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Bananas aren't just for feeding monkeys anymore.
They are a worldwide food crop. Did you know that if you separate the bananas from the each other they will ripen more slowly? Ever watch a monkey bite off the end of a banana and peal it towards the stem. If you peal your bananas that way you will not leave any of those messy strings behind. But life is not just a bunch of bananas, attacking the roots of those banana trees are Banana worms. They are a major pest of banana crops worldwide. Banana worms are very small nematodes, less than 800 µm long and 20-24 µm diameter. They have a life cycle of 20-25 days and after 3 days the female can produce up to 6 eggs per day. They prefer 30 degrees C. and will die off at 17C/62F.
Fish breeders need to provide large quantities of very small live food for the large number of tiny fry that hatch out of eggs. Many of us have depended on micro-worms as a first food, but I have found something better. Banana Worms are an excellent first food for those fry that are too small to start on baby brine shrimp. They are inexpensive to grow, easy to culture, nutritious and better than micro-worms because they are half the size of micro-worms and they live longer in water.
Gather the following SUPPLIES:
| A mixing bowl | A Fork (a blender is better) | 3 clear pint deli containers with lids | A small package of instant potatoes |
| A large safety pin, candle & matches | 1 ripe banana | Some sugar | A package of yeast |
And a starter culture (worms)
If you don't have an old culture, have a fish friend with a good culture mail you a tablespoon of starter in a zip-lock bag in a standard legal envelope.
Follow these simple Instructions
1)Take the ripe banana and break it into smaller pieces and put it in your blender with enough warm water to make a banana soup and pour into your mixing bowl. If you don’t have a blender, use a fork to mash the banana in your mixing bowl.
2)Sprinkle some instant mashed potatoes in your mixing bowl and add warm water to make a soft but not sloppy mixture.
3)Add a pinch of yeast to the culture for the banana worms to eat (careful, yeast gives off CO2 and too much can kill the worms.)
4)Add a little sugar for the yeast to eat.
5)To the banana, potato flakes, yeast and sugar add enough water to make a soft but not watery mixture. If your culture becomes too watery add more potato flakes to absorb the water. Transfer 3 heaping tablespoonfuls of this medium to your clear 1/2-pint deli containers.
If it stands up, add a bit more water and pat down to make a " deep layer in the container.
6)Add a tablespoon of banana worms and culture medium from your old culture. (seed)
7)Gather up the deli lid, the safety pin and light the candle. Bend the safety pin so that it makes an “L”. Hold it by the clasp and heat the point in the candle flame. The hot pin will allow you to poke holes in the plastic lid like a hot knife through butter.
These holes will be large enough to let the CO2 escape and small enough to keep the fruit fly from getting in.
8)After 4 days, check the status of your culture by holding it up to the overhead light. If you see a shimmering movement on top of your culture, you have live worms moving about. After a few more days, you will have banana worms crawling up the container sides, where they may be collected.
9)To harvest worms, I use a small watercolor paintbrush. I swipe the sides of the container to gather them up and swish the paintbrush in the fry tank. Worms will only survive a short time in water and any uneaten worms will decay and foul the tank. If you don't keep snails in your fry tank, siphon the uneaten worms off the bottom daily before your next feeding.
2)Sprinkle some instant mashed potatoes in your mixing bowl and add warm water to make a soft but not sloppy mixture.
3)Add a pinch of yeast to the culture for the banana worms to eat (careful, yeast gives off CO2 and too much can kill the worms.)
4)Add a little sugar for the yeast to eat.
5)To the banana, potato flakes, yeast and sugar add enough water to make a soft but not watery mixture. If your culture becomes too watery add more potato flakes to absorb the water. Transfer 3 heaping tablespoonfuls of this medium to your clear 1/2-pint deli containers.
6)Add a tablespoon of banana worms and culture medium from your old culture. (seed)
7)Gather up the deli lid, the safety pin and light the candle. Bend the safety pin so that it makes an “L”. Hold it by the clasp and heat the point in the candle flame. The hot pin will allow you to poke holes in the plastic lid like a hot knife through butter.
8)After 4 days, check the status of your culture by holding it up to the overhead light. If you see a shimmering movement on top of your culture, you have live worms moving about. After a few more days, you will have banana worms crawling up the container sides, where they may be collected.
9)To harvest worms, I use a small watercolor paintbrush. I swipe the sides of the container to gather them up and swish the paintbrush in the fry tank. Worms will only survive a short time in water and any uneaten worms will decay and foul the tank. If you don't keep snails in your fry tank, siphon the uneaten worms off the bottom daily before your next feeding.
Once you have a going culture, give some to neighboring fish keepers so that if your culture crashes, you can get a start back from them. Start a new culture every month as they tend to dry out and the banana worms die off.
You don't have to be a Monkey to go Bananas!
