Probably any experienced aquarist will agree with the opinion that it is best to feed the fish with bloodworms or other live food. This ensures excellent health and well-being for the inhabitants of the aquarium. But there is a problem. In the warm season, bloodworms can be washed in many bodies of water with stagnant water. But what about winter? Fortunately, knowing how to breed bloodworms at home, you can provide the inhabitants of the aquarium with almost any amount of food, and you can also sell the excess, making a tangible profit.
Why do I need a bloodworm
Of course, the most obvious use of mosquito larvae is feeding aquarium fish. The bloodworm contains everything necessary for the successful and rapid development of a substance. Depending on the size, they can be fed both juveniles and adult fish. With the constant presence of live food in the diet, the fish become larger, the color - as saturated as possible. A variety of diseases, including the curvature of the spine in females of viviparous breeds after childbirth, if not completely excluded, then at least reduced in quantity.
However, breeding worms and bloodworms at home can also be useful for fishing. Mosquito larvae are an excellent bait for many types of fish: roach, scavenger, perch, bleak and some others. However, only a large bloodworm is suitable for this. The small one can be used for feeding - it is enough to throw a pinch of larvae in the hole during ice fishing to provide maximum attention from the fish.
Types of bloodworms
Before you figure out how to breed bloodworms at home, it will be useful to find out what it can be. Usually, the species is determined by the size of the larvae; otherwise, it is necessary to study them under a microscope for a long time and painstakingly, looking for differences known only to highly specialized experts.
Let's start with the small - the larvae grow no more than up to 10 millimeters. Usually live on the bottom of rivers with a weak current, in backwaters.
The estuary is larger. It is found in shallow bays, mainly in the southern regions of our country. Sludge contains a large amount of organic substances necessary for the nutrition of large larvae.
Large (it is packed) - larvae of a mosquito-jerk. In rivers and other bodies of water with a flowing current is almost not found. Usually inhabits the silt of ponds, lakes and long-standing puddles. A great choice not only for large and aggressive aquarium fish, but also for fishing.
Creation of optimal conditions
Before starting breeding bloodworms at home, you need to make sure that the conditions are in accordance with the norm. Otherwise, all power may be wasted.
Start with the temperature. A range of 13 to 20 degrees Celsius is considered optimal. Under such conditions, the larvae develop most intensively, retain a beautiful appearance, which is especially important in cases where bloodworms are grown for sale.
It can be grown at other temperatures, but this will have negative consequences. For example, if the room is colder, then the development of larvae is much slower (in general, bloodworms can withstand even a short freeze without harming themselves). And if the room is too warm, bloodworm gets a thin, delicate shell. This not only complicates the hooking process, but also reduces the shelf life.
The next important factor is humidity. Some experts believe that this is not an important circumstance, they can be neglected. But others claim that bloodworms develop better if the humidity in the room is about 70%.
Get the first batch of bloodworms
First you need to take a sufficient amount of sludge. This is done simply - from the nearest reservoir (lake or river) dirt is collected from the bottom, which is washed through a fine sieve. As a result, the smallest particles of sludge pass through it, while large debris remains in the sieve. Sludge is discharged into suitable containers, and garbage is thrown away. The more sludge will be, the better.
The best containers for growing - baking sheets with a height of about 5-7 centimeters. Moreover, experts recommend painting them yellow - for some reason it attracts mosquitoes. Sludge is placed in baking sheets with a layer of about 2 centimeters. Water is also poured here - not more than 3 centimeters. These baking sheets are left on the street (in the warm season, of course) in the place where mosquitoes live. Ideally, if the cottage is located near slowly flowing rivers, ponds or even swamps. In short, the place should be mosquito. The main thing is to put the baking sheets so that they are always in the shade. In the sun, they overheat, which will lead to the death of the larvae.
After 3-4 days, a sufficient number of clutch of mosquito eggs will appear in the water. You can continue to work.
We grow bloodworms from eggs
In general, the bloodworm breeding technology is very simple. The baking sheets are carefully, so as not to spill, transferred to a closed room. Now you need to wait about 2 days and you can carefully examine the sludge. Most likely, you will notice the smallest worms moving in the silt. This is bloodworm. True, very small, this is only suitable for the smallest aquarium fish or juveniles. But better to wait.
In total, bloodworms grow about 3 weeks. At any stage, you can decide that he has grown enough already. It is not worth delaying longer - adult individuals will hatch from the larvae. However, this option is also acceptable - we will talk about it a little later.
How to feed him?
In the first stages, bloodworms will have enough nutrients contained in the sludge. However, not for long. Therefore, over time, you will have to feed him. Yeast is best suited for this. They need to be diluted with water, then mixed with sludge and added to pallets at the rate of about 100 grams of yeast per square meter of area. Such top dressing is enough for 2 weeks. Then you can re-feed - now dry yeast is used. It is enough just to pour them out with a uniform layer over the entire area of the pallet.
It is very important not to overdo it - it is better to underfeed bloodworms, even if this leads to the death of some of the larvae. After all, if you give too much yeast, the water will begin to rot, because of which all bloodworms will die.
Catching bloodworms
When you decide that the larvae are large enough to be used as food or bait, you can catch them. The process is quite simple. Water with a tray is carefully removed - only sludge remains. It must be carefully transferred to a sieve. Then the sieve is lowered into a large basin or small bath, and circular motions are made. Silt, washed out by water, is simply expressed in water - in the sieve, selected larvae remain. It was for this purpose that the silt was washed during its intake from water bodies - so that it would not have to be tinkered with excess garbage again. Sludge can be returned back to baking sheets - it will also serve for further cultivation. After all, if you are interested in breeding bloodworms as a business, the flow of production should be continuous.
In this case, you do not need to remove all bloodworms from the baking sheets. But it is necessary to cover them on top with gauze or other dense material that allows air to pass through. But you need to provide for a certain space, for example, to build a small wire frame. Mosquitoes, leaving the larvae, fly for some time and, since they cannot fly away, they will lay the larvae directly in the same baking sheets from which they emerged. After that, the process begins anew.
Storage
Now you know how to breed bloodworms at home. But you also need to properly store it, regardless of whether you are going to sell larvae or leave for your own needs. This product is perishable - it will not work for a long time to store, at best a couple of weeks.
Young bloodworms can be stored in a nylon stocking, tightly tied and suspended in a toilet bowl - cold running water will ensure good preservation. But make sure that he does not "overripe" and does not begin to hatch.
For some time, bloodworms can be stored in the refrigerator - only on the lower shelf, where the temperature is exactly above zero. Lay it on a wet newspaper and wrap it. Wrap the resulting package in another 3-5 layers of the newspaper to prevent drying out.
If you plan to store bloodworms for a month or more, the only way is freezing. Yes, in this case it will not work to keep him alive. But still it’s better to feed aquarium fish with a dead bloodworm than with dry food.
Conclusion
On this our article comes to an end. Now you know how to breed bloodworms at home, as well as how to keep it for a long time. So, it’s easy to cope with the task of both providing a small aquarium with live food, and breeding bloodworms on an industrial scale, which will allow you to build a business that brings a steady income.