"Culture Methods
>
>It is nearly impossible to be unsuccessful in culturing these worms
>and colonies can be maintained indefinitely with very little effort.
>Use a shallow, wide dish such as an 8" Carolina culture dish the
>equivalent or an enamel or plastic pan. Add about 2-3 cm of
>non-chlorinated water to the dish. Use lake, pond, or spring water
>if available or, if necessary, tap water that has been exposed to
>the air for a week or so. Cut up white or brown institutional paper
>towels into strips about 1 cm wide and add some to the water to
>provide a decomposable organic substratum for the worms. Add worms
>(which are available from Carolina Biological Supply Co.) to the
>dish. Feed the worms compressed shrimp pellets ("sinking fish food")
>available at pet stores. Do not provide more food at one time than
>the worms can eat in a day. Overfeeding can kill the colony. Replace
>the water when it becomes anoxic (or not. When the water is anoxic
>the worms will exhibit their characteristic respiratory posture with
>the posterior end flat under the water surface.)
>
>The worms are very tolerant of stagnant conditions with low
>dissolved oxygen and can subsist without food for long periods.
>Replace water as it evaporates and don't let the dish dry out
>completely. They cannot tolerate desiccation. You can make
>subcultures at will following the above procedure. The worms will
>reproduce by fragmentation under these conditions. If you wish to
>hurry the propagation process, you can cut the worms into pieces and
>each piece will regenerate the missing parts to become a complete
>worm."
Copyright 2000 by
Richard Fox
Lander University
