How to Grow Vinegar Eels

Vinegar eels are a common first food for many fish fry. They are smaller than micro worms, swim in the water column without sinking and survive for hours. They are extraordinarily easy to keep and can thrive for years with minimal attention. Vinegar eels are a must-have food for all fish breeders. While baby brine shrimp require a hatchery, and other worm cultures routinely crash, you will always be able to pull out vinegar eels and know they are ready to harvest when you need them.

[@danielle2451]

This was a great for dummies video. Thank you so much!

[@Georgeolddrones]

Thanks for the video Jay it’s excellent 👍 George in England uk

[@GillsBreatheWater]

Super helpful and well thought out video! Thank you for sharing

[@Blakrex]

Thanks for the information!

[@CADSMITH-jimpac]

Thanks a lot! The best tutorial i’ve seen so far. More videos sir! 😀

[@jaymiller3238]

You're welcome! And thanks for the compliment. That's saying a lot, given the number of KZbin videos on this subject. Honestly, even something as "simple" as vinegar eels can throw you a curve ball once in a while, kzbin.info/www/bejne/eKnTgZyfpZl5qZY, but I seem to have gotten past that crisis. This hobby certainly keeps a person humble lol.

[@Kirbythediver]

High value content sir

[@S-scapes]

Great video,found it very helpful 👍

[@jaymiller3238]

Glad to hear it. Thanks!

[@percysmuseum]

Thx for sharing 🙏🏻😄👍🏻

[@jaymiller3238]

You're welcome!

[@donaldaryantotambunan3338]

sir..simple to the point and short. 1 sub for you

[@jaymiller3238]

Thanks!

[@onursopac3969]

Thank you

[@jaymiller3238]

You're welcome!

[@rahulsrecipes6168]

Its very informative

[@jaymiller3238]

Thanks!

[@kristykeimig3498]

@Jay Miller hey 👋 any update on your vinegar ee cultures ?? Thanks for the video. Very helpful

[@jaymiller3238]

You're welcome. Glad to hear it. My cultures are humming along. The oldest ones are about nine months old now and going strong. I harvest one bottle until the population declines then put it back on the shelf for a few months while I harvest from other bottles (I have 8 or 10). When I come back the bottle is full of eels again.

[@kristykeimig3498]

@@jaymiller3238 some ppl don't dilute the ACV....do you know if that matters? Also can I use a declorinator for my tap water? Or do I let the water sit 24 hours?

[@richarddubois7921]

⁠@@jaymiller3238 do you take out the plug when the harvest is low so they can multiply?

[@tombackhouse5230]

I haven’t touched my culture in the best part of a year, and it’s still going strong

[@jaymiller3238]

How often do you harvest?

[@tombackhouse5230]

I hadn’t in ages because I haven’t been breeding but I’ve recently started a guppy breeding project so now I’m harvesting every 3 days. My culture seems to be coping with the frequent harvest so far 👍🏼

[@ftroner4644]

Brilliant video Jay, thank you. A local eel culture seller suggested using an open mouth jar/bottle as eels need to breathe. Based on what you've shown us, that's not necessary. Any thoughts?

[@jaymiller3238]

Thanks. It’s a good question. I agree with your local seller. Vinegar eels need to breathe, so more surface area is better. When I’m growing the culture I keep the liquid level low enough to maximize the surface area. Only when I’m harvesting do I bring the liquid level up into the bottle neck. It’s a point of omission in my video and I thank you for bringing it to my attention.

[@ftroner4644]

@@jaymiller3238 Thank you, I'll keep that in mind when I start raising them.

[@CalmCopy471]

Great video! Would these make a good live food source for very small fish like Endlers or guppies? Or are they too small for them and should only be used when breeding babies?

[@jaymiller3238]

Oh sure, Endlers and guppies would enjoy vinegar eels. I feed them to my adult white clouds all the time, though I probably wouldn't make that the ONLY live food on their menu.

[@leilaclarridge5807]

I might try this, but I'll need to find vinegar eels

[@onionminion2247]

In the Philippines, we grow them in some side walk street food stalls 😂. If you don't watch it, they're in the vinegar 😂😂😂

[@jaymiller3238]

Good thing they're harmless!

[@kristykeimig3498]

@Jay Miller can we use bottled natural spring water?

[@jaymiller3238]

I think so.

[@kristykeimig3498]

@@jaymiller3238 I don't know why but I was over thinking it yesterday, I wanted to propagate my original 3 bottles and i couldn't remember about the water so I came back to your videos...again lol

[@hudhood4958]

hello sir. thank for the information. can i ask something? how do i start culture this thing without starter? or how do i make the starter? i hope you will share this information with me. a million thank.

[@jaymiller3238]

Sorry for the late reply. You'll have to get some vinegar eels from an online seller or a local hobbyist.

[@19645pat]

@@jaymiller3238 You can put some applevinegar in a small open bottle with pieces of apple in it and leave it outdoors for a month (open). You will have some eels to start with. Kind regards.

[@vinciblehooman2263]

How much days does it took to bring up the eels?

[@jaymiller3238]

In my personal experience, it takes about two months to develop a population strong enough to start harvesting, but many factors would effect that timeline.

[@beatatarczon1402]

can I use green bottle if I don't have a clear one?

[@jaymiller3238]

I don’t think it will matter since light isn’t important

[@trxckez6063]

What was the first liquid you put in the bottle?

[@jaymiller3238]

The starter culture containing the live vinegar eels

[@juliachua5610]

What’s a substitute for filter wool?

[@jaymiller3238]

Not sure... Cotton? Polyfill for pillows?

[@SC-hk6ui]

So what ratio of water to vinegar can you reach?

[@jaymiller3238]

I use 1 : 1. I've never experimented with other ratios.

[@chouavang503]

Is this without starter culture?

[@jaymiller3238]

I purchased vinegar eels from a local fish keeper in order to get started.

[@toutanglor]

What happens if I use tap water ?

[@jaymiller3238]

I don't know

[@melyzarojas8000]

Where are u located

[@jaymiller3238]

Toronto

[@yrizel1620]

Can I mix the cider with white vinegar

[@jaymiller3238]

I don't know. I've only seen people use apple cider vinegar. My guess is that it might work as long as the pH is the same. It would be a good experiment for a video.

[@spatrk6634]

they just want to eat bacteria that makes vinegar. as long as mother vinegar starts forming i think you are fine. sugars are food for bacteria that makes alcohol, and alcohol gets eaten by another bacteria that makes vinegar. and that bacteria gets eaten by vinegar eels.

[@spicynoodle5821]

Do we need to keep them in dark??

[@jaymiller3238]

Vinegar eels aren't picky about the level of light. I keep them in the closet just for appearance sake.

[@spicynoodle5821]

@@jaymiller3238 thanks sir but vinegar eels are expensive (100 ml) in my country 😅

[@user-nj7sp4xx6v]

Is it safe?

[@jaymiller3238]

Yes. As far as I know vinegar eels are completely safe.

[@ngpohsheng581]

@@jaymiller3238 glass eels can stay in sour liquid for long time.

[@jefrinthomas3810]

What's meant by culture u used first

[@pgsreeji12]

How can we culture with out start up culture

[@jaymiller3238]

I don't know that it's possible. I purchased my starter culture from a local hobbyist.

[@19645pat]

You can put some applevinegar in a small open bottle with pieces of apple in it and leave it outdoors for a month (open). You will have some eels to start with. Kind regards.