Vinegar Eels
- These are actually tiny nematodes, not eels at all.
- They are generally smaller than microworms and also a good first food for fry.
- They are great, because most of the betta fry, in the first few days, like to stay near the surface for the most part (in about 2 weeks this changes, and they tend to stay near the bottom more). Unlike microworms, which fall through the water and wriggle around on the bottom, vinegar eels swim through the water all over the place, making them easy for the new fry to find.
- They can also survive for a few days in the fry tank, so they stand a greater chance of being eaten before they can die and pollute the water. One good feeding of eels at 4 days old will sometimes last the fry until they are large enough to eat baby brine shrimp at a week.
Preparations
- Cultures can be maintained in clean gallon milk jugs.
- Add half an apple to the container, fill it about 1/3 full of cool tap water, then fill another 1/3 with apple cider vinegar. Now add the starter to the jug, cover it up, and forget about it for a month. In a month, take the jug back out and look for tiny thread-like worms. They may be hard to spot at first, but they're there.
How To Feed
- Strain some of the medium through a coffee filter, strain it a second time with fresh water, then swish the filter in a cup of clean water and feed them to the fry with a medicine dropper.