Growing Grindal Worms: Small Worms Big Benefits

OPENING:  It's sad but true.  Your stunning halfmoon male betta is getting bored with his daily pellet rations.  To him it's about as exciting as eating wall paper paste.  Not to mention that the sameness of it all is driving him mad.  Or at least making him mad and leaving him to wonder if it would kill you to offer a bit of variety to the same ole same ole diet day after day. 

Fact is some betta keepers are clueless about what to feed their fighting fish beyond pellets.  They're in the dark about their options.  Completely baffled as to how to tell good food options from the bad.  Unaware that easily raised live food options exist that have the potential to unleash a one fish feeding frenzy. Here's help.

Because one good alternative would be Grindal worms.  I know. You've likely never heard of them before.  Your betta probably hasn't either but in a flash he'll get the drift that the endless days of bland pellets are dead and gone. As he delights in sucking in all the wriggling tasty treats he can before you change your mind or something. 

This video shows how easy it is to culture them.  And don't worry I've taken notes for you which follow. So sit back, relax and take in the presentation.

Step One:  Accumulate items from your materials list:

• Substrate or growing media aka potting soil
• Butter bread aka Grindal worm food
• Probiotic yogurt
• Starter culture
• Culturing Container any disposable plastic container (like these Glad containers)
• Coffee Filter
• Duct tape and Masking Tape
• Blade Cutter
• Spray Bottle with Aged Water

Step Two:  Cut an air duct in the lid of your culturing container.  Tape a piece of coffee filter somewhat bigger than the hole using the duct tape it to keep the worms in and pests out

Step Three: Add the potting soil to the container.

Step Four: Spray down the potting soil until it is wet but not sopping wet. 

Step Five:  Spread the yogurt on the bread - this is the worm food.  Yogurt being full of beneficial bacteria are eaten by the worms and then the bettas.  So the betta is in essence getting his probiotics if indirectly from the worms.  You can feed the worms other things too like better quality dog food, freeze dried krill, keeping in mind what the worms eat your fish will be eating too in essence. 

Step Six:  Add the starter culture on top of the bread.

Step Seven:  Note the start date on a piece of masking tape taped to the lid and snap it onto the container. Set it aside to let the worms do their thing - eat and multiply.  How fast things develop depend on the temperature and quality of food. 

Step Eight: For ease of harvesting you might cover the food with some kind of plastic.  You could use plexiglass, the lid from an old CD/DVD jewel case, things like that.

Step Nine: Now if all goes well, things will progress and the piece of plastic will start to look like this.


Once the worms are literally crawling up the sides it's time to commence feeding.  You'll need a harvest tool if you won't want to swoop them up by running your finger along the side of the container.  That might be a tooth pick, paint brush or Q-Tip.  Then simply swish the worms in the water taking care not to over feed because any worms left uneaten will tend to foul the water which can cause all sorts of unwanted problems. 

CONCLUSION:  There you go.  If your hungry male betta is tired of pellets morning, noon, and night Grindal worms might just be the change of pace he needs to get him excited about meal time again. Or a great answer for those looking to solve the problem of what else can betta fish eat besides pellets? 

Feeding Secrets For Busy Betta Keepers

INTRODUCTION: Few things are as important to the well-being of your betta than the food you feed.  Problem is too many evaluate a brand based on price.  And I can understand you've got a budget even when it comes to what you feed your that tiny bettafish of yours.  But like most things you get what you pay for.  Not to mention that if you're feeding them a stead diet of el-cheap-o-pellets the one who pays in the end is your pet.

Also most will advise you feed a varied diet.  Which is a good thing too.  I'm not suggesting varying the menu in a way that your betta would think they're dining at a five star restaurant every day, but it can't hurt to offer a bit of variety. Pellets day in and day out might get old just like a steady diet of shredded wheat might for you.  And you might conclude that anyway given the gusto with which they attack treats like frozen brine shrimp or bloodworms.

Still you want your betta to get used to eating pellets as their staple diet.  The best offer a well-rounded food source that meets their everyday nutritional needs.

So save the prey food for special occasions, I say.  Although it can be nonstop fun watching your guy track down unsuspecting mosquito larvae and inhaling them with great joy. And satisfaction.  I mean you can just tell he's proud of himself for a job well done.  Besides experiences like this from time to time gets their blood moving and unleashes inbred instincts by letting them do what they do naturally.  Hunt.

Okay but getting back to pellets, you'll know you're getting a quality product by reading what's inside.  And the label would be a good indicator of what's inside.

Basically you want to see things listed that are meat based.  Well, in this case a product that goes heavy on some kind of marine protein.  You'll know you're on the right track if you see things like krill and herring meals or other fish meals heading the ingredient list.  You're off track if you see things like that suggest a vegetable base like wheat or corn.  Remember these guys are hunters not farmers.

Another clue of quality is the protein percentage.  It's a shortcut yet not a foolproof way to evaluate the quality of betta food.  Still a number hovering around 40% for protein content is likely going to be good enough.

For this reason many swear by the offerings from New Life Spectrum and Omega One.  Feeling they are  some of the best brands of betta food you can buy.

Going the quality route also means that on those days when you can't lavish time and attention on your finny friend, you can offer up a few pellets confident your fish isn't going to suffer because of it.  In other words drop a couple two three pellets in the tank, wish your betta a good day and rush out the door. Free from any guilt that you should have done more.

You can always make up for it later on treat days.  Giving your little guy some frozen blood worm, brine shrimp, or glass worms - if you can find them.  Just be careful to remove any uneaten leftovers so it's not left to fester, decompose and ultimately foul their water.  And don't go crazy.  Otherwise you may be seeking help to cure a  raging case of bettafish constipation. 

CONCLUSION:  Just like man doesn't live on bread alone, bettas feel likewise about pellets.   But if pellets are the mainstay, don't scrimp.  The best will cost less than a medium pizza.  That you'll enjoy for a few minutes.  While top notch betta food will benefit your lil buddy for their lifetime.

The New Betta Feeding Rules

INTRODUCTION: Keeping a betta fish for the first time? Then you should know their feeding habits to make sure you don't end up overfeeding or underfeeding them. Either of which can have a negative impact on the life expectancy you may be hoping will be a good long time.  To that end these new rules of feeding bettas presented here in Q&A format will hopefully help.

Question: What do bettas feed on?
Answer: They feed on a large variety of finny delicacies. Turns out the wider range of foods you give them the better they like it and healthier they will be. These guys can feed on foods like mosquito larvae, bloodworms, and brine shrimp. You can also feed them commercial betta pellets which usually contain a large variety of essential ingredients.  Hopefully this gives you a better idea as to what bettafish eat or can eat. 

Question: How often am I really supposed to feed my betta?
Answer: Yeah I know.  You can get all sorts of advice when it comes to the how often question.  The instructions on the fish food itself tell you one thing.  What you read in forums suggests another.  What you might read on a web site might suggest something else.

Truth is bettas can get along just fine eating once or at most twice a day. Often less is best. Problem is if you over feed them there's a chance they won't eat all the pellets, bloodworms or whatever and the leftovers will foul their water. Leading to disease or worse the death of your fish.

Question: My guy just loves his blood worms.  But ever since his first taste he now turns up his nose to pellets.  He'll take one in and instantly spit it out.  I'm worried he's not going to get a balanced diet from blood worms alone.  What's a concerned betta owner to do?  I don't want him to starve.  Nor do I want to be a mean mom.
Answer:  Good question.  As you suspect bettas cannot live well on blood worms alone.  But some just won't take to pelletized food after they've gotten their lips around something more to their liking. So you may have to resort to a mixture of frozen brine shrimp, daphnia and the like to insure your guy gets the vitamins and minerals he needs to be healthy.

Question: Should I feed my blue fantail differently from the other fish in the tank?
Answer: Other fish in the tank?  How many fish you housing with your betta who typically prefers to be alone?  That issue aside, you can actually feed them the same type of food. But it's also good to feed them different varieties so they can choose what they like to eat. The more options the happier for everyone in the tank.

Back to the first point.  As you know bettas are naturally aggressive and territorial. But don't worry that your other fish may not be able to share food with your betta as long as you've got enough food for everyone. A bigger concern would be if they are all getting along.  And sometimes the concern is that another fish is harassing your beloved betta.

Question: I'm worried about over feeding.  How can I tell if I'm feeding my half-moon too much?
Answer: This is a good point given most in the US eat too much themselves.  Actually fish like this need less than you might think.  Think three to five pellets, three to five bloodworms and they're good.  Overfeeding does your pet no good at all.  It can lead to constipation and bad water from uneaten food going bad.

CONCLUSION:  How you go about feeding your betta, what you feed and how often you feed comes down to one point.  It doesn't matter as long as you don't over feed.  Stuffing them to the gills isn't an act of kindness though either.  Because you may be setting stage for bad water conditions which is the leading cause of betta disease and death.