These little almost microscopic worms are an excellent food source for small fry. Vinegar eels fall in-between infusoria and baby brine shrimp in size.
Set-up and culturing is almost effortless, except for the harvesting part. A one gallon wide mouthed jar will provide more than enough eels for the fry.
The culture is started by filling the jar with 1 part of water (dechlorinated) and 3 parts of unpasteurized apple cider vinegar. A handful of chopped apples will provide some bacteria growth - needed for the eels to feed on. The starter culture can be introduced within a couple of days. To allow the bacteria to grow appropriately, half of the starter culture can be added 2-3 days apart.
To keep flies out of the set-up, the top of the jar should be covered with cheese cloth or something similar.
Temperature should be kept around 70 degrees F (22 degrees C), light or aeration is not necessary.
Once the culture is going (in about a month) there is virtually no maintenance involved. The culture can be periodically harvested for about a year before it needs to be re-started.
Since the culture medium is largely vinegar (acidic) it is not recommended to introduce large amounts into the main or fry tank. A common harvesting method is to take a cup of the vinegar mix and pass it through a coffee filter in order to strain larger worms. Small ones will pass through and should be returned to the culture together with the liquid drained. They will eventually grow larger. The coffee filter is then rinsed out into a container of choice using clear dechlorinated water. Simply pour this into the tank for the fry to feed on.
Another harvesting technique is to place some of the medium into a test tube. Attach a string to the tube and twirl it around for a minute. Due to the centrifugal forces, the eels will collect themselves into a tangled knot. Quickly strain it and put it in the tank.
Vinegar eels will stay alive for about 1-2 days and swim near the surface of the aquarium.
Starter supplies can be obtained at live food dealers.
Back to Live Food
