BANANA WORMS

[neilthirumuttam]

Hi mates,
I am interested to know about banana worms

Banana worm are are essentially a small nematode worm they live in the root system of the Banana tree and are considered a pest by growers
is they are visible in the roots of banana tree ?

any one experienced with them ?
be please to share
thanks advanced

regards,
NEIL

[neilthirumuttam]

I have read some articles from net regarding this
from those I guess that
Walterworms/Banana Worms are another favorite live foods.
The advantage of feeding Banana worm over Walter and Micro is that they live for
longer in freshwater which gives the fry more time to consume this type of food, they are
larger and can be given to larger fry before going on to such foods as graded
Grindalworm.

any one have experience with this worms ?
used to feed fish?

waiting 4 response
regards,
NEIL

[shergill00]

Neil banana worms are nematodes and they wriggle like worms so called worms others wise they don't fall in this class. Scietific name : Panagrellus Nepenthicola. Dont have experience with them and since they are even smaller than micro worms, you planning to feed them to which fish.

[deepesh]

Before the whole lot of us goes out into the wild and starts digging up banana trees by the dozen, a few things to consider...

First off I am not an expert on nematodes. Experts on free loving nematodes are not easily found it seems. These worms are probably the most numerous animals on earth and are often very specialized. I would imagine that there are thousands of species and species level identification is a big deal. Therefore I would further imagine that the scientific world is more interested in the economically important ones, meaning the parasitic ones. Some parasitize animals, some are major agricultural pests and in a perverse cycle some eat fungi and fungi eat some of them. When it comes to free living ones it must be a daunting task to study organisms that number in billions and are inobtrusively going about their lives. Probably a similar situation as microbes. We know most about th deadly ones although the non deadly ones outnumber them a million to one.

Phew...

Now from what I read on the net, plant parasitic nematodes are very specialized critters. No joking but they go about sucking their hosts in a truly fascinating way with very specialized mouthparts with stylets to puncture and drink up the plants juice.

In contrast the free living nematodes have differently shaped mouthparts to funnel in microorganisms from th organic soup they live in. Some specialize in bacteria, others in fungi and some on spores alone!!

Which brings me, personally, to the conclusion that banana worms we have heard of are not the same as the ones parasitizing banana roots. Indeed a search on banana root knot nematodes throws up very interesting reading on nematodes that can't possibly be free living.

And the microworms and their ilk that we culture are free living.

It is however quite possible that the original banana worms were isolated in relation with banana roots. They were in all probability living close to the roots rather than within the roots. However in this situation it is the soil that harbors them.

And if that is the case then we ought to be looking or a "Baermann funnel". Google that.

[neilthirumuttam]

Neil banana worms are nematodes and they wriggle like worms so called worms others wise they don't fall in this class. Scietific name : Panagrellus Nepenthicola. Dont have experience with them and since they are even smaller than micro worms, you planning to feed them to which fish.

FRY OF GUPPY MOLLIES &PLATIES of different starins NOW ,
feeding micro worms now
for a change in feeding trying alternatives

thanks 4 ur response

regards,
NEIL

[Arjun Tandon]

I think the challenge is, how will you isolate them from the soil
There is not harm in digging and looking out for banana worms if you know where to find them
You can give them proper culturing conditions and let them overtake other harmful nematodes
Then after reculturing a couple of times, you can compare that culture to your microworm culture and come to a conclusion

[deepesh]

That's why I suggested the Baermann funnel.

[VishaalDalal]

It is really great to have a Doctor (a knowledgeable one at that ) on the forum, though it reduces the number of posts in highly increases the level of knowledge.
Deepesh would also love to know the theory behind keeping banana peels in romifex cultures.

[Romi]

Neil, I am so sure you can find some native nematode species for us. You have an open and curious mind, and that is eminently suitable for the purpose.

These worms infesting the Banana tree-roots sound promising..

The Walter worms etc are useful but only for specialised fish species who for reasons of size, have fry that do not do as well with microworms or Vinegar eels. It is about size, not about major differences in food value, which i understand are roughly the same for most, microworms, vinegar eels, water worms, banana worms, etc. etc.

However, for the 10th time, i would urge you to not understimate Vinegar eels if you are thinking of guppy fry. That is because they are surface-dwelling, and so are the eels. Microworms sink after a while. I understand Walter and Banana worms also sink.

[deepesh]

Are vinegar eels and beer worms related? I got the impression from some of the posts at IAH that beer worms too float/swim upwards.