# Anyone have experience with vinegar eels?



## Mlevi (Jan 28, 2012)

Hi,

I'm just looking for some more info on vinegar eels. I know it is recommended for fry, but has anyone got experience using it as a staple food/ supplement for adult fish (I have guppies). If so, how often do you supplement? or do you use as a staple food? Also, I read that the eels survive in the tank for a few days....anyone have experience with this aspect? Is maintaining the culture hard? Does it crash at some point (like the white worm yeast/bread cultures?).

Any first hand info would be much appreciated. There is anecdotal info online, but what I'm looking for, is to hear from someone who actually has firsthand experience with vinegar eels.

Thank you kindly,

Al.


----------



## missindifferent (Jun 25, 2010)

Vinegar eels will be too small for adult guppies… they look like dust.
I'd say go with microworms if you want live food. Even with microworms, my guppy fry would have difficulty seeing them and catching them with a HOB filter… too much downward flow. Works better in my tank with a canister.

Vinegar eels are a lot easier to keep. They will likely never crash unless you forget to "feed" it for a year (maybe more).


----------



## Mlevi (Jan 28, 2012)

missindifferent said:


> Vinegar eels will be too small for adult guppies&#8230; they look like dust.
> I'd say go with microworms if you want live food. Even with microworms, my guppy fry would have difficulty seeing them and catching them with a HOB filter&#8230; too much downward flow. Works better in my tank with a canister.
> 
> Vinegar eels are a lot easier to keep. They will likely never crash unless you forget to "feed" it for a year (maybe more).


Do you have to keep harvesting them, or do they survive in the container for a while? I guess the reason I'm asking, is I ain't a prolific breeder, so the amount needed for fry would be very minute. I'm also lazy...so looking for the "least maintenance, most reward" ratio  Do adult guppies go for microworms?

Thank you for continuing to share your knowledge. It is much appreciated.

Al.


----------



## missindifferent (Jun 25, 2010)

You don't need to harvest vinegar eels just because… they will grow until they are limited by the container, so they won't be overpopulated.
I remember reading that the lifespan of a vinegar eel is a couple months or something like that… it was very long for such a small thing.

I just tried feeding microworms to my guppies. They were largely eaten by small fry or juvies (0.5") and ignored by the adults. You might have better luck if you only have adults though.


----------



## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

My experience with microworms is the adults will eat them, although they are so small, they don't provide much for bigger fish. Vinegar eels are much smaller still, and really only of real use for very small fry. A better choice for adult guppies would be white worms or grindal worms, with the grindals perhaps the better choice.


----------



## Mlevi (Jan 28, 2012)

Great!
Thanks for sharing your knowledge, folks.

One more question, if I may. I've seen clips on youtube about people raising worms in either soaked quick oats or even bread smeared in yogurt and soaked/misted with water. How much of a stench does that result in, and also, does it create any pest problems? I'd think that with the weather getting warmer, it would attract "uninvited" fruit flies and other critters? 

Sorry about the multitude of questions. I'm drawn towards "growing" my own fish food supplement for my stock of guppies, but am trying to avoid the mess of 'trial and error' as much as I can, hence the quest to learn from your experience.


----------

