Mites in grindal culture

[captmicha]

My grindal worm culture is INFESTED with mites. I read that you can drown the mites or use mite paper... Yeah... how can they be drowned when they float? Or that you can pour off the floating mites. That didn't work either.

I tried immersing my culture for an hour and also pouring some worms (and mites) into a cup of water for an hour.

I put baked soil into two fresh and sterile containers. I siphoned off the top of the water and as many mites as I could find down the sink drain. Then I poured the remaining water from the flooded culture into one and the cup of water and worms (and mites) into the other container. Both had mites a few days later... Drowning and/or siphoning off mites does NOT work.

Does mite paper actually work? I read from one source that it only helps prevent mites from spreading. And can I use it IN my cultures without it killing the grindal worms? I read that you're supposed to use it outside fruit fly cultures but using it outside my grindal culture won't do jack.

Removing pieces of food with mites on it didn't make any difference either.

What, if anything, can I do?

How the heck am I supposed to make sure that I get mite free cultures in the future?? I emailed some companies who sell them and asked if they can guarantee that the cultures are mite free and no one wrote back.

It would be nice to have this culture but I don't feel like wasting my money on mites.

Yes, I know that mites don't directly harm the worms but they out compete them for food.

Any suggestions on how to get my cultures mite free or how to acquire new, mite free cultures?

I forgot to mention that it had to have been infested before I got it because I put it in a clean container with sterile soil (except for the soil from the starter culture that I couldn't sterilize or I'd kill the worms), with a tight fitting lid with a green scrubby pad over the ventilation hole http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRtTHIvZVzJ8n1L5RYwVgTIeA5fMpFIJSyTND1KnzHgXTB-aGkPXg&t=1. There's no way one could have gotten past that.

Thanks.

 

[MChambers]

I had this same problem months ago, and had all but given up on my culture. I don't know if I had mites, but there were tiny bugs moving around the culture and they outnumbered the worms.

I'm not sure how I succeeded in getting rid of them. I think I took a small pinch of worms and washed it in a cup of tank water, letting the worms soak for an hour or so, then poured off most of the water. I think put the worms in a new medium composed of coconut fiber and peat moss (no soil).

I think I then fed the culture infrequently for several months. In recent weeks, my cultures have become much more productive, without any sign of mite infestation, and I've taken to feeding them much more often..

I don't know if the coconut fiber is less likely to have mites, but it's quite possible. You also might look into the soil-less methods that some folks advocate, using sponge or filter floss.

Finally, since you are in Maryland, you could buy a culture from Aquatic Life Farm. I've bought fish from that vendor, and been very impressed. He does come to the Capital Cichlid meetings in Wheaton and I'm sure he would meet you there to avoid shipping charges. (Next meeting isn't for two months, however.)

http://aquaticlifefarm.com/web_pages/alf_product_list.html#livefood

 

[Jumko]

For my grindal cultures, I use an airtight plastic box. Then I drill three small holes on the lid and tape a patch of coffee filter to cover the holes. I figure, if coffee filter is capable of preventing something as small as bbs from passing, but porous enough to let water through, it should be perfect for ventilation purposes.

 

[captmicha]

MChambers, thanks for the source of worms. I might look into that if I ever make it to one of the meetings. I'm using coconut fiber right now.

Jumko, the green scrubby pads I already use are too fine to let mites get through. And using a coffee filter wouldn't kill the mites that came in the culture when I got it.