Enchytraeus buchholzi

Enchytraeus buchholzi (Grindal worm) are cultured by aquarists as a fish food. They are used for conditioning tropical fish before spawning, or for young fast-growing fish.

Grindal worms, Enchytraeus buchholzi (Vejdovsky, 1879) are a smaller relative of the whiteworm, but usually only grow to about 10 mm and thus are an ideal size for most rainbowfishes including both adults and larger fry. Mrs. Morten Grindal, of Sweden, who was prominent in the development of culturing techniques for whiteworms, was apparently the first person to isolate this smaller species. Grindal worms can be cultured exactly as whiteworms but are a much more adaptable species and have a greater tolerance for warmer temperatures. Maturity has been reported to occur around 16 days at 20°C, the clitellum (see above) forming when the worms are about 3~4 mm. The generation period (cocoon to cocoon) is about a month at 20°C.