{"product_id":"vinegar-eels","title":"Vinegar Eel Starter Culture","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis offering is for a 30 mL baggie of Vinegar Eel starter culture. Vinegar eels are one of the easiest and lowest maintenance live foods we culture and are especially useful as a first food for newly hatched fry.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVinegar eels are a must have for fish breeders. Cultures can be left on the shelf for months with no feeding or maintenance needed making them an extremely convenient live food to keep on hand. When unexpected fry arrive or you need a tiny live food on short notice an established Vinegar Eel culture is ready when you need it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVinegar eels are very similar in size and appearance to microworms, but they have one major advantage: they swim freely throughout the water column, remaining readily available to fry, whereas microworms tend to sink to the bottom.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVinegar eels reproduce more slowly than microworms, so it is a good idea to establish your culture well in advance of when you expect to need it. Fortunately setting up a culture takes only a few minutes and once established requires no additional maintenance for months at a time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eCulturing Instructions\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo start a culture you will need:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eApple cider vinegar\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBottled water\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA few small pieces of apple\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eYour Vinegar Eel starter culture\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMix 1 part apple cider vinegar and 1 part bottled water in a clean plastic bottle. The bottles that bottled water or apple cider vinegar come in work perfectly well.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor every 100 mL of culture, add approximately one 1 cm cube of fresh apple and then add your Vinegar Eel starter culture. Place the cap loosely on top of the bottle to allow some air exchange.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKeeping the culture in a warm location will encourage faster reproduction. I keep mine on top of the refrigerator in my fish room. The only regular maintenance I perform is adding a little fresh apple approximately once every six months. Cultures can be maintained this way for years without needing to be restarted.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eHarvesting\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo harvest your Vinegar Eels, simply pour some of the culture through a coffee filter. Rinse the collected eels with fresh water and then feed them directly to your fry.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003ePro Tip\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUse raw apple cider vinegar with the mother for best results. The vinegar eels will reproduce much fast than if you use pasturized filtered apple cider vinegar.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eSeasonal Shipping Notice\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDue to the high temperatures of summer and freezing temperatures of winter we are unable to guarantee live arrival of live cultures during periods of extreme weather. For customers who urgently need a culture and are willing to accept the risk we will continue to ship during those times.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs a general guideline, we recommend shipping live cultures within the following temperature ranges:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMicroworms, Infusoria \u0026amp; Vinegar Eels: 1°C–30°C (34°F–86°F)\u003cbr\u003eGrindal Worms: 1°C–27°C (34°F–80°F)\u003cbr\u003eWhite Worms: 1°C–20°C (34°F–68°F)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBrine Shrimp, Daphnia, Moina and Rotifer eggs can be safely shipped at all temperatures.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCanada shipping only. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Canadian Aqua Farm","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46110896750636,"sku":null,"price":20.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/6162\/8204\/files\/ChatGPTImageSep8_2026_11_27_09PM.png?v=1788935243","url":"https:\/\/www.canadianaquafarm.ca\/products\/vinegar-eels","provider":"Canadian Aqua Farm","version":"1.0","type":"link"}