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July Meeting Minutes: July 19th

Once again we had a great meeting and wonderful hosts-thanks to Dean and Cynthia, who were kind enough to let the hordes descend upon their home once again. The bulk of the meeting consisted of a presentation of live foods, given by Cynthia.

First, Cynthia described how to raise vinegar eels, which seem pretty simple and relatively maintenance free. Start with a glass jar (not completely airtight) and fill it with 2/3 tank-water and 1/3 apple vinegar (or go as high as 50-50 vinegar). An apple chunk in the bottom of the container may help feed the culture. Store in a dark place. Feed to fish by first filtering out the vinegar using a coffee filter.

For part two of the demonstration, Cynthia presented her meal worm factory, which consisted of a 10 gallon open fish tank full of meal worms. Feed the swarm by dumping a bucket of oatmeal on top of the writhing mass-when the oatmeal is gone, feed again. The worms taste like oatmeal (according to Mike and Joe). Pieces of fruit or potatoes should be added to provide moisture. Fish can either be fed the larval worm or beetle form. The culture is pretty much-self sufficient.

Cynthia also gave us a tour of her red worm compost machine, which produces garden water, soil and amazingly enough, red worms. The device consisted of several trays of dirt and organic trash. Simply rotate the trays and you have outdoor plant and fish food.

Gerald favored us with a short discussion on microworm cultures and free sample cultures were distributed. These cultures require more care than vinegar eels, because they quickly go bad, turning into a dark black mess. A 50/50 cornmeal yeast mixture sprinkled with dry yeast constitutes the growth medium. Oatmeal makes for more aromatic cultures, while bran and beer was reported to make non-aromatic cultures. When the worms climb the sides of the container, scoop them out and place them in the fish tank, where they will live for roughly 24 hours at the bottom of the tank.

Brine shrimp hatcheries were also discussed. Fill a 2-liter soda bottle with water, 2 tablespoons of salt and a half a teaspoon of eggs. Drill a hole in the lid for an airstone. Invert the bottle and turn on the airstone. When the culture turns a light pink/orange, it is ready to feed to your fish.

We also received a simple recipe for homemade fishfood:

• A bunch of parsley (blend in food processor)
• Several catfish pieces (blend in food processor)
• Add 2 envelopes of gelatin to 1 cup water (serves as a binder)
• Add Food the fish won't eat
• Blend in food processor
• Spread in a pan and freeze till solid (wrap small squares in cellophane)
• Serve frozen

Cynthia recommended the "Encyclopedia of Live Foods" as a good book to learn more about the subject.

We ended the meeting with a tremendous fish auction-16 different species were represented.

Nate Terry
OKCAA Secretary

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