blossom112

sending sunstar **********hatching vibes***********
Good luck!!!


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## Sunstar

That worked....

They hatched and now he is going out of his mind because the bubble nest he made was crappy, but boy is he a dillegent father. All his eggs and fry fall, he pics them up, blows them up and then chases them all down again.


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## blossom112

OMG that is sooo awesome !!!!


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## Sunstar

I require grindle worms. Is anyone out there with a starter culture they can part with?


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## kyle775

*i have nothing white worms please*

i got nothing 
anyone with white worm culture to start me off
thanks.


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## blossom112

all guppys will be gone tomorrow .... I will have to start something else when I try and breed my bettas !


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## Bwhiskered

*Daphnia*

Did anyone know that you can start a daphnia culture from sun dried daphnia bought in some pet shops. Use some old or better yet green water in a gallon jar and sprinkle in some dried daphnia and in a week they should be swimming around. They can then be fed with brewers yeast a tiny dusting at a time.

Did you know Big Al's in Hamilton now carries wingless fruit fly cultures. It is a good possibility many of the others do too.


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## Ciddian

pj's pickering also has flightless fruit flies too which I found great. I would love to get some of these for my bettas and other fish


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## Sunstar

I got some black worms from Big Al's oakville yesterday, but they disturb me. they seem to have leeches in them. yich. although if I feed them one at a time, the bettas enjoy them. 

Where can I find some sundried daphnia? can anyone mail me a few? I got green water.


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## Sunstar

I added Kyle's request, Cid's Bwiskered and My live food sightings as well has his interesting culture starter idea on the front page. 

So hence forth, let us know where food sightings are.


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## blossom112

I was thinking feeding a baby guppy to my bettas would that hurt them ??? the bettas I mean not the babyz lol


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## Sunstar

you know my answer...  I think perihex has gone around thinning my fry. But I don't think you would want to give them too many baby guppies since they have small bellies, but then again, my lot get fed, perhaps too much... if they are small they probably would be fine.


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## blossom112

Well we tried and think my fry too big they survived the night lol .... all guppys are gone aside from 5 babys ...
so Will take some time now to grow more but its more manageable right now for me ....
should have more guppys in about 2 to 3 months!
guess I shall save snails now for your feeding pleasure (dog gets half tho lol)


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## bigshark

i got micro worms and red ramshorn snails, wouldnt mind trading for other cultures, or any trades


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## blossom112

I am snail picking shall save them for a week .... pond snails I think some fair sized rams ...
free


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## Sunstar

bring some of your rams when you come up. I don;t need pond snails.


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## blossom112

okie dokie! I will grab every one I can get !


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## xr8dride

I could use snails of any kind, unless you are against them simply being food. I'm now raising Ghost and Red Cherry Shrimp, I have a hungry Porcupine and Stars & Stripes puffer!!
Once I have a good number of these guys I would be willing to do trades but for now I'm willing to pay for what you have if necessary.


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## blossom112

anykind is fine with me but not my fancy ! lol
im in scarbrough .. we will have to pick them out the nano !
im this evening would be best busy weekend .. I will start jaring them this afternoon!
pm me
p.s im breeding red rams too just waiting on them ...


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## blossom112

my microworms are outa control !!!! just set up more last night ....
thanks a bunch sunstar ...
I keep them in the dark and they are still squirmy lol


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## Sunstar

next time you are my way, bring a culture down. 

I am having multiple crashes.

I added you to having micro and vin eels.... I'lll let Katalyst keep her microworms for a while. Hopefully they don't crash like mine have been.


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## blossom112

not a problem !!!!
Just going to see how the new ones get off ... but I checked and they are still squirming .
I did decide to use my good food saver containers as im picky about storing my food and the grade (Im food funny) I think the worms may do better in them containers ,im just antsy about poking holes in the lids grrrr 
I have them out so I remember to look make sure they are alive and then I shall put them in the dark! im finding they do better in the dark.


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## blossom112

just a note to people I will be starting many cultures in the next 2 days!
microworms ....if needed


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## EdC

Blossom, thanks for pointing this thread out to me. I will have red ramshorns available on a fairly regular basis, pretty much indefinitely. Bigshark took a load off my hands, so my numbers aren't too obscene right now, but in a couple of weeks I should be able to part with 50+. I will post here when I decide it's time for a cull, and see who is interested.

I will probably be able to part with some trumpets in the future as well.


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## blossom112

your very welcome!!
see you soon for your culture ! and maybe I will grab a few rams when they are ready ! not right now tho lol 
I will be setting your clture tonight so you will need to wait a week or more ! I just thaught instead of giving away what I have splitting it up for more people !


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## EdC

Makes sense for sure. I can definitely stand to wait a week or two for the culture to be properly established. If you want ramshorns tomorrow, I can easily spare a dozen good-sized adults.


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## blossom112

oh no I will wait ... im not ready for them yet!
but I will let you know when I am ,thanks ... you will see ... why im not ready lmao cast on 1 leg and waterchanges beckoning me ...I am debating playing a pity card for help lol


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## ksimdjembe

curious about this dried daphnia thing. 
any one know more?
is it as easy as starting green water, and dropping in the dried daphnia?
where do you get them?


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## Sunstar

My microworm cultures were rescued and are doing well, once more PHEW. that's why I have 5 cultrues at once.


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## Sunstar

Hey Bug Buddies!

I edited the front page of this thread with the following:

GTAA Meet. I will be bringing Microworms and Vinegar eel starter cultures. (Small packages) I encourage anyone who has a live culture to bring it along and perhaps we can swap and trade and spread our life food goodness around.


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## Bwhiskered

ksimdjembe said:


> curious about this dried daphnia thing.
> any one know more?
> is it as easy as starting green water, and dropping in the dried daphnia?
> where do you get them?


When daphnia are caught and dried in the sun their eggs that are mature and still in their body will hatch when the dried bodies are put in water. Daphnia do well in green water but also do well being fed Brewers Yeast. The eggs look like house fly poop or like fine ground pepper. Daphnia will soon be showing up in shallow woodland ponds along with fairy shrimp and mosquito larva.


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## Sunstar

Wanted: Phytoplankton starter culture.


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## UnderTheSea

Sunstar said:


> Wanted: Phytoplankton starter culture.


We always have live phyto in stock. Is that the route you wanted to take or are you looking for paste?


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## Sunstar

I was contemplating paste.


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## Sunstar

I went to lake ontario tonight, I got a bottle full of cyclops it seems. I think I am gonna culture it.


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## slobodan

Hey Sunstar,

I have daphnia/microworms/white worms.

Thanks,

Slobodan


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## Sunstar

wicked, what are you looking for?

edit: I added you.


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## matti2uude

Hi 
I'm looking for a microworm culture, close to Scarborough.
Sorry I don't anything to offer at this time.
Thanks Matt


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## slobodan

Sunstar,

I'm looking for grindal worms.

Slobodan


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## blossom112

i might still have some microworms alive .... ill check tonight and pm u if i do ....im scarbrough also


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## blossom112

your in luck .... Ican start some new cultures tonight ...
How many should I start who is interested ........

I will make them at 10pm (last time i made them they sat )
pm me to let me know

so far .......
1


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## blossom112

last night was hectic .....I have the substrate cooling now ...
sry bout that .


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## matti2uude

No problem
What do you keep them in? I read to mix quick oats and water.
Thanks Matt


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## blossom112

i find if you cook the quick oats it goes bad very fast .
what i do is cook the slow ones (large oats) for 2 min boil then tke it off and add about a cup or 2 dry (large oats) then let it cool .
also if i add yeast it goes bad even faster , sunstar told me just put sugar and i been doing that ,and with this i have found they live and thrive for months (adding sugar every other week )
but then keeping them in the dark the whole time .
I always use food safe containers(number 5 the higher the better .
i buy the containers either at the bulk store (25 cents ) or the dollar store (but bware the food grade at the dollar store)
I am just about to set them up now.
hope this helps you


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## bluekrissyspikes

does anyone have some fruitfly culture, flightless or not, that they can ship to me please?

eta:i don't have anything to exchange...just cash. i will have some praying mantids ready in a few weeks for anyone who wants one, if i can get some food. they hatched earlier than i expected. they were meant to hatch late august and my lps will need 2 weeks to get some in.


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## bluekrissyspikes

even if someone sees 1 @ thier lps and can ship it to me, it would be much appreciated


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## Sunstar

i tried not cooking my oats and it went bad. my cooked quick oats work well
got one culture that is over 3 months old now.


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## blossom112

guess i shoulda cooked them all .... gonna have to start a new culture !!
these ones crashed!!!
I shoulda read this eariler


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## blossom112

Eeeek lost all my cultures! anyone have any in scarbrough ??
or I could pay shipping ? thanks... no food for my little babys!!!


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## bae

I've got microworms. I'm in downtown Toronto. PM me.

There are a lot of techniques for growing microworms. I'll describe the one I use.

I use the 250ml glass jars that fancy mustard comes in, but for larger quantities, a good
container is the ones sold for taking food in to work -- they come in packs of 6 or so,
fairly cheap and reusable. Always wash containers and lids thoroughly with hot water and dish detergent before reuse, especially if a culture got moldy.

In each jar I put one tablespoon oatbran and one tablespoon water, and swirl a little to
mix. Then i put the jars, uncovered, in the microwave for one minute, so the water boils
and the oatbran cooks. This more or less sterilizes the jar and contents. Next, I put the
lids on the jars, careful not to put my hand over any open jars. Remove from microwave,
don't close the jars tightly, and let cool. The heat from the medium will kill most microbes
on the lids.

To inoculate, I pour some liquid from older cultures into each jar, removing the lids for
the least time possible. All this above is a sort of casual implementation of what is
called 'sterile technique' in biology. It isn't really sterile, but it cuts back on contamination
enough that cultures almost invariably outcompete the contaminants.

When I remove microworms to feed the fish, I use a little paintbrush, the kind sold for
kids' paint sets. IIRC, I got a package of 10 at a dollar store. The end opposite the
brush happens to have a sort of spatula shape, and I sometimes use that instead of
the brush end when the worms are particularly thick on the glass. I never use my fingers,
not out of squeamishness, but because human hands are loaded with microbes that
can overrrun the culture.

Make new cultures about every two weeks to be sure to keep things going. Cultures
last anything from 4-8 weeks or even longer under appropriate conditions. Sometimes you can revive old cultures by adding minute amounts of baking soda, i.e. the amount that you can scoop up with a flat toothpick, to neutralize the acidity. If you are worried about losing all your cultures to mold or whatever, keep a well established one in the fridge as a back up. Note that overall microworms are very tough, and you can often restart a culture from an old one that's dried up, sicne the worms have a resting stage that tolerates dehydration.

It's surprising how much fish like microworms, even relatively large fish. When my 
Julidochromis 'transcriptus Gombi' spawned, I started feeding microworms and the
adults go crazy for them, even though these fish are 2 - 2.5 inches long. They may
not get much nutrition out of them, but they get a lot of entertainment!


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## Sunstar

Blossom, when I see you, you can pick up a well established vin eel culture. I have several bottles avail.


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## blossom112

TYVM!!!

still looking for microworms.... 
u have the worms sunstar? maybe I should order it on line lol 
where you get your leaves, and stuff on line sunstar?
thanks!


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## AquaNeko

*Mealworms breeding*

i can't seem to find any info on this but I'm curious can fully mature mealworm beetles fly?

It's a worry of mine and had a few nightmares of waking up with a house covered with mealworms only find out it was a nightmare in a sweaty wake up then take a few moments to check the room then go back to sleep again.

I'm trying to breed those guys and have seen some Youtube videos on how to do it seperating it into 4 stages. Mealworm, morphed to pre beetle stage, beetle stage, and mated dead beetles with baby mealworms stage.

It costs like $3.99/tub at Petsmart and I always buy them for my little toads tho the cost is mounting up for me. I don't dare breed chrickets as I've heard if you get a few loose and they mate you'll be hearing them all around the house and they can jump good.

Thanks in advance for any help.


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## bae

AquaNeko said:


> i can't seem to find any info on this but I'm curious can fully mature mealworm beetles fly?
> 
> It's a worry of mine and had a few nightmares of waking up with a house covered with mealworms only find out it was a nightmare in a sweaty wake up then take a few moments to check the room then go back to sleep again.


No, they don't fly. They don't climb smooth surfaces, either. I keep the adults in a
gallon glass jar without a top and they stay in there.



> I'm trying to breed those guys and have seen some Youtube videos on how to do it seperating it into 4 stages. Mealworm, morphed to pre beetle stage, beetle stage, and mated dead beetles with baby mealworms stage.
> 
> It costs like $3.99/tub at Petsmart and I always buy them for my little toads tho the cost is mounting up for me. I don't dare breed chrickets as I've heard if you get a few loose and they mate you'll be hearing them all around the house and they can jump good.
> 
> Thanks in advance for any help.


Mealworms are very easy to breed, but be aware that everything slows down at lower 
temperatures, and the adults only live about 3-4 months, so you have to let some mature
to beetles to keep the culture going. It seems to take a long time to get the larvae to any
size, but then they seem to grow much faster.

I use a system probably similar to the one you're describing. I keep the adult beetles
in the jar with bran and some pieces of egg carton, and a piece of carrot for moisture.
Every month or so I pour the whole works through a colander, put what doesn't go
through back in the jar with fresh bran, as well as any beetles that made it through
the colander. The siftings go into a 750ml yogurt carton with more bran and carrot.
Once the tiny worms are big enough not to pass through it, I clean the cultures by
pouring them through a wire strainer, and adding fresh bran.

If I don't need more adults, I feed the pupae to my animals, otherwise, I put them in
another carton to mature.

One advantage of raising your own is that you have mealworms of all sizes, which is
very helpful when you have animals or their young that are too small to eat full-grown
mealworms. You can raise a lot fo them in a small space and there's no odor if the
bran stays dry. The sifted-out material is great for your compost pile, or just sprinkle
it on the soil. It's too strong for houseplants unless used in very small quantities.

Have you tried earthworms for your toads? Most amphibians love them and they are
very nutritious.

As for crickets, if an adult male gets away it will seem like it calls forever if you are
trying to sleep, but they usually die in less than a week. Cats hunt them eagerly. I
don' t think they can breed just running around in your house unless you live in a wet
basement, and I don't think they'd have much to eat down there. But yes, they do jump,
and whenever I buy some my cats get a few escapees. I've bred crickets but it's
really hard to get them past the first week or so because they need warmth and humidity
but they'll drown in any drops of condensation.

Menagerie and some other non-chain shops sell mealworms for something like $10-12
per thousand, and only a slightly higher rate per hundred, so if you don't want to breed
your own, you'd be further ahead to buy from them. You can keep mealworms in the 
fridge to slow their maturation down until you can use them. I don't know how many 
or how big your toads are, but once they are full grown they really don't need to eat as
much as they'd like. In nature they eat whenever they can find food because food isn't 
always available, so in captivity they will eat a great deal more than is good for them. 
If they aren't growing or breeding, they really need very little food for maintenance, 
especially at cool temperatures. Note that for mammals and birds, most of the calories
consumed go to maintaining body temperature, and amphibians don't have to do that.

I hope this helps.

Btw, superworms are almost as easy to raise, but they grow very slowly at normal
Canadian room temperatures. Also, they won't pupate unless they are isolated, e.g.
in pill bottles or film cans. Thsi is a survival mechanism -- the larvae will eat the
pupae. Mealworms won't do that unless they are desperate for moisture.

Oh, anotehr minor detail -- when saving pupae to mature, don't just pick the largest
ones. I did that once and ended up with a very unproductive colony. I suspect the
larger ones may be mostly males, but have no other evidence to support this.


----------



## AquaNeko

bae said:


> No, they don't fly. They don't climb smooth surfaces, either. I keep the adults in a
> gallon glass jar without a top and they stay in there.
> 
> Mealworms are very easy to breed, but be aware that everything slows down at lower
> temperatures, and the adults only live about 3-4 months, so you have to let some mature
> to beetles to keep the culture going. It seems to take a long time to get the larvae to any
> size, but then they seem to grow much faster.
> 
> I use a system probably similar to the one you're describing. I keep the adult beetles
> in the jar with bran and some pieces of egg carton, and a piece of carrot for moisture.
> Every month or so I pour the whole works through a colander, put what doesn't go
> through back in the jar with fresh bran, as well as any beetles that made it through
> the colander. The siftings go into a 750ml yogurt carton with more bran and carrot.
> Once the tiny worms are big enough not to pass through it, I clean the cultures by
> pouring them through a wire strainer, and adding fresh bran.
> 
> If I don't need more adults, I feed the pupae to my animals, otherwise, I put them in
> another carton to mature.
> 
> One advantage of raising your own is that you have mealworms of all sizes, which is
> very helpful when you have animals or their young that are too small to eat full-grown
> mealworms. You can raise a lot fo them in a small space and there's no odor if the
> bran stays dry. The sifted-out material is great for your compost pile, or just sprinkle
> it on the soil. It's too strong for houseplants unless used in very small quantities.
> 
> Have you tried earthworms for your toads? Most amphibians love them and they are
> very nutritious.
> 
> As for crickets, if an adult male gets away it will seem like it calls forever if you are
> trying to sleep, but they usually die in less than a week. Cats hunt them eagerly. I
> don' t think they can breed just running around in your house unless you live in a wet
> basement, and I don't think they'd have much to eat down there. But yes, they do jump,
> and whenever I buy some my cats get a few escapees. I've bred crickets but it's
> really hard to get them past the first week or so because they need warmth and humidity
> but they'll drown in any drops of condensation.
> 
> Menagerie and some other non-chain shops sell mealworms for something like $10-12
> per thousand, and only a slightly higher rate per hundred, so if you don't want to breed
> your own, you'd be further ahead to buy from them. You can keep mealworms in the
> fridge to slow their maturation down until you can use them. I don't know how many
> or how big your toads are, but once they are full grown they really don't need to eat as
> much as they'd like. In nature they eat whenever they can find food because food isn't
> always available, so in captivity they will eat a great deal more than is good for them.
> If they aren't growing or breeding, they really need very little food for maintenance,
> especially at cool temperatures. Note that for mammals and birds, most of the calories
> consumed go to maintaining body temperature, and amphibians don't have to do that.
> 
> I hope this helps.
> 
> Btw, superworms are almost as easy to raise, but they grow very slowly at normal
> Canadian room temperatures. Also, they won't pupate unless they are isolated, e.g.
> in pill bottles or film cans. Thsi is a survival mechanism -- the larvae will eat the
> pupae. Mealworms won't do that unless they are desperate for moisture.
> 
> Oh, anotehr minor detail -- when saving pupae to mature, don't just pick the largest
> ones. I did that once and ended up with a very unproductive colony. I suspect the
> larger ones may be mostly males, but have no other evidence to support this.


Are you use mealworm beetles can't fly? I've seen wings on those guys. My basement has a tap leak which I'll eventually get to fixing it but right now I've no skill or money to fix it. So that would be a water/moisture source. My area which the toads are in (laundry room) with my mini hydroponics tabletop and temp fish room is ~21-22C right now. I have a pair of female American toads which are damn lucky to be alive. Was mowing the lawn yrs ago and because the lawn was really tall I had to do a high cut, rough cut, then finishing cut. After the two cuts I was going back for my final cut and noticed something gooey on the lawn that I passed but id not notice. This freaked me out when I found out a toad got diced. I did not see it as all because o fthe grass clippings. Many weeks later when I was doing the lawn again it was near sundown and I wanted a quick rough buzz and something moved on my second quick pass cut. Lucky toad almost got diced. Not sure where they came from as we had no pond and living on a hill. I do know in 2005 that freak storm did cause a lot of water saturation on my property but no long term ponding.

Anyways, I have one ~2.5in and one ~1.5in toad. I found out at Lucky's Aquarium with another girl that has American Toads how to tell thier sex. A gentle squeeze on thier sides can tell if it's a guy or girl. Guys would make a noise and girls won't. I named them Princess Toadstool and smaller one Peach. I'm sure someone out there would get the reference. I've spent close to $200 in mealworms and chrickets feeding them to date. Princess toadstool used to be the size of Peach but she shead a lot of skin over time thus her size. Originally was going to name her Lucky and feeding them like royality when I can.

So you can see why I'm interested in the mealworm breeding. I've always been freaked out by Superworms. Ever since I've seen them the first time and found out why they needed to be double tubbed freaked me out more that they can chew out. ;; Reminded me of a bad nightmare of oing down stairs to the basement and seeing the head of like a 3ft mealworm bearing fangs ;; Remindsme of flashbacks of Secret of Evermore the game and the mouth opening cave/scene.


----------



## bae

I've never seen any effort to fly in many years of raising these guys, but you can cover
the container if you're concerned. Just be sure there's plenty of air circulation so the 
bran stays dry.

Try feeding your toads earthworms, or buy mealworms from some place with more
reasonable prices if you're nervous about raising them. If you're squeamish about
insects, you'll be uncomfortable working with them.


----------



## slobodan

*Grindal worms*

Hi everyone,

I'm back to gtaaquaria after busy summer.
Almost all my cultures crashed, especially daphnia but I'm slowly getting them back. I'll let you know as soon as I can give away some. I think Micro worms I can give some away/trade any time.
I was wondering if anyone has any grindal worms??

Thanks,

Slobodan


----------



## killpoint2008

hey every one i was thinking of starting a culture of some kind because cost for fish food is really starting to kick my butt.
i was just wondering if you guys could tell me the easiest culture to breed and cheapest cuz for now i need something to feed guppies, platy, angels, peppered corys.
so any tips or links to help me out?
and ill prolly buy from some one here if they live in the oshawa/whitby area cuz im starting to grow this vage hate towards petstores


----------



## Calmer

How about these prices? If you have wheels it may be worth it to you to head out to Scarborough this Sunday at Kennedy Rd. just south of the 401.
http://www.pricenetwork.ca/deal/sug..._13th_of_september_deliveries_hea-247489.html
Here is the website with more product information:
http://www.johnsfishfood.com/index.html
Live food cultures are great and add variety to a fish's diet but you will need to feed a basic food like flake or pellet as well to keep your fish in the best of health.


----------



## bae

killpoint2008 said:


> hey every one i was thinking of starting a culture of some kind because cost for fish food is really starting to kick my butt.
> i was just wondering if you guys could tell me the easiest culture to breed and cheapest cuz for now i need something to feed guppies, platy, angels, peppered corys.
> so any tips or links to help me out?
> and ill prolly buy from some one here if they live in the oshawa/whitby area cuz im starting to grow this vage hate towards petstores


You can buy fish food in bulk either from stores like Menagerie or by mail order. It's much cheaper than those tiny containers. Take out as much as you can use in a few weeks and store the rest in the freezer to keep it fresh.

There's a fellow on pnaquaria.ca who brings foods and supplies into Toronto about once a month. You have to order in advance and I think he does mail order. A lot of his dry foods are about $5-6 per pound, IIRC.

There are a lot of human foods fish can eat. You can buy a pound of frozen shrimp, clams or mixed seafood for less than $5. Chop up a shrimp or clam very fine (easiest to do while still frozen) thaw in water, drain, and feed to your fish. Many fish will eat lightly cooked frozen peas if you remove the skins. I put a dozen or two peas in about an ounce of so of water, and microwave for a minute. Drain, add cold water, and squeeze each pea so the two pieces come out and feed those to your fish. Whenever we poach eggs there are pieces of cooked eggwhite that are left over. Fish love them, once they figure them out.

Another good food for herbivorous fish is the sheets of seaweed prepared for making sushi. Be sure to get the kind that doesn't have soy sauce or anything else added. It's extremely cheap in Korean grocery stores. You can cut it up fine with scissors. And of course plecos love zucchini.

There are a lot of recipes on the net for frozen gelled foods. Most of the them are based on the so-called "European shrimp mix" which is mostly peas and shrimp, pureed, gelled with gelatin or agar, and frozen. I make a batch a few times a year, using other veggies as well as peas, and mixed seafood, seaweed, powdered dried shrimp with shells, and whatever else seems like a good idea at the time. I gel it with agar, pour about 100ml (< 1/4 cup) into a ziplock sandwich bag, flatten it out, let it gel then freeze it. It's easy to break off pieces to feed to the fish.

Discus breeders in particular are very fond of shredded beefheart as fish food. Buy a piece of beefheart, trim off all fat and gristle, cut into chunks and freeze. Grate a frozen chunk, rinse and feed to your fish. Other people feel that mammalian tissue isn't really good for fish. Everyone agrees that mammalian fats are bad for them.

If you aren't too squeamish to cut them up for small fish, earthworms from a pesticide-free garden are one of the best foods for fish. They are free of fish parasites and unlike gathering food from ponds, you aren't at risk of introducing hydra or predatory insect larvae.

I raise mosquito larvae in buckets on my patio in summer. This actually reduces the number of mosquitoes around because every egg they lay in my buckets becomes fish food rather than more mosquitoes. You just have to be sure to pour each bucket through a fine net at least once a week. I find a few bloodworms in the buckets as well.

In my opinion, good quality dried foods are the best staple for fish, but no food is complete or perfect for every species of fish. I try to feed my fish a lot of different foods, so that if one is lacking in some nutrient, it will be provided by another. You have to think about nutrition, and what the fish eat in nature. For example, feeding too much protein to fish which are normally herbivorous is a bad idea in the long run. The fish will eat these foods eagerly, but they will ruin their kidneys. This is the real cause of 'Malawi bloat', and applies to other fish as well.

If you want to culture food, probably the easiest for your mix of fish would be whiteworms or grindal worms, but this is much too high in protein as a staple diet.

I hope this gives you some ideas.


----------



## killpoint2008

bae said:


> You can buy fish food in bulk either from stores like Menagerie or by mail order. It's much cheaper than those tiny containers. Take out as much as you can use in a few weeks and store the rest in the freezer to keep it fresh.
> 
> There's a fellow on pnaquaria.ca who brings foods and supplies into Toronto about once a month. You have to order in advance and I think he does mail order. A lot of his dry foods are about $5-6 per pound, IIRC.
> 
> There are a lot of human foods fish can eat. You can buy a pound of frozen shrimp, clams or mixed seafood for less than $5. Chop up a shrimp or clam very fine (easiest to do while still frozen) thaw in water, drain, and feed to your fish. Many fish will eat lightly cooked frozen peas if you remove the skins. I put a dozen or two peas in about an ounce of so of water, and microwave for a minute. Drain, add cold water, and squeeze each pea so the two pieces come out and feed those to your fish. Whenever we poach eggs there are pieces of cooked eggwhite that are left over. Fish love them, once they figure them out.
> 
> Another good food for herbivorous fish is the sheets of seaweed prepared for making sushi. Be sure to get the kind that doesn't have soy sauce or anything else added. It's extremely cheap in Korean grocery stores. You can cut it up fine with scissors. And of course plecos love zucchini.
> 
> There are a lot of recipes on the net for frozen gelled foods. Most of the them are based on the so-called "European shrimp mix" which is mostly peas and shrimp, pureed, gelled with gelatin or agar, and frozen. I make a batch a few times a year, using other veggies as well as peas, and mixed seafood, seaweed, powdered dried shrimp with shells, and whatever else seems like a good idea at the time. I gel it with agar, pour about 100ml (< 1/4 cup) into a ziplock sandwich bag, flatten it out, let it gel then freeze it. It's easy to break off pieces to feed to the fish.
> 
> Discus breeders in particular are very fond of shredded beefheart as fish food. Buy a piece of beefheart, trim off all fat and gristle, cut into chunks and freeze. Grate a frozen chunk, rinse and feed to your fish. Other people feel that mammalian tissue isn't really good for fish. Everyone agrees that mammalian fats are bad for them.
> 
> If you aren't too squeamish to cut them up for small fish, earthworms from a pesticide-free garden are one of the best foods for fish. They are free of fish parasites and unlike gathering food from ponds, you aren't at risk of introducing hydra or predatory insect larvae.
> 
> I raise mosquito larvae in buckets on my patio in summer. This actually reduces the number of mosquitoes around because every egg they lay in my buckets becomes fish food rather than more mosquitoes. You just have to be sure to pour each bucket through a fine net at least once a week. I find a few bloodworms in the buckets as well.
> 
> In my opinion, good quality dried foods are the best staple for fish, but no food is complete or perfect for every species of fish. I try to feed my fish a lot of different foods, so that if one is lacking in some nutrient, it will be provided by another. You have to think about nutrition, and what the fish eat in nature. For example, feeding too much protein to fish which are normally herbivorous is a bad idea in the long run. The fish will eat these foods eagerly, but they will ruin their kidneys. This is the real cause of 'Malawi bloat', and applies to other fish as well.
> 
> If you want to culture food, probably the easiest for your mix of fish would be whiteworms or grindal worms, but this is much too high in protein as a staple diet.
> 
> I hope this gives you some ideas.


thanks alot!
i think im gunna try a few of these especially the mostiqo larva, just one question. is there anything special i put into the bucket of water to get them to come quicker or do i just leave normal water out and hope they come?
i like to use flakes but they are like 6 bucks for one of thos small cans. 
and that guy who sells the flakes sounds pretty cool but i dunno if im going to be able to pay over the net


----------



## bae

>thanks alot!

you're welcome.

>i think im gunna try a few of these especially the mostiqo larva, just one question. is
>there anything special i put into the bucket of water to get them to come quicker or do i
>just leave normal water out and hope they come?

It's a bit late in the year to get many mosquito larvae, but yes, you have to put something
in the bucket to get some nice rich swamp water that will attract the adults and feed the
larvae. A small handful of fresh dried grass clippings is good, or the same amount of 
compost or rich soil. Of course, you have to avoid insecticides.

>i like to use flakes but they are like 6 bucks for one of thos small cans.
>and that guy who sells the flakes sounds pretty cool but i dunno if im going to be able
>to pay over the net

Things can often be worked out with small businesses. For example, you can ask if 
you can pay by mail with a money order or personal cheque, if you're willing to wait for 
it to clear.


----------



## killpoint2008

bae said:


> >thanks alot!
> 
> you're welcome.
> 
> >i think im gunna try a few of these especially the mostiqo larva, just one question. is
> >there anything special i put into the bucket of water to get them to come quicker or do i
> >just leave normal water out and hope they come?
> 
> It's a bit late in the year to get many mosquito larvae, but yes, you have to put something
> in the bucket to get some nice rich swamp water that will attract the adults and feed the
> larvae. A small handful of fresh dried grass clippings is good, or the same amount of
> compost or rich soil. Of course, you have to avoid insecticides.
> 
> >i like to use flakes but they are like 6 bucks for one of thos small cans.
> >and that guy who sells the flakes sounds pretty cool but i dunno if im going to be able
> >to pay over the net
> 
> Things can often be worked out with small businesses. For example, you can ask if
> you can pay by mail with a money order or personal cheque, if you're willing to wait for
> it to clear.


ill try looking him up, maybe he can mail it me too, cuz i dont have the car much to go down there.
you've been really helpfuk thanks again.
and one more question is there any other insects like maybe dried ants, or moths or something else i could use incase i run out of food cuz im starting to get pretty low on food and i wont be able to get anymore for about a week or two.


----------



## killpoint2008

does any one have a few starter blood worms? i want to make a live culture but everything ive seen looks like crap.
the big als had something but i had no idea what it was they where like worms but hard and greenish.
so any blood worms or any live culture easy to keep?
if you want to trade for something i have guppies and platies, if you want me to pay then i need something affordable i dont have much money.


----------



## bae

Blood worms are the larvae of a small non-biting fly related to mosquitoes. It isn't practical to culture them on a small scale. Blackworms are real aquatic worms, and can be propagated but most people believe they aren't productive enough on a small scale to be worth the effort. You can raise whiteworms or grindal worms fairly easily in potting soil or similar. Grindals seem to be pretty hard to find around here, white worms less so.

I suggest you read up about live foods in books or on the web so you can find out what will work best for you. You can also feed some of the human foods I described above which are less hassle than maintaining cultures, if the main objective is just to save money on flake foods.


----------



## killpoint2008

bae said:


> Blood worms are the larvae of a small non-biting fly related to mosquitoes. It isn't practical to culture them on a small scale. Blackworms are real aquatic worms, and can be propagated but most people believe they aren't productive enough on a small scale to be worth the effort. You can raise whiteworms or grindal worms fairly easily in potting soil or similar. Grindals seem to be pretty hard to find around here, white worms less so.
> 
> I suggest you read up about live foods in books or on the web so you can find out what will work best for you. You can also feed some of the human foods I described above which are less hassle than maintaining cultures, if the main objective is just to save money on flake foods.


not just saving money but its one of the major concerns.
second is to give my fish a larger variety of foods to make them more healthy and grow stronger for better breeding.

but ill deff look up some of the live foods you talked about.

if its possible while i search can you also send me a link for the whiteworms or grindal worms since you might know a website already.

thank you for all your help


----------



## SparrowHawk

*Live food cultures wanted*

Hello,

I am planning on spawning and raising bettas in my classroom as part of science club. Is there anyone in the Mississauga area with a microworm culture that would be willing to donate a starter culture to help out my classroom? Please message me if you can help us out.

Thanks


----------



## bae

SparrowHawk said:


> Hello,
> 
> I am planning on spawning and raising bettas in my classroom as part of science club. Is there anyone in the Mississauga area with a microworm culture that would be willing to donate a starter culture to help out my classroom? Please message me if you can help us out.
> 
> Thanks


If you can't find anyone closer, you can get some from me. I'm in downtown Toronto, near the subway.

In a few weeks I hope to also have 'walter worms' and 'banana worms'. These are even smaller nematodes, cultured the same way as microworms. They don't sink as rapidly, so are even better for fry that feed near the surface.


----------



## KhuliLoachFan

I'm looking for some kind of starter culture for feeding fry. I have a lot of fry right now (over 200) and they are starving, even when I feed them store-bought stuff. Maybe an infusoria culture, already mature, that I can keep running at home.

Can buy, or trade. I have some extra livestock, and some plants. 

Warren


----------



## Hitch

KhuliLoachFan said:


> I'm looking for some kind of starter culture for feeding fry. I have a lot of fry right now (over 200) and they are starving, even when I feed them store-bought stuff. Maybe an infusoria culture, already mature, that I can keep running at home.
> 
> Can buy, or trade. I have some extra livestock, and some plants.
> 
> Warren


go to ur LFS and get some brine shrimp eggs. They are the easiest fastest way to feed your starving fry right now...


----------



## bae

KhuliLoachFan said:


> I'm looking for some kind of starter culture for feeding fry. I have a lot of fry right now (over 200) and they are starving, even when I feed them store-bought stuff. Maybe an infusoria culture, already mature, that I can keep running at home.
> 
> Can buy, or trade. I have some extra livestock, and some plants.
> 
> Warren


You can get microworms from me, too, if you like. I can also give you a cup or two of green water, but I don't know if that will help much. What kind of fry do you have?


----------



## AquaNeko

bae said:


> I've never seen any effort to fly in many years of raising these guys, but you can cover
> the container if you're concerned. Just be sure there's plenty of air circulation so the
> bran stays dry.
> 
> Try feeding your toads earthworms, or buy mealworms from some place with more
> reasonable prices if you're nervous about raising them. If you're squeamish about
> insects, you'll be uncomfortable working with them.


Any other items that are kind of dry outside but holding water inside for the beetles to nibble on? I tried using the carrot but after cutting one in half and saving the other half in the firdge that other half of the carrot in fridge started to go in like 3 days.

What about celery? I have the same issues with potatos in the firdge when I leave the other half hoping to use it later.


----------



## bae

AquaNeko said:


> Any other items that are kind of dry outside but holding water inside for the beetles to nibble on? I tried using the carrot but after cutting one in half and saving the other half in the firdge that other half of the carrot in fridge started to go in like 3 days.
> 
> What about celery? I have the same issues with potatos in the firdge when I leave the other half hoping to use it later.


You can use pretty much any vegetable. Root vegetables don't dry out as fast. Commercial growers seem to use chunks of potato, but I prefer carrot because it's somewhat more nutritious as well as more convenient (see below).

It's mostly the larvae that need moisture, because they are growing.

You don't have to dedicate a whole carrot to your mealworms. I just give them the top centimeter or two that I cut off a carrot I'm planning to eat or cook instead of throwing it in the compost.

Stuff dries out in a fridge. Store it in a plastic bag or closed container to slow this down. What do you normally do with vegetables that you buy?


----------



## AquaNeko

bae said:


> You can use pretty much any vegetable. Root vegetables don't dry out as fast. Commercial growers seem to use chunks of potato, but I prefer carrot because it's somewhat more nutritious as well as more convenient (see below).
> 
> It's mostly the larvae that need moisture, because they are growing.
> 
> You don't have to dedicate a whole carrot to your mealworms. I just give them the top centimeter or two that I cut off a carrot I'm planning to eat or cook instead of throwing it in the compost.
> 
> Stuff dries out in a fridge. Store it in a plastic bag or closed container to slow this down. What do you normally do with vegetables that you buy?


Thanks fo rthe info. As to what what I normally do with the veggies I buy I normally cook them when some dish comes to mind seeing as carrots hold well for some time. Carrot + celery + red bell pepper+ chicken stirfry is awesome.


----------



## Sunstar

I am in need of a microworm starter again.


----------



## qwerty

Forgive me for side tracking the discussion (slightly)... I also haven't taken time to read the entire thread... BUT... For those of you interested in feeding live foods, The Encylopedia of Live Food by Charles O. Masters gives LOADS of information on both culturing and collecting from the wild, food for your fish. Along with advice for collecting during the different seasons, and how to find good, reliable collecting spots. As well as plenty of details regarding nets, DIY traps, and other equipment...

You should be able to find it on Amazon, but will probably have to settle for a used copy.

Just giving a recommendation... I don't culture food, so I'm of little help to you otherwise...


----------



## AquaNeko

*Mini Mealworms!!*

    YES YES YES!!!

I was jsut about to throw my collection of dead beetles in all that substrate oat/bran meal that I've collected from all the times I've been to Petsmart when I noticed for the first time that I saw shells in the ~1/2-3/4 gal glass jar (I think it was a pickle or mayo jar before. Either way it's like a small classic goldfish almost smooth spherical round jar). Curious I went closer to check the jar which was under my bar lamp. I've ignored this jar for about a months time now. All my ~10 beetles died in there and I thought they all died from me not feeding them more celery. I normally feed celery when I make my chicken celery dish but thought all the beetles died so I just left it there tillI had time or bothered to throw the mixture out.

When I got a closer look today curious as to seeing shells I was puzzled why there were shells in there when I only had beetles and I sifted the frass out before and put all the rest of the oat/bran meal back into the jar back then. When I saw the shells I thought 'no way I didn't put any meal worms in here. Only beetles and those beetles are dead' but when I looked closer I thought I saw something move.

Curious, I tilted the jar a bit to shake the contents and guess what I saw you my surprise, mini mealworms. Just eye balling it I saw one about 1mm diameter and another about 2mm diameter. I was surprised at what I saw. I guess they fed off the dead beetles and canabilized to survive for the moisture. Wow... just wow... my first surprise success breeding of the mealworms. I guess they're so small before I never noticed them. Heck thinking back now I think that small sliver pieces of celery probably slowly got divoured by those baby mealworms when I was sleeping thus why I don't see the celery there anymore or even noticed it because it was slowly being eaten at a not so fast you will notice it right away pace.

Now to see if I can feed one of the babies to my z.danio and see if it can eat it. I am STOKED at this. I may end up with a breeding farm to supply some of my local hobbyists. 

  

I'm guessing the eggs took a month after the beetles died to be born. My basement is about 15C or slightly lower where I put those mealworm beetles. It's right by my clothes dryer long snaking duct work flex duct tube to the ground floor outside vent so it is a bit cooler there given winter time. Do the eggs hatch faster when it's warmer?

I was thinking probably my next batch if they do hatch when warmer to put them by a warmer light or on a greenhouse heating pad.

EDIT:

3 of the 1mm sized worms was feed to the z.danios and they sucked it in!   Any larger and it's going to Princess Toadstool & Peach (my two toads... yes Super Mario names  )


----------



## slobodan

Sunstar said:


> I am in need of a microworm starter again.


Hi Sunstar,

I have some microworms.. If you can come downtown Union station I can get you some of them.
I'm looking for grindal worms, do you know if anyone has them?

Slobodan


----------



## slobodan

*Live food*

I have microworms,daphnia,white worms available for sale/trade..
Pretty soon might even have grindal worms.

Thanks,

Slobodan


----------



## tropicalfishlover1220

Have: Microworms

Want: Grindal worms

Willing to meet up in the GTA for the swap!


----------



## svtcanuk

I'm joining the club of people looking for grindal worms. Located in Brampton.


----------



## slobodan

I have grindal worms for sale.


----------



## KhuliLoachFan

interested in grindal worms. Your Location?


----------



## slobodan

Grimsby...


----------



## crxmaniac

*Microworms*

Is there anyone with microworms available in a starter culture? Located in Oshawa can/will travel to Toronto depending on day.

Please PM me with location/cost/trade. Just starting with this so be nice

Thanks


----------



## bae

I've got microworms. Also walter worms, banana worms, white worms and flightless fruit flies. Trade for ... whatcha got? Or free if you don't have anything to trade. Pick up in downtown Toronto, near subway. Pm or email me.


----------



## crxmaniac

Pm'ed Thanks


----------



## alc

If anyone has a culture of daphnia they'd be willing to part with on the subway line, I'd be really grateful. Thanks!


----------



## igor.kanshyn

*looking for daphnia*

Look at this video. There are a lot of daphnia there.
I would be happy to grow some for my fishes.


----------



## slobodan

I have some daphnia that I can give away.
I'm looking for microworms/walter worms. Just got back from 2 week vacation and microworms seem to be gone..


----------



## igor.kanshyn

You are so far 

I was trying to raise daphnia from nothing (get a water from a pond and keep it in home). I've seen some creatures, but it was very few of them and after several days they disappeared.


----------



## Philip.Chan.92

Looking for white worms, willing to pick up.


----------



## crxmaniac

Philip.Chan.92 said:


> Looking for white worms, willing to pick up.


I've got some in oshawa if you want to come out here. Pm me


----------



## qualityshrimpz

*Microworms*

I have microworms available for trades, or sale if you dont have anything to trade. PM with any trades


----------



## KhuliLoachFan

Looking for Daphnia starter culture, preferably Magna sp.

W


----------



## george

I want to start breeding somw live food for my fishes. 

I had scuds but they didn't made it (although I still have 2 of them still swimming in the jar).

I have gouramy, betta, platy and cardinals. What would be the best live food for them?


----------



## daviidwilson

Ciddian said:


> Yea great idea Sunstar!
> 
> I have nothing to offer ATM  I wanna start up a redworm bin soon and depending on how that goes could make for a nice feeder worm. I do have vin eel but they arnt going so well.
> 
> Mum does have a pool that i can gather from in the spring.  Lots of crap grows in the water that is collected on top of the black cover.


So the red worms are the red wigglers? There's a bait store across the road. I might investigate it. I've raised red wigglers before.


----------



## Sunstar

I need a microworm culture. I have a nice fresh vinegar eel culture to trade.


----------



## rubadub

i need red wigglers if anyone has some or knows where to get them
LMK before my poor TT eel starves
getting a little to big for bloodworms


----------



## slobodan

Sunstar said:


> I need a microworm culture. I have a nice fresh vinegar eel culture to trade.


I have some microworms I can part with...
Will take vinegar eel to try.. 

Anyone with grindal worms?


----------



## slobodan

By the way, I have some daphnia as well..


----------



## Sunstar

Crud, I wish I had noticed you had daphnia.... 

If you get any of the others, you know where to find me!


----------



## BettaBeats

looking for daphnia or some other small live food for my CPDanios.


----------



## DZinck

Looking for anyone looking to either trade cultures for plant cuttings or willing to sell them.
You must either live close to Mavis/401 in Mississauga or be willing to meet relatively close (I have a car but I'm lazy).
Preferably something easy and consistent, which is good for angelfish fry but also community fish.


----------



## theeyrietrainer

Looking for a starter microworm culture (for after Christmas). Unfortunately, I do not have anything to trade at this time. I'm located in Markham and can travel as far as the public transit will take me.


----------



## Sunstar

I have microworms in burlington. Gotransit trains go into the city.


----------



## Sunstar

I need to update my list of who has what. Post a small post of what you want and need so I can update.


----------



## bae

theeyrietrainer said:


> Looking for a starter microworm culture (for after Christmas). Unfortunately, I do not have anything to trade at this time. I'm located in Markham and can travel as far as the public transit will take me.


I have microworms, walter worms, banana worms and white worms. I'm downtown, near the Ossington and Christie subway stations. PM or email me if interested.


----------



## Sagittarius-Aquarius

Need microworms, short notice! Does anyone have any near Hamilton? I'm sort of strapped for cash. Microworms, vinegar eels, anything suitable for blue lyretail fry!


----------



## bluegularis

I have Walter Worms and plenty of BS eggs for hatching.

Looking for vinegar eels.

I am at 403 and Winston Churchill, west side of Mississauga

Thanks

John


----------



## Jamblor

Hello, I'm looking for a starter culture of white worms. I can come pick up but would prefer a place in mississauga/oakville.

PM me if you have some!


----------



## Lei

I am in Burlington and have white worms. I need microworms. I would also trade for plants. Maybe odds and ends aquarium supplies, try me


----------



## slobodan

I have microworms, winegar eels, daphnia.. Looking for some grindal worms..

I"m in Grimsby..

@bluegularis

I'm interested in BS eggs you have..


----------



## qwerty

I'm currently looking for flightless/wingless fruitflies... Can anyone within Toronto help me out?


----------



## slobodan

I have Daphnia Magna and Daphnia Pulex.. Daphnia Magna is much bigger daphnia and smaller fish might have hard time with it. Perfect for Angel, Apistos etc..


----------



## okoolo

looking for a microworm culture 

thanks


----------



## 2thdr

Hi,
Im looking for white or black worms. Any 1? i dont have anything to trade but willing to pay a bit.


----------



## Jackson

2thdr said:


> Hi,
> Im looking for white or black worms. Any 1? i dont have anything to trade but willing to pay a bit.


Go to dragon aquarium to buy a starter culture of black worms. I think it's 2$ for a good amount of them.

I bought mine there last year and have them coming out my ears now.


----------



## bae

Jackson said:


> Go to dragon aquarium to buy a starter culture of black worms. I think it's 2$ for a good amount of them.
> 
> I bought mine there last year and have them coming out my ears now.


Can you describe for us how you raise your blackworms?


----------



## Jackson

bae said:


> Can you describe for us how you raise your blackworms?


All the info you need about them is found on this site. Any info on any forum out there is just repeated from Dr. Drews site. It took me a bit to find it when I was reading up on them but I'm glad I did find it

http://www.eeob.iastate.edu/faculty/DrewesC/htdocs/

I don't use paper towels though. I use 1" of pea sized gravel


----------



## matti2uude

I'm looking for a microworm culture near Scarborough. 
Thanks Matt


----------



## kuzzyca

*Looking for microworm starter*

Would like to get a starter I'm not in the gta but if anyone could ship one that would be great I'm in warkworth


----------



## bae

kuzzyca said:


> Would like to get a starter I'm not in the gta but if anyone could ship one that would be great I'm in warkworth


PM or email me in a few weeks when the weather is a bit more reliable and I'll try mailing you a starter.


----------



## chriscro

i have whiteworm culture i can spare some. 
i'll trade for foreground plant or blackworms

can meet in etobicoke/brampton/vaughan/caledon


----------



## Dom

I have Micro/Banana/Walter worms, Grindal worms, White worms and Vinegar eels I can trade if someone needs.
I live in Etobicoke, Dixon Rd/Islington Ave


----------



## bettaforu

*looking for microworm culture starter.*

I am in need of a microworm starter...I know how to make them but don't have any to start them off with. Will be glad to share once I get mine going.

I am going to be breeding this Blue MG CT pair (decided to try it out as I am assured of getting MG in some form/pattern) and the male has built a bubble nest across the top of his tank that is how much he wants to be a daddy 

So need to have the micros on hand for any babies that hatch.
here is the pair I am trying out. I am in Burlington, so anyone close by either side let me know and I can pick it up. thanks


----------



## Lei

Message sent Betta, I have some in Burlington, give me a call.


----------



## Westender

I'm looking for microworms in the Toronto area.

thanks,

Dominic


----------



## Tropicana

I have Banana worms in Orillia of anyone is up here and in need. Just shoot me a PM.


----------



## kuzzyca

*Have microworms will mail lol*

Have a ton of microworms started a new culture 4 days ago and it exploded!! Just started 2 more fairly large ones way more then I need send a pm with your address and I'll be glad to mail you a healthy scoop of starter lol I'm not in gta so can't meet or deliver


----------



## MrEsox

Hi Guys

I read the very long thread, and probably I am more confused than before .

Basically, I would like to start a culture of whiteworms or grindal, and fruitflies.

There is anybody in Toronto/North York (but I can drive) from which I can buy a starter?

I will pay, I don't have anything to trade in since I recently start everything over.

Thank you very much for your help.
Enzo


----------



## bettaforu

I think Catherine (Bettandbeads) has grindal worms....drop her a line.


----------



## Lei

I have white worms. I bought a small culture for $10 originally, and will ask $10 for a fully functioning large culture about 10 X's that at this point. I am in Burlington, do come to TO occasionally for functions.


----------



## fury165

I'm looking for a source of black worms in the GTA. Can anybody point me in the right direction?

TIA


----------



## matti2uude

I get them at the old aqua pets store (I'm not sure what it's called now) on the west side of silver star south of steeles. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## fury165

matti2uude said:


> I get them at the old aqua pets store (I'm not sure what it's called now) on the west side of silver star south of steeles.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Is that the plaza north of where Star Walk Buffet is? Thanks!


----------



## george

Anyone in burlington or toronto have any whiteworms? Coming from niagara on the lake and willing to pick them up omw to toronto.


----------



## chizhevskiy

Searching for black worms. Buy or trade, have:
White worms
Grindal worms
Daphnia
Microworms
Infusoria paramecium (bring your microscope to check )


----------



## J-P

chizhevskiy said:


> Searching for black worms. Buy or trade, have:
> White worms
> Grindal worms
> Daphnia
> Microworms
> Infusoria paramecium (bring your microscope to check )


I am also, but have nothing to trade


----------



## Lei

I need microworms (I let my culture crash) I might try vinegar eels. I have white worms. In Burlington.

Lei.


----------



## chizhevskiy

Lei said:


> I need microworms (I let my culture crash) I might try vinegar eels. I have white worms. In Burlington.
> 
> Lei.


May share with you. Can you pickup in Vaughan at dufferin&steels?


----------



## Lei

Sorry, I am not planning any trips to Toronto in the near future. I can pick up Oakville to Grimsby along the QEW.

George, if you are still looking you are welcome to some white worms for free, though if you have a plant or something to trade that would be great too.

Thanks, Lei


----------



## zicheng

I have microworms, free to anyone who wants a small portion. I'm in Pickering and work in uptown toronto.


----------



## igor.kanshyn

*Daphia magna*










Free daphnia, easy to keep live fish food. Look here for details: http://gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=28141


----------



## Groovychild

Hi All,

I'm looking for microworms in a hurry. I have cory cat fry that just hatched and microworms are the best fry food for them as they are bottom dwellers and need the meety content in their diet. 

Please PM me if you have some.

Thanks!


----------



## CoryKat

Groovychild said:


> Hi All,
> 
> I'm looking for microworms in a hurry. I have cory cat fry that just hatched and microworms are the best fry food for them as they are bottom dwellers and need the meety content in their diet.
> 
> Please PM me if you have some.
> 
> Thanks!


Congrats and pm sent 

btw I fed mine on filter squeezings and green water after the 2nd day for 2-3 days then fed walter worms and Hikari First Bites.


----------



## CoryKat

CoryKat said:


> Congrats and pm sent
> 
> btw I fed mine on filter squeezings and green water after the 2nd day for 2-3 days then fed walter worms and Hikari First Bites.


Btw I have free walter worms starter cultures for anyone. I'm in the Queen & Broadview area.


----------



## Scotmando

How long is a micro or walterworm culture good for? And what conditions do they do best in? Temp, light, medium?

Does anyone have whiteworms?


----------



## CoryKat

Scotmando said:


> How long is a micro or walterworm culture good for? And what conditions do they do best in? Temp, light, medium?
> 
> Does anyone have whiteworms?


Walter worm cultures are good for 3 weeks - 4 weeks but you can take some of the original culture after a few weeks and start a new batch or add more medium to extend it. It's really easy to do. I use quick cooking oatmeal, some soy flour and a pinch of yeast as a medium. They don't need alot of special care. I have mine at room temperature in a take out container with pinholes punched in the lid. They don't like bright light so my container sits beside my hatchery where it's partially shaded.

Here's a link with more info. http://www.worm-cultures.com/walterworminformation.htm
You can also google for more info on different mediums, etc.


----------



## Groovychild

Thanks a tonne for the walterworms. You gave me a good healthy culture and great instructions on caring for it. 

My Cory's are still feeding on their yolks and I'm glad to know that they will have a yummy meaty first meal when they're ready. 

More fry hatch everyday. Will put up pics and will keep you posted. 

Thanks a tonne!


----------



## chizhevskiy

Searching for vinegar eels culture, have:
- infusoria paramecium
- microworms
- daphnia
- grindal worms
- white worms

Dufferin & Steels


----------



## Scotmando

chizhevskiy said:


> Searching for vinegar eels culture, have:
> - infusoria paramecium
> - microworms
> - daphnia
> - grindal worms
> - white worms
> 
> Dufferin & Steels


Are you going to the *Peel Auction*? Its on Movember 13, 2011 10am.

Maybe you'll find vinegar eels there.

*Also check out The GTAAquaria thread*


----------



## horus0923

*Microworms*

I would like some microworms to start a culture after winter. Please let me know if you guys have some then.

Thank you.


----------



## FlyingHellFish

Would like Live Blood worms for my puffers if you guys know a place, or someone.


----------



## Lei

Scotmando and horus, I have white worms and microworms in Burlington. I would like to trade for a plant but if you have none you can have them for free.


----------



## Groovychild

Hi,

I have a walter worm culture going if any one wants a starter 

Great for bottom feeding tiny fry and stays live in the tank for 48 hours so its less feeding for you. 

PM if interested. 

Cheers!


----------



## Scotmando

Lei said:


> Scotmando and horus, I have white worms and microworms in Burlington. I would like to trade for a plant but if you have none you can have them for free.


Thanks, but I got a white worm culture at the PEEL AUCTION on Nov 13


----------



## Black Pearl

FlyingHellFish said:


> Would like Live Blood worms for my puffers if you guys know a place, or someone.


They have live bloodworms (or tubifex, can't tell) across the street from Pacific Mall, $2 for a small portion, $4 for a big one. Morning Star and Steeles (east of Kennedy). Kowloon or something. If you don't see them, ask for live food.

Edit: The name of the store is Aqua Pets.

Also: I'm looking for starter cultures for fry and adults. Not vinegar eels, I have those and I'm sharing. Not daphnia, I really have the opposite of a green thumb with them.


----------



## matti2uude

Black Pearl said:


> They have live bloodworms (or tubifex, can't tell) across the street from Pacific Mall, $2 for a small portion, $4 for a big one. Morning Star and Steeles (east of Kennedy). Kowloon or something. If you don't see them, ask for live food.
> 
> Edit: The name of the store is Aqua Pets.
> 
> Also: I'm looking for starter cultures for fry and adults. Not vinegar eels, I have those and I'm sharing. Not daphnia, I really have the opposite of a green thumb with them.


Those are live black worms they sell there.

Sent from my iPhone 4S using Tapatalk


----------



## Jung

looking for microworms asap, anyone around the downtown area plz pm me, thanks


----------



## CoryKat

Jung said:


> looking for microworms asap, anyone around the downtown area plz pm me, thanks


You could try Menagerie on Parliament near Gerrard. I got my walter worms from them.


----------



## zicheng

I have one free culture of each:

-micro worms

and

-grindal worms

These are not starter cultures but active cultures that I use. They must be picked up in Pickering the afternoon or evening of the January 1st, and then I'm throwing them away. Unfortunately, my pair of N. eggersi died a few days ago, so I no longer need these cultures.


----------



## zicheng

They've been claimed.



zicheng said:


> I have one free culture of each:
> 
> -micro worms
> 
> and
> 
> -grindal worms
> 
> These are not starter cultures but active cultures that I use. They must be picked up in Pickering the afternoon or evening of the January 1st, and then I'm throwing them away. Unfortunately, my pair of N. eggersi died a few days ago, so I no longer need these cultures.


----------



## alexxa

I hv microworm culture for sale, please send me a message if you want some.


----------



## igor.kanshyn

*Gammarus Shrimp or Scud, live food*

I have some Gammarus freshwater Shrimps or Scud. It's a live food, good for young and adult fish.
They are easy to keep and grow up to 1cm. Actually, I haven't seen such big ones, mine are all up to 8mm.

I can share them with no charge.


----------



## Scotmando

*Fruit fly(flightless) culture in 32oz. tub*

*Flightless(winged) Fruit Fly Culture in 32oz food tub*

Cultures come with approximately 75-100 flies, 32oz. tub, media & excelsior (wood fibre for perching).

Flies are _drosophila hydei_, the largest of the fruit flies. Size 1/8'' (3.5mm)

♦ Excellent fesh food for Adult Bettas, Killifish, Gourami, Angelfish, Guppies, Cichlids, Rainbowfish(mine go nuts for them), Frogs, Salamanders, Newts, Mantids, Carnivorous Plants, Birds & more. 
♦ d. hydei will produce 100's & 100"s of flies in about 14 days at temps of 65-80F
♦ Culture produces thousands of flies with all food needed to live & reproduce for a month or more.
♦ Maintain a reproductive population of about 50 flies in the culture.

*$8.50 for one* complete working 32oz tub culture with Flies

*$5.50 for one* small tub of FLIES ONLY (100-150)

*Mississauga or Etobicoke P/U*

*Pm or Email* ScotMando123 (at) gmail.com

I also have Microworms, Walter worms & Whiteworms available. Full & starter cultures. Email for availability


----------



## igor.kanshyn

*Daphia magna*

I have daphnia live food I'm giving for free.

Look at 'encouraging' video here: Swarming daphnia creatures


----------



## Sunny

I have whiteworms, also looking for Daphnia in Peel Mississauga area


----------



## chriscro

how is the whiteworm culture going i gave you sunny?


----------



## Sunny

Doing great, I now have two tubs on the go. Keeping them in the dark in a wine cooler.


----------



## reptileandfishcanada

The Dragon on Dundas almost always carries live tubifex for a reasonable price. I picked up $12 worth today and am hoping this population will sustain itself enough that I can feed my bettas daily and never run out (although I have over 50 bettas!)


----------



## matti2uude

reptileandfishcanada said:


> The Dragon on Dundas almost always carries live tubifex for a reasonable price. I picked up $12 worth today and am hoping this population will sustain itself enough that I can feed my bettas daily and never run out (although I have over 50 bettas!)


I thought they were live black worms not tubifex worms.

Sent from my iPhone 4S using Tapatalk


----------



## Scotmando

I have a new batch of fruit fly cultures available immediately



Scotmando said:


> *Flightless(winged) Fruit Fly Culture in 32oz food tub*
> 
> Cultures come with approximately 75-100 flies, 32oz. tub, media & excelsior (wood fibre for perching).
> 
> Flies are _drosophila hydei_, the largest of the fruit flies. Size 1/8'' (3.5mm)
> 
> ♦ Excellent fesh food for Adult Bettas, Killifish, Gourami, Angelfish, Guppies, Cichlids, Rainbowfish(mine go nuts for them), Frogs, Salamanders, Newts, Mantids, Carnivorous Plants, Birds & more.
> ♦ d. hydei will produce 100's & 100"s of flies in about 14 days at temps of 65-80F
> ♦ Culture produces thousands of flies with all food needed to live & reproduce for a month or more.
> ♦ Maintain a reproductive population of about 50 flies in the culture.
> 
> *$8.50 for one* complete working 32oz tub culture with Flies
> 
> *$5.50 for one* small tub of FLIES ONLY (100-150)
> 
> *Mississauga or Etobicoke P/U*
> 
> *Pm or Email* ScotMando123 (at) gmail.com
> 
> I also have Microworms, Walter worms & Whiteworms available. Full & starter cultures. Email for availability


----------



## Zer0

I would like to know if grindal worms would be suitable for guppies and neons. I read online that they are not too small and not too big, so I am thinking the grindal worms may be a good alternative to flake food.

My only concern is that I get squeamish with the worms.

If anyone has grindal worm culture, please let me know.
I found 2 people on kijiji that sales grindal worm, but no reply. I would try ebay next if can't find them locally. (Does custom like worms crossing the border?)

Thanks!


----------



## Scotmando

vodka said:


> I would like to know if grindal worms would be suitable for guppies and neons. I read online that they are not too small and not too big, so I am thinking the grindal worms may be a good alternative to flake food.
> 
> My only concern is that I get squeamish with the worms.
> 
> If anyone has grindal worm culture, please let me know.
> I found 2 people on kijiji that sales grindal worm, but no reply. I would try ebay next if can't find them locally. (Does custom like worms crossing the border?)
> 
> Thanks!


You'l find them locally. Just keep trying.

Also, there's the aquarium club auctions this Fall. They usually have all kinds of live food available. You can always ask on the Thread here on GTA Aquaria for the Hamilton Auction

*From the club website:
Hamilton and District Aquarium Society FALL AUCTION 
Date: Saturday, September 22, 2012

Royal Canadian Legion Branch 551
79 Hamilton St N
Waterdown, Ontario

Doors open at 8:00am. All entries must be submitted and tabled by 9:30 am.
Auction starts sharply at 10:00am.

The percentage breakdown will be 70% / 30% club.
Only new dry goods, fish and books will be accepted.
Used equipment, including aquariums up to 40 gallons (if you can't carry it in, please don't bring it), are welcome, but must be in working condition.

All sales final and at the decision of the auctioneer.*

*H&DAS Fall Auction link*


----------



## df001

Can anyone have microworms? I let my cultures crash over the summer, and now need to get a new culture, can trade plants or $ is fine. Would like to get them tuesday or thursday, as i'll hopefully have wrigglers on wednesday(rams)


----------



## slobodan

Where are you located. I have a culture I could spare..

Sent from my SGH-I717R using Tapatalk 2


----------



## df001

I'm in east york (just north east of DVP/Bloor) Grimsby is a mite far, thanks for the offer though unless you get into toronto, its not going to work.


----------



## Scotmando

df001 said:


> Can anyone have microworms? I let my cultures crash over the summer, and now need to get a new culture, can trade plants or $ is fine. Would like to get them tuesday or thursday, as i'll hopefully have wrigglers on wednesday(rams)


I have Micro, Walter & Banana worms starter cultures available for P/U in Mississauga. $4.- ea or *take one of each for $10.-*

Also work in Etobicoke @ Royal York & Bloor for P/U there.

Are you going to the Peel auction on Sunday?

*Last auction this year in the GTA!

November 4, 2012 PRAC- Peel Regional Aquarium Club - Fall auction[/SIZE]*

_ALL THE DETAILS IN LINK TO THEIR WEBSITE_


----------



## df001

I'm not sure, saturday I have to go to muskoka to finish installing a garage door, not sure if i'll get back saturday aft or spend the night.

either way, if the adults make it through the next 24 hrs without eating all the eggs (as they've done 4 other times) I'll need to get the micro worms on thursday, otherwise no rush.


----------



## LTPGuy

*Daphnia*

Great idea Sunstar. Add me to the have list for Daphnia. I am in Mississauga (Creditview and Britannia).

I can spare free starter culture for those who are interested. Please do all of the research and preparation before requesting sample.

I am looking to diversify the daphnia culture if other have other variety. Mine came from Igor's batch, and I believe they are to be Daphnia Pulex. Max size is 3mm. Min size is slightly larger than brine shrimps.

I find daphnia are quite resilient and they are eaten by all of my fish so far.

As a suggestion, can you add a location column in your list.


----------



## CanadaMoe

*LF - Whiteworms*

Hello,
Dont' know if this is the place to ask. Mods, feel free to move it.

I'm looking for a starter culture of whiteworm, preferably north or east end of GTA.

Thanks


----------



## df001

So i just pulled a batch?clutch?swath? Of eggs from my koi angels, would like to get some microworms asap. Anyone in east york area able to set me up?


----------



## slobodan

I can bring some to Union station if you are interested..

Sent from my SGH-I717R using Tapatalk 2


----------



## df001

Will definitely need them this week as i have lots of wigglers!! 

Would rather not go to union, i can drive to whereever if no-one else is closer-available? Just downtown is a pain in the butt.


----------



## slobodan

How about Burlington? ?

Sent from my SGH-I717R using Tapatalk 2


----------



## df001

Thats a tad far, i may have a source near me, thanks though!


----------



## Scotmando

df001 said:


> Will definitely need them this week as i have lots of wigglers!!
> 
> Would rather not go to union, i can drive to whereever if no-one else is closer-available? Just downtown is a pain in the butt.


i have Banana, Walter & Micro worm cultures if you need. I can bring em to work at the flowershop in Etobicoke.

I'll PM you


----------



## Jackson

Scotmando said:


> i have Banana, Walter & Micro worm cultures if you need. I can bring em to work at the flowershop in Etobicoke.
> 
> I'll PM you


Where is the usual pick up spot?


----------



## slobodan

Does anyone have Daphnia Pulex?? They are smaller then Daphnia Magna (Igor's batch)


----------



## hoody123

Hi there, I'm curious to know if these microworm cultures would be an appropriate food for a dward (pea) puffer. I'm really interested in getting a puffer for one of my tanks here at home and am thinking these would <likely> be appropriate. Thanks in advance for any advice!


----------



## Jackson

hoody123 said:


> Hi there, I'm curious to know if these microworm cultures would be an appropriate food for a dward (pea) puffer. I'm really interested in getting a puffer for one of my tanks here at home and am thinking these would be appropriate. Thanks in advance for any advice!


Too small

You'd would be better off starting a tank of black worms and snails to feed to the puffers.


----------



## hoody123

Wow, really, for a pea puffer? Those things seem so tiny it's hard to envision anything being "too small" for them...?


----------



## LTPGuy

*Pea Puffer will eat Daphnia and Blackworms*



hoody123 said:


> Hi there, I'm curious to know if these microworm cultures would be an appropriate food for a dward (pea) puffer. I'm really interested in getting a puffer for one of my tanks here at home and am thinking these would <likely> be appropriate. Thanks in advance for any advice!


I have a pair of pea puffers, and was so excited to learned that they are fresh water. Best of both world, cute pea puffer without the salt!

The problem I learned when I got home was the pair didn't eat frozen food. They got all excited about bits dropping near them, and swim to investigate but not biting. One puffer stomach got so flat that it appeared concaved.

I was lucky as I acquired a starter culture of dahpnia only a week prior, and tossed in a few. The puffers were on the daphnia like they did with the frozen bits, but they took the daphnia.

These a D. Pulex so they maxed out their size around 3mm. Smallest observed size were around that of brine shrimp. You will need around 2-3 weeks for the population to stabilized.

The puffer loved it. Bellies soon were big bulges!

The PP also eats blackworms which appears to live happily in my substrate. I don't keep my worms in the fridge!

I am also trying to raise blackworms, but they double their population in 34 weeks, that's weeks, not days. Big Als sells them for $5 for a portion that should last a decently long time if you're just feeding your PP.

So PP or DP will eat blackworms and daphnia. I have no experience with microworms, but I see the PP snipping at drift woods, and substrate and can only assume that there are microscopic critters.

Hope this helps. Both wife and kids love puffers, but I didn't want to handle a brackish water setup, plus the larger puffers are really dirty so there's lots of maintenance. Pea Puffers were the answer!


----------



## Jackson

hoody123 said:


> Wow, really, for a pea puffer? Those things seem so tiny it's hard to envision anything being "too small" for them...?


I guess for young ones it shouldn't be an issue and they'll go for them if you throw in a few clumps. It won't hurt to try. I know people feed them micro worms when young but as they grow you'll need to feed them larger foods.
You could try a stater of white worms they would be a lot better you could feed them these and continue as they're adults.

The size of both worms are appropriate for the puffers at various sizes. 
To feed these and only these to the puffer wouldn't be a good choice.


----------



## kuzzyca

*anyone have micro and white worms near peterborough?*

looking for someone near peterborough who has microworms and/or white worms that would be willing to part with a starter.


----------



## Joseph

*have microworms, vinegar eels, and D. magna*

I've got some D. magna (occasionally used as food, mostly as pets), vinegar eels and microworms to share.
Mississauga - Mavis and Dundas


----------



## Spicoli

lookin for decent feeder guppies in oshawa area if anyone has any. Feeding goliath tiger fish


----------



## prolific8

*feeders*

I have a culture of the following that I use to feed my cichlids between veggies:

Scuds (Gammarus pulex)
Ramshorns (Red, pink, leopard/brown, blue swirl that i remove the culls for food)
Marble cray babies (occasionally use them now that my females are having larger broods, there are often too many offspring to coexist in the 10 gal "maternity" tank and some losses are expected through competition of territory).


----------



## Scotmando

prolific8 said:


> I have a culture of the following that I use to feed my cichlids between veggies:
> 
> Scuds (Gammarus pulex)
> Ramshorns (Red, pink, leopard/brown, blue swirl that i remove the culls for food)
> Marble cray babies (occasionally use them now that my females are having larger broods, there are often too many offspring to coexist in the 10 gal "maternity" tank and some losses are expected through competition of territory).


what do you feed your scuds?


----------



## prolific8

*scuds*

i feed the gammarus clippings/cuttings of of my aquarium plants, lettuce/spinach/greens that is starting to wilt a little, some fish food and the odd crushed snail for a varied diet to keep them creating.


----------



## Fishfur

Has anyone ever seen a source that's accessible to Canadians for moina ? Often called daphnia moina, but they are not truly a daphnia.. but they are a first class substitute for brine shrimp. They use them almost exclusively in Asia for raising fish fry, like Bettas, for example, because brine shrimp are harder to raise, becoming scarce and more and more costly. So far, only sources I can find are all US based, and I've yet to find one that will ship here. University of Florida has them, but will not deal with hobbyists. Only with big companies or other large institutions.

One advantage to these critters is that they tend not to 'pulse' like daphnia do.. numbers in the culture tend to remain fairly steady provided you harvest them regularly. Another big plus is that they are also not nearly so sensitive to heat in summer nor to poorer water quality. Thus, easier to keep.

If anyone knows of a source I'd sure like to hear about it.


----------



## Jackson

If I'm not wrong Igors is monia


----------



## LTPGuy

Jackson said:


> If I'm not wrong Igors is monia


I believe Igor's stock is D. Pulex. In my culture (started from Igor's), the largest I have seen is about 3mm in diameter. I believe Moina are quite small, the 1.5mm max.

Igor may have more than just the Daphnia culture that he gave me, and if so, I would love to get my grubby hand on some moina myself.

Igor, any comment on Moina?


----------



## Fishfur

Nope.. Igor's are D. magna.. the largest species of daphnia. I do wish they were moina, which are, I have learned, not true daphnia at all. Still a micro crustacean, just not a daphnia. 

D. Pulex are a smaller species of daphnia, smaller than Igor's D. magna, but size is the main difference. Culture is about the same, and they're as affected by heat as the larger species are. Moina is not, which is one big reason I'm interested, because heat is a ongoing issue for me in this apartment. I lose various cultures too often because they get too hot, despite my best efforts to keep them as cool as possible.


----------



## LTPGuy

Fishfur said:


> Nope.. Igor's are D. magna.. the largest species of daphnia. I do wish they were moina, which are, I have learned, not true daphnia at all. Still a micro crustacean, just not a daphnia.
> 
> D. Pulex are a smaller species of daphnia, smaller than Igor's D. magna, but size is the main difference. Culture is about the same, and they're as affected by heat as the larger species are. Moina is not, which is one big reason I'm interested, because heat is a ongoing issue for me in this apartment. I lose various cultures too often because they get too hot, despite my best efforts to keep them as cool as possible.


Did Igor tell you that they were Magna, and if not, how did you come to the conclusion that his strain was Magna?

I initially thought they were Magna myself, but came to the conclusion that maybe there were pulex based on size and details found here.

I have looked under the microscope, and


> one of the appendages of the carapace near the post-abdominal is setose


Pulex and Magna are very similar and for all intend purposes, fishes of all size love them regardless.

I just want to confirmed for myself so that I don't give them away and spreading false information. It has been a while but I recall Igor could not specifically identify the specie himself.


----------



## Jackson

LTPGuy said:


> I believe Igor's stock is D. Pulex. In my culture (started from Igor's), the largest I have seen is about 3mm in diameter. I believe Moina are quite small, the 1.5mm max.
> 
> Igor may have more than just the Daphnia culture that he gave me, and if so, I would love to get my grubby hand on some moina myself.
> 
> Igor, any comment on Moina?


When I searched monia once his videos poped up.

I guess they're not monia


----------



## Fishfur

Igor told me, I think the first time I went to get some, that they were magna.. that's why I said it. Or maybe he said he thought they were Magna ? Now I'm thinking about it, I can't actually remember if he was sure of the species, but I've always thought since then that they were D. magna. 

Pulex, according only to what I've read about them, are supposed to be smaller than Magna, but otherwise there is not a lot of difference in terms of raising them for fish food - fish don't care about size unless it's too big to fit in their mouths.

I would expect there to be some anatomical differences if they're different species of course. But moina are not daphnia. Sometimes they are referred to as Russian dapnhia, and they are similar to daphnia, but not classed as a daphnia species. 

Igor's creatures, as he so charmingly calls them, are most certainly daphnia.. and until you mentioned him not being sure of it, I could have sworn he told me they were Magna.. but whatever they are, the fish think they're terrific.


----------



## igor.kanshyn

I believe that my daphnia is *daphnia magna*. It's a big one. I'm not sure that I've seen any 5mm creatures, but lots of them 4mm in size. I thinks that I give them a chance some will grow to 5mm.

Another "proof" that this daphnia is magna is that their newborn babies are not very small. They are perfectly visible and I even see their "wings".
Daphia pulex and moina have very small babies.


----------



## Fishfur

Thanks for the clarification Igor.. I thought you'd told me at one time they were Magna.. but regardless of species, fish think they are very, very tasty !


----------



## LTPGuy

Fishfur said:


> Thanks for the clarification Igor.. I thought you'd told me at one time they were Magna.. but regardless of species, fish think they are very, very tasty !


Ditto! Will quote you in the future so other won't go away with the wrong idea.

To redivert, I am also very interested in some Moina as was Fishfur's initial comment.

I have purchase daphnia from the bug farm a long time ago, and will try to contact them again. Fishfur, want to split the cost on an order?


----------



## Fishfur

Sure, I'd love to do that. PM details ?


----------



## kaitlyn19

wngt368 said:


> Have - Baby Brine Shrimp, and baby snails ( red ramshorn)
> Want - Black Worms


I know a place in the GTA that sells live black worms. I get mine there. Its called Aqua Pets. Its al 680 Silver Star Blvd, Toronto. Across the street from the pacific mall. They usually have, maybe give them a call before hand cause they only order them if there a fresh batch. I call ahead usually and get them to add my order to theres, I get a half pound for $30.


----------



## Fishfur

Can anyone tell me if there is a preferred media for raising micro or banana worms ? I've seen cultures growing on oatmeal, bread, various flours, cereal, etc. I've been using oatmeal but I ran out. 

Tried making a mix of flours I had on hand, but the darn stuff starting rising ! I guess it turned into sourdough, even though I hadn't added any yeast to it, nor any worms. I wanted to start a new culture, and figured since I don't normally use flour of any kind, I'd do it ahead of time and make sure it wasn't too wet or dry. Imagine my surprise to find it had tripled in size overnight .

Of course I can get more oatmeal, but thought I'd ask if anyone's had good luck with anything else.. or if there's even any consensus on what's a good media for them.


----------



## Scotmando

Fishfur said:


> Can anyone tell me if there is a preferred media for raising micro or banana worms ? I've seen cultures growing on oatmeal, bread, various flours, cereal, etc. I've been using oatmeal but I ran out.
> 
> Tried making a mix of flours I had on hand, but the darn stuff starting rising ! I guess it turned into sourdough, even though I hadn't added any yeast to it, nor any worms. I wanted to start a new culture, and figured since I don't normally use flour of any kind, I'd do it ahead of time and make sure it wasn't too wet or dry. Imagine my surprise to find it had tripled in size overnight .
> 
> Of course I can get more oatmeal, but thought I'd ask if anyone's had good luck with anything else.. or if there's even any consensus on what's a good media for them.


The easiest is plain quick oats with some water to moisten and a sprinkle of instant yeast. Lasts me 4-8 weeks.


----------



## Fishfur

I know.. usually it's great for me.. I just ran out and figured I'd use something else I had on hand. So much for that idea.. I'll go buy more oats.


----------



## Fishfur

Does anyone culture Melanogaster flightless fruit flies ? Smaller species, but shorter life cycle. Please let me know if you know of a source. Big Als has been out of them for weeks and because I've been away for weeks, my fledgling culture has died off.


----------



## LTPGuy

Fishfur said:


> Does anyone culture Melanogaster flightless fruit flies ? Smaller species, but shorter life cycle. Please let me know if you know of a source. Big Als has been out of them for weeks and because I've been away for weeks, my fledgling culture has died off.


Check with Mr ScottMando. He showed me all of his goodies the first time I met him. Super impressive hobbist!


----------



## Scotmando

Fishfur said:


> Does anyone culture Melanogaster flightless fruit flies ? Smaller species, but shorter life cycle. Please let me know if you know of a source. Big Als has been out of them for weeks and because I've been away for weeks, my fledgling culture has died off.


Try Heydn aka Fishead. He mat have d. melanogaster. I only have d. hydei


----------



## bettaforu

I know a few people use instant potato flakes or baby food. Ive only done it with plain oatmeal. I tried a day or so ago, but my Instant Yeast is too old...its supposed to be refrigerated once opened and I didn't....so NO microworms.

Getting a few from members on here too.

On another note....my baby GBRs are alive and moving and Daddy is picking them up and spitting them back into the clay dish....guess they want to take off now and he's NOT having any of that


----------



## Fishfur

Interesting observation on microworm culture. I got some new microworms from a member awhile ago. His were darn healthy, he literally had a pool of them on the media, and gave me a healthy swipe of pure worm, no substrate.

He told me he fed them only tiny dabs of yeast, so I'd been doing that. They were doing ok, but struggled in that heat wave we had. After that, I thought I had lost most of them. I renewed their media, and and found I had some packets of yeast in the butter keeper that were years out of date. 2007, 2008 dates. They would be useless for bread, even though they'd been kept cold, yeast usually does not survive that long past it's date, even in a vac pac.

But, rather than toss the stuff, I thought I'd experiment and see if the worms would eat this yeast, which I assume was probably pretty much dead. I sprinkled quite a bit of it on one side of a large culture. It's in a clear box about six inches square. Put fresh yeast on the other side of the culture to compare the results.

Next day, worms were nearly to the top on the 'dead' yeast side, and barely started climbing on the live yeast side. Now, when I say I used a lot of the old yeast, I mean a LOT.. I lost my grip on the package and dumped about half of it onto one half of the culture.

Seeing such a response, I started putting a lot of this old yeast on all the cultures. I've been feeding from most of them too, wiping the worms off the sides for the Endler fry and other fish. Next day, I had worms covering even the lids, and piling up in small hills on the sides of the containers.. literally heaps of solid worms, with a thick pool of them on top of the substrate. I have never seen them reproduce at this rate before. 

This past week I have continued to feed them by sprinkling quite a lot of the old yeast on top of most of their media. They have continued to reproduce at very high rates. One small jar I opened had a quarter inch thick layer of 'hills' on one side, and a layer at least 1/16" thick on the lid, and that one was only started two weeks ago. So whether it is the ample amount of yeast, or the fact it's old, I really can't say. But I think I'll continue to feed them amply and see how long this production continues.

There are too many to feed them all every day, so I'm going to try freezing some. I've saved some pill packs that have the little blisters in them that are not too large. I'm going to fill those with the extra worms, cover with foil and see what happens when I feed the frozen ones later on. I hope it works, be a nice way to get some extra food on hand in case I lose the cultures, which has happened a couple of times since I started trying to keep them.

If anybody is in need, I have worms ready to go too.


----------



## Scotmando

looking for Grindal worm culture


----------



## Bigdaddyo

Scotmando said:


> looking for Grindal worm culture


Scott I just got a good starter of these yesterday. Not good enough to split but I'll hopefully have the culture big enough to split in a couple weeks. If you don't find a culture by Octoberfish pm me and if everything works out I'll bring a starter for you then.


----------



## Scotmando

Bigdaddyo said:


> Scott I just got a good starter of these yesterday. Not good enough to split but I'll hopefully have the culture big enough to split in a couple weeks. If you don't find a culture by Octoberfish pm me and if everything works out I'll bring a starter for you then.


You going to any of the Auctions this fall?

Great. Appreciate it.

Still looking for a Grindal worm culture.


----------



## Bigdaddyo

I'll be in Hamilton and KWAS.


Scotmando said:


> You going to any of the Auctions this fall?
> 
> Great. Appreciate it.
> 
> Still looking for a Grindal worm culture.


----------



## Scotmando

Anybody have Grindal worms?

I'll be at the Hamilton auction on Sat Sept 21, 2013


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## LTPGuy

Daphnia are incredibly resilient, but I have finally manage to completely destroyed both my main and backup culture.

In a recently renovation, the air line must have slip off and thus both cultures had no aeration for several days. This is normally not catastrophic, but I keep black worms in my culture. 

By the time I noticed that smell, it was too late.

And so I wonder if anyone near Creditview & Britannia have some daphnia to spare.

I can bring some plants clippings or cherry shrimps.

Thanks in advance.


----------



## Scotmando

LTPGuy said:


> Daphnia are incredibly resilient, but I have finally manage to completely destroyed both my main and backup culture.
> 
> In a recently renovation, the air line must have slip off and thus both cultures had no aeration for several days. This is normally not catastrophic, but I keep black worms in my culture.
> 
> By the time I noticed that smell, it was too late.
> 
> And so I wonder if anyone near Creditview & Britannia have some daphnia to spare.
> 
> I can bring some plants clippings or cherry shrimps
> 
> Thanks in advance.


I have a thriving daphnia culture. PM if interested.

Are you going to the Peel Fish Auction in Brampton this Sunday Nov 3, 2013?

You'll see lots of fish, shrimp & related items such as live cultures, tanks, stands, filters, heaters, foods, etc.

Northfin Fish Foods will be there. I use their cichlids formula & my Africans love it, especially my Frontosa.


----------



## LTPGuy

Thanks Scott, you're top rated hobbyist and a shining example.

It's likely I won't be able to make it to the auction due to scheduling conflict. Will try as I've never been to one, and everyone always rave about them!


----------



## igor.kanshyn

I have daphnia, and I work in Mississauga (Dixie & Eglinton). You can come to my office to get it.


----------



## igor.kanshyn

I have been at the auction at 'Canadian Legion Hall' once. It was a great experience.


----------



## Scotmando

igor.kanshyn said:


> I have been at the auction at 'Canadian Legion Hall' once. It was a great experience.


+1. Peel Auction at the Legion in Brampton rocked last year & it'll be even better this year.


----------



## LTPGuy

igor.kanshyn said:


> I have daphnia, and I work in Mississauga (Dixie & Eglinton). You can come to my office to get it.


Thanks very much for your kind offer Igor, and thanks for selling me those top rated PFR and Yellow that got me all addicted now.

I am trying to work out a meeting time with Scott but if we can't work out a time, and will gratefully accept your offer. I'll PM you if things doesn't work out.

Are you going to the PRAC this year?


----------



## Mykuhl

Glad to hear your daphnia population is back up and producing for you Igor.


----------



## igor.kanshyn

Mykuhl said:


> Glad to hear your daphnia population is back up and producing for you Igor.


Yes, it's back. Thank you very much for your help with the daphnia!


----------



## Fogelhund

I would like to find some Gammarus/Scuds if anyone has a lead. Thanks


----------



## Scotmando

Fogelhund said:


> I would like to find some Gammarus/Scuds if anyone has a lead. Thanks


There were 5 or 6 cultures at the Peel Aquarium Auction this past Sunday.

Maybe you can post on the Peel Auction Post  as well.

Good luck


----------



## Fishfur

How did I miss scud cultures ? Dang it..


----------



## Scotmando

Fishfur said:


> How did I miss scud cultures ? Dang it..


Actually, on top of the scuds/gammarus, there was a lot of other live food cultures. I also saw microworms, whiteworms, vinegar eels, brine shrimp eggs & daphnia magna(I brought 4).


----------



## igor.kanshyn

Fogelhund said:


> I would like to find some Gammarus/Scuds if anyone has a lead. Thanks


I have some scuds.


----------



## Fishfur

Yep, I saw those Scot. Bought most of them too. 

Igor, do you have enough scuds for two ? Since Fogelhund asked first, should get first shot at them.


----------



## Fishfur

Would any of you guys be interested in doing a group buy of Dero worms from the US ? Carolina labs has them, the sticker is the inspection fee required by US Fish and Wildlife, which is $195... I will make sure, but I would expect one fee would cover multiple cultures so long as they all go in one shipment.. I'd get them sent here and then get them to whoever went in on it asap. A culture is a ball of worms about the size of a pea.. and shipping would be at least $40. because at this time of year it has to be overnight, heated for them to survive.
One culture is around ten bucks, btw.

If we could get 8 or 10 of us to go in on this, the inspection fee wouldn't hurt so much.

Dero worms are one of the best live foods out there.. and they are very easy to coculture with daphna or moina and a few snails. I have a link to a great article on this, from a guppy breeder. Guppy people are using these almost exlusively now in the States, the worms are so slender they're small enough for the fry, even if they are a half inch long. Adult fish also really go for them, and they're very nutritious. 

Be nice to have some folks here culturing them so we'd have some in Canada.. I've had zero success finding any here to buy.


----------



## LTPGuy

Fishfur said:


> Would any of you guys be interested in doing a group buy of Dero worms from the US ? Carolina labs has them, the sticker is the inspection fee required by US Fish and Wildlife, which is $195... I will


Have you tried their Canadian Distribution Centre? The website is http://www.merlan.ca/. They do not accept pick up, but at least you don't have to deal with custom and related import stuffs.

I am planning to make an order for some Moina culture is the near future.


----------



## ksimdjembe

looking for a starter of microworms in the durham region. if you can help, shoot me a PM


----------



## Fishfur

I'll look into that, but near as I can tell, the problem is that Dero worms leaving the US need to have the inspection certificate before US customs will allow them to be shipped over the border. I haven't yet found any Canadian regulations that govern Dero worms, it's the US that's the problem.

I've found a live food guy in Georgetown, and asked him if he could find any. He does everything from mice and rats to flies and crickets, so I sent him the scientific name and he said he'd see what he could find out. He'd never heard of them but then, his business is mainly reptiles and herps, rather than fish.

The shipping itself isn't all that bad, especially not if divided between a number of people, but that inspection fee is just brutal. Even between ten, it would be nearly $20. each just for that, never mind shipping or the approximately $9. for one worm culture. I've not yet learned if buying ten or more at a time would result in any sort of discount.

And I'm really not up for driving to the border, to be honest. It's a bit too far for me to go and come back the same day. I get too tired and driving tired is as bad as driving drunk or stoned, so I don't do it.

Be awfully nice if a bunch of folks would come together and get the worms into this country.

If you are getting Moina, I want to get some more of them.. if you'd like to split the shipment cost for some of those, I'd be up for that.


----------



## PPulcher

I find it a bit odd the US F&W would inspect something leaving their borders. I would figure that Canadian inspection authorities would be more interested than their US counterparts. I read a paper where Dero worms were associated with Proliferative Gill Disease but I would expect specimens from a scientific supply house to be clean.


----------



## Fishfur

I don't find it odd at all. I've imported plants legally and the paperwork required is very expensive, and it's supplied by the US Dept of Agriculture for plants leaving the States for any destination. It's almost impossible for small hobby purchasers to afford the phytosanitary certificates required, they're often written by hand, and charged by the hour for the inspector's time to write them. Used to only need a State phyto, now you need a Federal phyto, ten times harder to get, as they deal mainly with shiploads of stuff, not a little hobbyist buying ten plants.

Someone told me today that all worms are being restricted crossing the US/Can borders if they are in any way associated with earth, dirt, potting soil, etc. 

Much of the worm supply we see in stores, such as they are, I was told, are smuggled to reduce the expense. This was from a reptile guy, and I don't know if it's true or not, but it would not greatly surprise me if it is true.

That's because the problem is the same one they have with plants potted in soil. Soil can carry various organisms that may damage commercial crops, for example. No plant can come here planted in soil, it has to be either bare root or a mix without any actual soil in it. Hence the popularity of peat and coir mixes. There appear to be one or two exceptions to the no soil rule, but I'm not sure how they manage that. 

The State of California is even more restrictive than Canada is with all kinds of living imports because agriculture is such a huge part of their economy. Citrus and nut growing, never mind the berries and veggies. Many creatures can't be shipped to California, but are ok in most other States. One has to find out the rules for each State one proposes to ship to, it's a pain, to say the least.

I've an old friend who's been doing logistics for Hydro, and he worked in customs clearing for years. I'm going to see if he can steer me to the proper department or person to find out what the rules are for importing these creatures. 

And you're right, coming from a professional lab, they are clean, and more than that, they don't come with dirt or earth at all, just spring water. oI really don't get why the inspection is required, but I'll find out if I possibly can.


----------



## Scotmando

Fishfur is right on with these restrictions.

I own a flower shop in Etobicoke, VANDERFLEET Flowers & have notice the tightening of restrictions with plant products I receive from the US over the last 2-3 years. They are really tough with the movement of plants in & out of not just their country, but their counties & states too.

We here in Ontario haven't noticed many restrictions, except if you drive up to Woodbridge. The long horned beetle precipitated the restriction of wood products in & out of that area several years ago when they first appeared in our environment. They are believed to have come in wood shipping containers from China.

BC is a lot more restrictive with the flow of plant & related materials in & out of their province & areas within.

I had wanted to have my Felco pruners repaired & the company is located in BC. They wouldn't take any pruners from out of province due to risk of contamination from pathogens. At fruit farms, they have to disinfect pruners between trees to prevent the spread of diseases & pathogens.

With CFIA Canadian Food Inspection Agency adding new restrictions, it's more important for the tropical fish hobbyist to keep live cultures going in our own areas.

Share your cultures & the knowledge of how to keep cultures thriving with other hobbyists. You never know when yours might crash!


----------



## PPulcher

Fishfur said:


> I don't find it odd at all. I've imported plants legally and the paperwork required is very expensive, and it's supplied by the US Dept of Agriculture for plants leaving the States for any destination..


Understood. I'm aware of the phytosantiary certs for plants. It sounds like you need a phytosanitary analog (Oligochaetesanitary ) for the worms from US F&W for documentation purposes in Canada. Always a struggle with all these overlapping regs


----------



## Fishfur

I'm trying right now to find out what exactly the rules are for Dero worms. Border Services do not have them on any restricted list. CFIA does not have them listed either, but referred me to the Fish section, food fish of course. A nice chap there referred me to another person, and I'm waiting on her to return my call, to see if she knows for sure.

So far it looks as though Canada does not care about Dero worms but the simple fact that it is NOT listed anywhere would likely mean the worms would be impounded at the border, while they find out whether they're restricted or not. Thus I will carry on trying to find out precisely what their status is regarding importation into Canada. I'll keep the list posted if I find out more.

Edit.. any chance you recall where you saw that paper on Proliferative Gill Disease ? Was it in food fishes or ornamental fishes ? if they are associated with any food fish ailment, they may well be restricted in some way.


----------



## Fishfur

An update to my ever lengthening search for Dero worms. I've been through Border services and 3 different departments at CFIA., and now, the Plant Protection Agency, and they're going to call me back.

Seems a potential issue with any worm, earth or water dwelling, is what and where it's been eating. Food can remain in their digestive tract for two weeks, and when they finally excrete the remains, potentially harmful parasites or other organisms that may have been in the food source is then released, where it might, possibly, contaminate water or soil.

So I'll see what they have to say. But I'm not the first to ask, they'd heard the name before, it's just they have to call somebody else out of province to get a sure answer.

I live and [am often surprised by the things] I learn.

Edit. She called me back before I hit the post button. Seems Dero worms are known to occur in Canada, and thus require no permit or any other documention to import from any part of the continent of North America. If they were introduced, be a whole other story, but they are native species and thus, I now have the mystery of why Fish and Wildlife wants so much money to inspect a native species going to another country who does not care so long as it IS a native worm species.

I've written to Fish and Wildife to ask them if they can explain why the inspection is needed, seeing as Canada does not need it. Heaven only knows when they'll get back to me.

I'll post the answer when I get it.


----------



## GAT

Some worms require holes in the lid but can't they escape through the holes? How bad is the smell, I live in an apartment so I can't just keep them in the basement and forget about the smell. Are freeze dried stuff good alternative?


----------



## Fishfur

Depends which worms you're wanting to culture. Micro and banana worms don't have a really bad smell as a rule, though if flies get into the culture it can get a nasty odour. If that happens I start a new one and toss the smelly one. Honestly, I only notice odour when I open the container. If it's healthy it smells like sourdough starter.. not bad, but certainly a sour odour.

Vinegar eels have no odour other than the odour of the vinegar.. they need apple cider vinegar that has not been distilled to reproduce, with some chopped apple in the jar too.

I live in an apartment and I have at least a dozen cultures of various things going right now. Micro, banana, walter worms, all fed with yeast and have that sour smell when you open the jar, and some grindal worms I'm trying out, which I have not noticed any smell from yet. Vinegar eels, fruit flies.. the fruit fly hasn't much smell, but the food in the jar can be a bit stinky. I add cinnamon and turmeric to it and that makes it smell nice. Worst of them all is the small cricket keeper for my frogs. Crickets smell way worse than any worms, in my opinion.

You do have to allow ventilation. I make holes with just the tip of a pin, like a small sewing needle or safety pin. I have had a few micro worms manage to get out if I don't harvest soon enough. But they dry up and die almost instantly once they hit open air, so they don't even get off the lid, let alone go anywhere. If you harvest them often enough, they won't crawl to the lid and thus won't get to the holes in the lid, but even if they do, no worries. No worms crawling anywhere.

Frozen foods are a fair alternative to live foods, they retain nearly all the benefits of live except movement, which fish do enjoy. Freeze drying is probably the next best compared to regular dry flake or pellet food though.


----------



## Fishfur

Update on importing Dero worms. Success, of sorts. Turns out, not only does Canada not care about Dero worms, neither does US. Fish & Wildlife. They sent me a very nice response to my inquiry and so far as they are concerned, the worms are farm raised and not a problem, no huge inspection fee required. 

They provided some links for potential exporters to help them out if they are confused about the inspection fee, wasn't that nice ??

So if anybody finds a source for them, feel free to buy them and bring 'em here.. they are not a problem, at least, they are not supposed to be a problem. 

I forwarded my correspondence to the company I had wanted to buy them from, Carolina, and I guess I'll see how they respond to it at some point in the future.


----------



## Mykuhl

Thanks for the updates on the dero worms Fishfur. Please let me know when you have secured a source for them and if you are going to go ahead with an order or not. I will definitely go in on an order with you. I need them to feed my new growing apisto fry.


----------



## Fishfur

I am waiting to hear back from Carolina Labs. I sent them the info I was provided by Fish and Wildlife and Canadian government agencies as well. They said they would look into it. I'd be happy to share an order if they get their act together..the amount they sell is not very large, and I am not sure how quickly they reproduce, but I have been told it can be slow at first. The lab sends a worm ball about the size of a pea, give or take, for just under $9., not counting shipping/taxes/etc. That could take awhile to become a reliable productive source of worms. 

I'd been thinking I'd have to buy at least four cultures to begin with, as well as more moina. There is good information on co culturing moina and Dero, which I want to try out.


----------



## PPulcher

My goodness, thanks for all the effort to look into this!


----------



## george

Found this nice article.

http://guppytruth.blogspot.ca/2010/06/co-culturing-daphnia-and-dero-worms.html


----------



## Mykuhl

george said:


> Found this nice article.
> 
> http://guppytruth.blogspot.ca/2010/06/co-culturing-daphnia-and-dero-worms.html


That was a very good article. Thanks for providing it. I think I want to co-culture moina with the dero worms. The only thing that really puts me off of culturing daphnia or daphnia like creatures such as moina is that water changes are a real pain to do without losinmg a bunch of them each time. Anyone have a good easy method of doing water changes ?


----------



## LTPGuy

I use continuous drip water change with an overflow. Overflow entry port (the part that's inside the culture) is covered with fine filter media. I use a scrub pad from $ store rolled into a tube which then is attached to the overflow. You can probably use poret foam or other fine mesh material like shear cloth.

Because the water drips in and out, the flow is too slow to suck out any daphnia. The media should be clean regularly as stuff that you feeds your culture will get build up and go bad and taint your water quality.

Hope this helped.



Mykuhl said:


> That was a very good article. Thanks for providing it. I think I want to co-culture moina with the dero worms. The only thing that really puts me off of culturing daphnia or daphnia like creatures such as moina is that water changes are a real pain to do without losinmg a bunch of them each time. Anyone have a good easy method of doing water changes ?


----------



## Fishfur

That is a good article and it's the reason I began searching for not only moina but Dero worms as well. I read it last year sometime.

For water changes, I keep a small sponge filter running in the tank, quite slowly, and I siphon water out by sticking the siphon down inside the filter's lift tube. If the filter has no lift tube, I make one for it, for this reason. 

I use an air hose to siphon. It's a wee bit of a pain, but I catch very few critters this way. And I pour the water I remove through a brine shrimp net to catch and return anything that did get siphoned up, before I dump the water.


----------



## x0melabella0x

I am looking for micro worm starter, Idon't have anything to trade atm so I can buy: ) please sdm as I'm using my phone. Brampton or Mississauga is ideal but beggars can't be choosers lol


----------



## Fishfur

Anybody got Walter or Grindal worms ? I got starters for both at the auction. Walter worms never did take off, and I made a mistake with the Grindals and they're also gone now. Want to try again with both. Please PM if you have any.

I have micro and banana worms.. just refreshed them all, but could have one ready for trade if desired in a week or so.


----------



## Fishfur

I just heard back from Merlan, the Canadian partner for Carolina labs. They have in fact resolved the issue of the outrageous fee they were charging for Dero worms, and it is now possible to order them and have them shipped without paying the $195...

Just goes to show persistence can pay off !


----------



## LTPGuy

Fishfur said:


> I just heard back from Merlan, the Canadian partner for Carolina labs. They have in fact resolved the issue of the outrageous fee they were charging for Dero worms, and it is now possible to order them and have them shipped without paying the $195...
> 
> Just goes to show persistence can pay off !


Good stuff Fishfur. Others may be interested in other cultures that they offers, ie moina and daphnia.

Sent from my X720D using Tapatalk


----------



## Fishfur

Well, if anyone else is interested in getting some Dero or Moina, there will be an order in the next week or two. I can have it delivered here, as I can be here to accept it, and then I can deliver the portions, if you can't come to get them yourself.
Bear in mind, if there is a big distance to cover for delivery, I'd want a few bucks for gas to cover that, but no fee or anything.

I should be able to hold moina or Dero worms for at least 12 hours, if you can't pick up 'til evening, but the sooner they are in their destination tanks the better of course.

Shipping is quite expensive, for live arrival guarantees, has to be next day, early morning, especially with this weather we've had. So within reason, the more we have splitting it, the cheaper it will be. You can look up the prices of the individual cultures on Merlan's site, or Carolina Biologicals site, but all Canadian orders go through Merlan, as their Canadian agent.

They also have other things that might be of interest, such as Apterous [wingless] Melanogaster fruit flies, various freshwater organisms, such as scuds, copepods, etc. If you want to get in on this, please PM me asap.


----------



## john jay

*live blood worms to buy*

Hi all,

Any one know where i can buy live blood worms in downtown toronto.


----------



## Jung

I have grindal worms if anyone needs.


----------



## john jay

Hi im interested on buying some


----------



## Fishfur

I"d be interested in getting some grindal worms too.


----------



## slobodan

Yes, I'm interested in grindal worms as well. Still available?


----------



## slobodan

I have daphnia pulex and daphnia magna...


----------



## MPreston

*Salty- haves, wants*

Although I am a salty, I would still like to take the opportunity to trade cultures

Have:
Baby brine
Baby brine, enriched in a phyto mix
Juvenile brine
Juvenile brine, enriched in a phyto mix
**Both brine also come in a washed/ rinsed- ready to use**

Tigger pods- enriched in phyto mix
** Tigger pods come in a washed/rinsed - ready to use**

Wants:
Tisbe pod culture 
Rotifers
Mysis
Amphipods
**Looking for enough of each to start more cultures***

Thnx MP


----------



## LTPGuy

*Daphnia and/or Moina*

Hi,

I am looking to start a new culture of daphnia/moina having made a really silly mistake on the last culture.

If anyone in Mississauga near Creditview and Britannia have some to spare I would I appreciate a starter.

I've got MLS, endlers, tons of riccia (grown in neglect as I am in the middle of a move), some low lights plants (also grown in neglect).

Of course, once the new culture stabilized it will be free for anyone interested.

My plan is to also start a SW pod and phyto culture base on MPreston guide. Will share once proven successful.

Thank you.


----------



## qualityshrimpz

x0melabella0x said:


> I am looking for micro worm starter, Idon't have anything to trade atm so I can buy: ) please sdm as I'm using my phone. Brampton or Mississauga is ideal but beggars can't be choosers lol


I have some microworms


----------



## chizhevskiy

I have daphnia to share, searching for white worms and Grindal worms.


----------



## novice

*looking for white worms culture*

preferably in the scarborough area.

thks


----------



## Leopardfrogger

*Bloodworm culture*

Does anyone on this forum have experience starting and maintaining a culture of live bloodworms?

Cheers!


----------



## BillD

You can't culture blood worms like you can daphnia or white worms. If you want to try to get live ones, you can place a pail outside with a bunch of leaf litter in the bottom. You may get blood worms which are midge larvae and mosquito larvae, which are the better food in my opinion.


----------



## Leopardfrogger

*Looking to trade flightless fruit flies for?*

I have a some 'true wingless' fruitflies. Looking to trade for live daphnia or other suggestions.

PM me if you have any live foods an apistogramma enjoys eating. They don't seem interested in my fruitflies.


----------



## igor.kanshyn

I lost my daphnia magna culture again 
Does anyone have it to share?


----------



## chizhevskiy

igor.kanshyn said:


> I lost my daphnia magna culture again
> Does anyone have it to share?


I have it and i think they are descendants of those dosen of magnas you gave me 3 years ago


----------



## LTPGuy

igor.kanshyn said:


> I lost my daphnia magna culture again
> Does anyone have it to share?


I got some also,but Idon't head to Lake shore that often. I am near heartland.

Sent from my X720D using Tapatalk


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## BettaFx

chizhevskiy said:


> I have daphnia to share, searching for white worms and Grindal worms.


i have both...give me pm! white worm extremely hard to find now haha


----------



## BettaFx

LTPGuy said:


> I got some also,but Idon't head to Lake shore that often. I am near heartland.
> 
> Sent from my X720D using Tapatalk


hey im 5-10 mins from heartland. do you have any moina or magna for sale?


----------



## Bercey

Does anyone have anything in London? I managed to get a microworm culture today, but I'm looking for something a little larger for some of my other fish. Can trade for the microworms or just flat out purchase from you!

Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk


----------



## chizhevskiy

BettaFx said:


> i have both...give me pm! white worm extremely hard to find now haha


Do you still need the daphnia?


----------



## BettaFx

chizhevskiy said:


> Do you still need the daphnia?


yes i do depends where you're located

-I'm located closser to LTGUY who said he can spare me a few of em incase they crash 
please let me know the cost and amount. Thanks!


----------



## chizhevskiy

BettaFx said:


> ...please let me know the cost and amount...


It is free of charge starter culture


----------



## BettaFx

chizhevskiy said:


> It is free of charge starter culture


nice so where can you meet nearest to mississauga? or pickup at your area?


----------



## chizhevskiy

I do not drive too much to Mississauga, so the only option is a local pick-up.


----------



## BettaFx

chizhevskiy said:


> I do not drive too much to Mississauga, so the only option is a local pick-up.


okay can you pm me your address and general availability so i can try to make time or hit you up when i stop by around there?


----------



## Fishfur

Anybody have access to a supply of mosquito larvae ? I have a Betta that isn't eating pellets. Just happened to find a few larvae and he ate them. Worried he will croak if I can't find more wrigglers for him. Tenth floor does not get skeeters, so I can't grow my own. Maybe he might take fruit flies , if anyone has some ?


----------



## Fishlover02

I haven't flipped through the 35 pages of this thread, but does anyone in the Oshawa or Durham region have any cultures? I myself have daphnia and walterworm cultures. (And mosquito larvae )


----------



## Scotmando

Fishlover02 said:


> I haven't flipped through the 35 pages of this thread, but does anyone in the Oshawa or Durham region have any cultures? I myself have daphnia and walterworm cultures. (And mosquito larvae )


Use the 'Search' in the dark blue bar above and you'll find just about anything on this site.


----------



## matti2uude

I need a micro worm culture near Scarborough thanks.


----------



## Scotmando

matti2uude said:


> I need a micro worm culture near Scarborough thanks.


Got Banana & Walter worms in Mississauga. Can meet at FINATICS


----------



## Bigdaddyo

matti2uude said:


> I need a micro worm culture near Scarborough thanks.


If you happen to be down my way, I can give a culture


Scotmando said:


> Got Banana & Walter worms in Mississauga. Can meet at FINATICS


Scott the next time I meet up with you, I'd like to get a culture of each.


----------



## Zer0

Hello everyone, I am looking for microworms.


----------



## LooseheadLen

*Lf Daphnia pulex and moina*

G'day. I'd like to start culturing Daphnia pulex and/or Moina. Is there anyone in Toronto with cultures that could spare enough for a starter? 
In the interim, I have some dried Daphnia magna and I'll hope there are a few viable eggs in there to start one of those. I don't have any other cultures but could offer the following in exchange:
1. 3 or 4 ropey Amazon sword plants - rather large, they came with a 20g tank I bought. I need to get rid of some and maybe the lot as they may not fit the scheme I'm planning.
2. sundews - I have Drosera tokaiensis and Drosera capensis 'alba'. I have D. spathulata, D coccicaulis, D. dielsiana at the seedling stage I will plant out in 2 or 3 months (lots of sundew seeds as well!). If you're interested in carnivorous plants, PM me and I'll send you my grow list.
3. microworm starter culture - I have one en route but after proper research they could prove more trouble than they're worth. 
The microworm culture I purchased should arrive this week so I can potentially trade that for D. purex or Moina.


----------



## Fishfur

Out of curiosity, why do you think micro worms are too much trouble ? I've always found them one of the simplest of live foods to maintain.
Moina is almost impossible to get here, but you can get cultures from a lab in the US. Shipping isn't cheap, but if it's shared it helps. My first attempt was not a success, I'd like to get them again, but I've been waiting until my landlord issues are resolved, as I'd hate to get them only to have to try to find somewhere else to keep them because of work being done. 

I can't recall if anyone has D. pulex around here. Usually it's D. magna, Igor usually has them. You can buy resting cysts of D.pulex from the same lab. I have some I've yet to use, again, thanks to the landlord. I"m sorry that's not more help.


----------



## LooseheadLen

I'm worried about cross-contamination to my plants. I agree they're probably easier to culture (based on my limited research) but that risk outweighs any of their benefits.
I'd use them to feed Aldrovanda, Genlisea and Utricularia, as well as trying them for pitchers plants (Cephalotus,Heliamphora, Nepenthes and Sarracenia). But they can wreak havoc with the roots of some other plants so the added trouble of Moina or D. purex would give me peace of mind. D. magna may get too large for the Aldrovanda hence my preference for the other two.
I found a source of Moina eggs in the US so I may order some. I looked back through almost all 35 pages of this thread and it seems they're pretty rare. Still trying to find D. purex in case I cannot get a starter culture. Hopefully there are some viable eggs in the dried critters.
I saw a couple of users that had some cultures recently so I'll take the liberty of PM'ing them directly if that's okay?


----------



## Fishfur

Just fyi, it's D. PUlex, not purex.. you won't find a species called purex. I didn't realize you wanted them to feed the carnivorous plants. Wingless fruit flies are relatively easy to culture too, but they do crawl well, as do all the other flight impaired flies.

Another possible, maybe, would be Dero worm. Sadly, they are also hard to source, the lab is the only source I know of. Water dwelling annelids, very small, native species actually. Lab raised ones are cultured on sterile wheat media, so they're quite clean. Normally a detritus feeder, bottom dweller in ponds and the like. 

Have you considered bean beetles ? Super simple to raise, only dry beans needed, no water, nothing else. Slower production than fruit flies and daphnia but often used to feed frogs and other small herps. Fully adult beetles live only two weeks and are less than a quarter inch long, but there are several stages between larvae and adult, so size can be chosen to suit what you're feeding. They don't swim very well, so they'll drown quickly. Larvae are never seen, they spend their lives inside the bean, emerging after they pupate.

Of course you can PM anyone, that's the whole reason for the option. 

And if you found Moina eggs, would you care to share where ? I've never been able to find those before.


----------



## LooseheadLen

Dunno why I keep writing "purex"...
The Moina eggs are on Ebay from a seller in Taiwan. There's another source in the staes selling a mix of pond fauna - supposed to contain Moina, Daphnia and a few other critters.
I'm primarily interested in the Daphnia/Moina for feeding an Aldrovanda several species of aquatic utrics and genlisea. I feed the terrestrials dried bloodworm and and they catch they flying stuff  
I missed out on the buy it now, auction has 3 days to go...


----------



## Fishfur

It's probably spell check ! I hate spell check, it keeps changing perfectly good words to other words !


----------



## Fishfur

I bought that one with the mixed critters in it.. see what it does when it gets here. I get a kick of out ostracods, whether or not I manage to culture enough to use for food, they're very entertaining little creatures to keep. The rest will be fish food if I'm fortunate enough to have them survive. I'm watching that moina one.. it might get awfully pricey by the time the auction ends.

Btw, have you tried bean beetles ? I'd think they'd do nicely for larger plants and they could not possibly be easier to culture.


----------



## LooseheadLen

Congrats, I'm still tempted by that stuff so let me know. I'll probably get live Moina from Merlan (still waiting to hear back from them) but I'm wary of some insane fee getting tacked on my order.
Fwiw, I have a 20g tall, currently planted with Amazon swordgrass and colored gravel. If I do get those other critters that means I'll need to have a few catfish sooner rather than later  
But that colored gravel is a problem, I bought it that way - comments for another forum ;-)


----------



## balutpenoy2oy

anyone culturing white worms in scarborough east ...thanks


----------



## BettaFx

balutpenoy2oy said:


> anyone culturing white worms in scarborough east ...thanks


im not from scarbrough but I have white worms from mississauga...microworms as well


----------



## Jamblor

Looking for a white worm culture (or other types of worms) in the west GTA.

Thanks!


----------



## Fishfur

I am looking for white worms in Mississauga, if anyone has them.


----------



## novice

Looking for white worms too...scarborough area.


----------



## Fishfur

Still seeking white worms in Missisauga, also Vinegar eels if anyone has some.


----------



## chizhevskiy

Searching for microfex (dero worms), white worms...

Have Daphnia:


----------



## slobodan

@chizhevskiy
I have white worms..
Is that Daphnia pulex or magna?
Thanks


----------



## chizhevskiy

I am not sure, can you identify by attached video?


----------



## slobodan

Hard to judge the size, if they are big then it's Magna.. 
now next question is how big is big.. well let's say 3mm


----------



## slobodan

Watched the video again and magna for sure!!


----------



## slobodan

I would be interested in getting some of your Daphnia


----------



## chizhevskiy

slobodan said:


> Hard to judge the size, if they are big then it's Magna..
> now next question is how big is big.. well let's say 3mm


I would say they are maximum 3-3.5mm. I do not think the "big size" criteria is right, because pulex can reach 3mm as well.


----------



## chizhevskiy

slobodan said:


> I would be interested in getting some of your Daphnia


No problem, I can share it with you.

You wrote in the past that you have pulex and magna. What happened to them?


----------



## slobodan

Lost them..wasn't home for a while.. I still have some pulex that I collected in a rain ditch but they are not doing that great.. Magna seams to be more resilient, at least with me.


----------



## slobodan

I have some white worms if you want to trade..


----------



## chizhevskiy

I lost my moina last year, while the daphnia survived for a couple of months without any food (just dirty aqua ).

Can you share some pulex?


----------



## chizhevskiy

It would be great to get some white worms as well (trade/buy)


----------



## slobodan

I could, not sure if it's going to be much.. let me see if I can multiply them in next few days..


----------



## chizhevskiy

I think 3-5 daphnias and/or dozen of worms will be enough as a starter. The only problem to share is distance - I live in Vaughan


----------



## slobodan

I could do a drive if you show me your killies!


----------



## chizhevskiy

It not worth to drive to see the leftovers. Unfortunately I lost almost all of them due to loss of interest for 2 years. Fishroom is in really bad shape. What have survived is:
- aphyosemion ocellatum
- rivulus xiphidius
- diapteron cyanostictum (mostly males)
- diapteron georgiae (not even sure if I have them)


----------



## slobodan

I'm sorry to hear that. .  
I used to keep killies myself but then life got in the way.
Anyway, let me know if you want to trade..


----------



## ame

*Microworm and white worm cultures.*

Friends

I am looking for live food culture(easy to maintain and harvest) for feeding my tetras and angelfish.

Does anyone have microworm and white worm cultures.

Thanks


----------



## BettaFx

ame said:


> Friends
> 
> I am looking for live food culture(easy to maintain and harvest) for feeding my tetras and angelfish.
> 
> Does anyone have microworm and white worm cultures.
> 
> Thanks


Yep

microworm
grindal worm
white worm
vinegar eels


----------



## deepblue3

ame said:


> Friends
> 
> I am looking for live food culture(easy to maintain and harvest) for feeding my tetras and angelfish.
> 
> Does anyone have microworm and white worm cultures.
> 
> Thanks


Yes I have microworms PM Me, can ship direct to you.


----------



## qualityshrimpz

i am looking for a local source for microworms and vinegar eels


----------



## BettaFx

qualityhitz said:


> i am looking for a local source for microworms and vinegar eels


if you're from mississauga i have both. and other cultures such as daphnias


----------



## jamesm1984

Hello I am looking for a daphnia startup culture.

Moina​Pulex​Magna​
They are listed in the order of interest.


----------



## gelc

Hello 

Seeking cultures of any Daphnia species; preferably ones that can flourish in tropical like temperatures.

Also seeking any other live food cultures that could be raised in the same tank as the Daphnia.

Seeking pickup or delivery in or around Mississauga.

Thank you,


----------



## BettaFx

jamesm1984 said:


> Hello I am looking for a daphnia startup culture.
> 
> Moina​Pulex​Magna​
> They are listed in the order of interest.





gelc said:


> Hello
> 
> Seeking cultures of any Daphnia species; preferably ones that can flourish in tropical like temperatures.
> 
> Also seeking any other live food cultures that could be raised in the same tank as the Daphnia.
> 
> Seeking pickup or delivery in or around Mississauga.
> 
> Thank you,


sorry guys due to school i've been really busy therefore my moina and manga culture crashed i can produce them again but will need some time if really serious about getting them please give me a text and we can go from there

6474099723

Thanks!


----------



## jamesm1984

jamesm1984 said:


> Hello I am looking for a daphnia startup culture.
> 
> Moina​Pulex​Magna​
> They are listed in the order of interest.


still looking


----------



## Kimchi24

Does anyone have any red wigglers?


----------



## CandidPets

also looking for microworms, water fleas or anything else easy to breed to feed to fry


----------



## Sunstar

Kimchi24 said:


> Does anyone have any red wigglers?


I would have to check, but there is a fishing store across the road from me that may sell red wigglers.


----------



## Scotmando

Want to learn how to culture live foods?

Peel Regional Aquarium Club in Brampton is having their next meeting on culturing live foods. Our speaker will be Haydn Pounder.

April 20th, 2016, Wednesday 7-9pm

Details at www.peelaquariumclub.org

I will be bringing Daphnia magna, white worms, micro worms.

We also have an auction at every meeting.

All are welcome. 
First meeting is free.


----------



## planter

Anyone know if there is anyone in the area selling live blackworms?


----------



## slobodan

So far no one has them in GTA...I'm looking for some as well.

Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk


----------



## cb1021

Looking for white worms will pay or trade plants


----------



## BettaFx

cb1021 said:


> Looking for white worms will pay or trade plants


Pm me I got some


----------



## joe

Hey I live by union station, I have a spare 10 gallon, does anyone have any starter cultures I could get to get me in the live food game.

I currently keep killies, a gourami, and some rumney nose in a 36 gallon bowfront.

Thanks


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## Fishfur

Only sources for live black worms that I know are Menagerie and Big Al's Mississauga. Big Al's gets them every two weeks and they sell out fairly fast. Sold by the portion picked from the tank they're in. Menagerie packs theirs in plastic bags in small portions, but they're very clean. 

I've tried culturing them at home. It is possible but it is sure NOT easy. If a black worm culture dies it smells like an open sewer, just ask me how I know .


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## Fishfur

*Springtails anyone?*

Anybody interested in some springtails for their fishies?

I have a nice mother culture going now and am planning to split it. They have to be the simplest of any such culture to keep, almost no time or effort is required of the keeper. No odour at all!

You feed cultures once a week or less often, keep their container in a dim spot, room temperature, with a 1/4" of tank water on the bottom. That's it.

They're feather light and very tiny. Like fruit flies, they float on water tension. Fish enjoy them once they figure out that they are edible and my Endler/guppy crowd take them eagerly. Even my little Boraras naevus will come up and take a few.

They suit surface feeders best because they don't sink unless they die and get pushed under water. I've seen them two days after putting them in the tank still floating around and alive. They will crawl onto floating plants if they can but are easily brushed off again. They can't usually crawl out of a tank, but they can jump.

They are called springtails because they can jump, truly an astonishing distance off of any firm surface. But it's pretty much just 'up' and down again. If one should escape it can do no harm and is unlikely even to be noticed and will soon die without high humidity around it.

They're naturally found in places like potted plant soils and gardens. Should they happen to land in such a place they may take up residence. Their larvae might nibble some plant roots, but they usually don't cause noticeable damage unless their numbers are pretty high.

Adult springtails are detritivores, eating fungi, moulds and similar waste organic matter. They are often used as live food + clean up crew in moist frog or other habitat type terrariums.

I feed the culture fish flakes and yeast. If any of their food gets mouldy, they eat that too. Only feed them when all the food from the last time is gone.

The culture media is a mixture which may contain bark, coconut chips or fibre, wood chips, dried orchid ( sphagnum) moss or orchid potting media, perhaps even peat chunks, kept very moist but not sopping wet, with water at the bottom. This type of media will last a very long time before it breaks down. I'm on the second year with the same media.

Starter culture $10. [ The media costs a lot more than the oatmeal for microworms, sorry . ]


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## igor.kanshyn

I have a colony of Gammarus, also known as Scuds, live food. They are freshwater. I do not feed them, just keep them on a windowsill.
They come with green water (floating algae).

Pick up near Eglinton and Royal York intersection or near Bloor/Young subway station


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## carl

My wholesaler has the live black worms in stock again


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## planter

Can you list prices?


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## carl

Live black worms, must be preordered, I go to my supplier once a week, pickup available in the GTA FedEx shipping is also available. 50 grams $17.60, 100 grams $30.60, 250 grams $60, 500 grams $90, 1kg $135


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## Alexpatrascu

I found these guys also, if you're not in a hurry(I think they start selling them after the winter)


Code:


http://www.alotlaxolotls.ca/earthworms-.html


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## Jeepcarpenter

Looking to see if anyone is still culturing white worms, and daphnia magna?

I currently have cultures of gammarus, infusoria, seed shrimp and daphnia moina and am just setting up for microworms but still in the process of expanding all cultures to be able to cater to my own needs (and hopefully much more than, soon).

Still looking to get into springtails and blackworms as well just not until acclimating to the ones sought above.

I will be setting up red wrigglers and mealworms in the spring/summer if anyone needs


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## infolific

Jeepcarpenter said:


> Looking to see if anyone is still culturing white worms, and daphnia magna?


I've tried daphnia (magna and moina) a few times. I can't keep them alive for longer than a few weeks.

I've had better luck with scuds, but eventually I do something to wipe them out e.g. most recently a deep cleaning to eliminate snails (successful) that I thought the scuds would survive, but didn't. I'll have to get these again.

Blackworms have been pretty easy so far (as measured in weeks so far) although I can't say they're multiplying.

In terms of utility, I'd love a combined scud, blackworm, and daphnia aquarium.


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## Jeepcarpenter

I can give you a few scuds whenever you want to start them up again, blackworms need to be broken in order to multiply, like most nematodes; slow going but does work. Daphnia is a bit tricky, need to culture green water for them and add in maybe once a week, but they can still crash very easily. I don't think scuds could be kept with blackworms though, as they will probably eat the blackworms. They eat daphnia too just not near as easily.


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## Fishfur

*Looking for the following live cultures*

I'm looking for worms, Micro, Black and Grindal.

I am also very interested in finding Moina or another small daphnid species, scuds and springtails too.

It would be great if they were closer to or in Mississauga, but I do get to Markham periodically as well, so pickup isn't too big of a deal.

If anyone has these to sell, please let me know.


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## Apple

*Pond Snails*

In North York (Dufferin and Finch). Brought it on some plants. If you have something that will eat them, come and get them. I have about 20 now.


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