Ratio Optimisation of Media Ingredients for Mass Culture of Tubificid Worms (Oligochaeta, Tubificidae) in Bangladesh

Two experiments were undertaken in a small cement raceway culture system to determine the best media ingredients and their ratios suitable for the mass culture of tubificid worms. The first experiment focused to determine the best medium suitable for maximum yield, while the effect of rice gruel was measured in the second. At the 70th day of culture, a significantly higher (p 0.05) yield of 678.62±11.50 mg.cm-2 worms was found in the culture medium containing the mixture of 20% wheat bran (WB), 30% soybean meal (SM), 20% mustard oil cake (MOC), 20% cow dung (CD) and 10% sand. The highest yield of worms (1,126.03±31.08 mg.cm-2) was obtained when rice gruel was used to wet the culture media ingredients (20% WB, 30% SM, 20% MOC, 20% CD and 10% sand) instead of water. The cost of producing 1 kg worms was reduced by half (US$0.53 to 0.31) as a result of using less media ingredients (1.46 kg instead of 2.43 kg). Results of this study suggest that the combination of 20% WB, 30% SM, 20% MOC, 20% CD and 10% sand is the best culture medium for a 70-day culture duration to obtain the maximum yield of tubificid worms.