''Turbatrix aceti'' (vinegar eels, vinegar nematode, ''Anguillula aceti'') are free-living nematodes that feed on a

microbial culture A microbiological culture, or microbial culture, is a method of multiplying microbial organisms by letting them reproduce in predetermined culture medium under controlled laboratory conditions. Microbial cultures are foundational and basic diag ...

called

mother of vinegar Mother of vinegar is a biofilm composed of a form of cellulose, yeast and bacteria that sometimes develops on fermenting alcoholic liquids during the process that turns alcohol into acetic acid with the help of oxygen from the air and acetic acid b ...

(used to create

vinegar Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains 5–8% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to ...

) and may be found in unfiltered vinegar. They were discovered by

Pierre Borel Pierre Borel ( la, Petrus Borellius; c. 1620 – 1671) was a French savant: a chemist (and reputed alchemist), physician, and botanist. Borel was born in Castres. He became a doctor of medicine at the University of Montpellier in 1640. In ...

in 1656. Their environment makes them exceptionally tolerant of variation in

acidity In computer science, ACID ( atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability) is a set of properties of database transactions intended to guarantee data validity despite errors, power failures, and other mishaps. In the context of databases, a sequ ...

and

alkalinity Alkalinity (from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is the capacity of water to resist acidification. It should not be confused with basicity, which is an absolute measurement on the pH scale. Alkalinity is the strengt ...

and they may be able to tolerate a wider range than any other species, being able to survive from pH 1.6 to 11. Vinegar eels are often given to fry (baby

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% ...

) as a live food, like microworms. Although they are harmless and non-

parasitic Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson ha ...

, leaving eels in

is considered objectionable in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

and is not permitted in vinegar destined for American consumers. Manufacturers normally filter and

pasteurize Pasteurization or pasteurisation is a process of food preservation in which packaged and non-packaged foods (such as milk and fruit juices) are treated with mild heat, usually to less than , to eliminate pathogens and extend shelf life. Th ...

their product prior to bottling, destroying the live bacterial and yeast culture that these nematodes require for sustenance. At high concentration near a boundary, vinegar eels synchronize their undulations forming a collective wave.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1368890 Rhabditida Vinegar