Daphnia
- known as “water bugs” or “water fleas”
- Daphnia can be used regularly to provide your fish with
more variation
- It can also be used as fry food for bigger fish. Unlike
uneaten dried or frozen food, Daphnia will not foul the
water, they will stay alive in the aquarium until the fish
decides to eat them.
- Excellent food for your fry
Preparations
- To start your own Daphnia culture you need to buy a starter
culture from your local fish store .
- Place the container that you plan to use for cultivating
Daphnia in a light spot, because Daphnia are more active
when it is light. Artificial light works just as well as sun
light, so you can for instance place them under a lamp in
your basement.
- Add water to a container and pour in your Daphnia culture.
- Add a slow bubbling air stone to keep the water from
becoming stagnant and oxygen depleted. Keep the water
temperature around 72-75 degrees F.
- Mixing dry yeast with soy flour will provide you with a
great source of food for your Daphnia.
- Stir 1/8-1/4 teaspoon of this mixture into a cup of warm
water and pour it into your Daphnia container. This will
cloud the water and there is no need to feed your Daphnia
again until they have filtered out and consumed all the
yeast-flour (i.e.when the water has become clear again).
Avoid over-feeding, since this will cause the water to go
foul and kill the Daphnia.
- Avoid using a filter in your Daphnia container because a
filter will catch a lot of tiny life forms that the Daphnia
likes to feast on. Regular water changes are a better way
of keeping the water quality up. You can combine water
changes with harvesting by using a siphon to suck up a part
of the water and filter it through a shrimp net. The
removed water can then be replaced with new, fresh water
and the shrimp net will be filled with Daphnia for your fish.
You will also need to remove mulm from the bottom of the
container every other week.
- Daphnia can be used regularly to provide your fish with
more variation
- It can also be used as fry food for bigger fish. Unlike
uneaten dried or frozen food, Daphnia will not foul the
water, they will stay alive in the aquarium until the fish
decides to eat them.
- Excellent food for your fry
Preparations
- To start your own Daphnia culture you need to buy a starter
culture from your local fish store .
- Place the container that you plan to use for cultivating
Daphnia in a light spot, because Daphnia are more active
when it is light. Artificial light works just as well as sun
light, so you can for instance place them under a lamp in
your basement.
- Add water to a container and pour in your Daphnia culture.
- Add a slow bubbling air stone to keep the water from
becoming stagnant and oxygen depleted. Keep the water
temperature around 72-75 degrees F.
- Mixing dry yeast with soy flour will provide you with a
great source of food for your Daphnia.
- Stir 1/8-1/4 teaspoon of this mixture into a cup of warm
water and pour it into your Daphnia container. This will
cloud the water and there is no need to feed your Daphnia
again until they have filtered out and consumed all the
yeast-flour (i.e.when the water has become clear again).
Avoid over-feeding, since this will cause the water to go
foul and kill the Daphnia.
- Avoid using a filter in your Daphnia container because a
filter will catch a lot of tiny life forms that the Daphnia
likes to feast on. Regular water changes are a better way
of keeping the water quality up. You can combine water
changes with harvesting by using a siphon to suck up a part
of the water and filter it through a shrimp net. The
removed water can then be replaced with new, fresh water
and the shrimp net will be filled with Daphnia for your fish.
You will also need to remove mulm from the bottom of the
container every other week.
How To Feed
Remove daphnia using a fine meshed net and feed it to your fry.