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Vinegar eels (Turbatrix aceti)

Name: Vinegar eels (Turbatrix aceti)
Brand: Aquarists Across Canada
Price: 9.99 CAD
Availability: InStock

$9.99 CAD

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100 in stock

Vinegar eels (Turbatrix aceti) are tiny, harmless roundworms commonly cultured as a live food source for newborn fish fry.

How to Set Up a Culture

Container: Use a glass jar, a wine bottle, or a small plastic container with a ventilated lid.
Solution: Mix a 50/50 or 3:2 ratio of unpasteurized apple cider vinegar (look for "the mother") and dechlorinated or distilled water.
Food Source: Add a few thin slices or chunks of raw apple (e.g., about 1/4 of an apple). The eels eat the microorganisms and bacteria that break down the apple.
Starter Culture: Pour in your vinegar eel starter culture.
Cover: Secure a piece of filter floss, a paper towel, or a breathable cloth over the opening with a rubber band to let air in and keep out pests.
Placement: Keep the jar at room temperature (around 70–80°F) and out of direct sunlight.

Maintenance & Care

Growth time: Let the new culture sit undisturbed for 2 to 4 weeks before you start harvesting.
Feeding the culture: You do not need to feed the eels directly; just replace the apple slices every 2 to 4 weeks when they decompose.
Top-ups: Add a 50/50 water-vinegar mix or dechlorinated water as needed to replace natural evaporation.
Subculturing: Every 3 to 6 months, start a fresh culture jar by transferring a portion of the old liquid and eels along with a fresh apple slice.

How to Harvest

Migration method: Pack a piece of filter floss or a cotton ball into the neck of a bottle, pour the eel-rich liquid up to it, and gently add a layer of clean dechlorinated water on top.
Collection: Because vinegar eels need oxygen, they swim upward through the filter floss into the clean water layer. Wait 8 to 24 hours, then use a pipette or turkey baster to draw the eels from the top layer.
Feeding: Squirting the collected eels directly into your fry tank works well, or you can strain them through a fine coffee filter/mesh strainer and rinse them lightly with fresh water first.