Sonny Disposition
Active Member
Don't add salt, you'll kill the daphnia. When you do a water change or vacuum out the colony, replace with a little dissolved limestone or calcium chloride. Like sailfin mollies, daphnia like hard water.
Also, within a few days, they'll remove all the green algae from the water, even if you put the tank in direct sunlight. You'll need to find them something else to eat. The easiest thing to do is dissolve about a sixteenth to an eight teaspoon of bread yeast into a cup or two of water. You can feed every two or three days. Lots of people feed dilute solutions of sweet potatoes. (Baby food makes a really convenient solution, but Frank Cowherd makes his own solutions from fresh sweet potatoes.)
I keep a few Xiphophorus variatus on a window sill in a five gallon tank. The sunlight and the fish waste keep the water green. Every few days I pour a pint or so of green water into the culture.
Colonies often die off for no good reason. It would also be a good idea to remove a few daphnia from the tank and add them to another tank as a hedge against die offs.
Also, within a few days, they'll remove all the green algae from the water, even if you put the tank in direct sunlight. You'll need to find them something else to eat. The easiest thing to do is dissolve about a sixteenth to an eight teaspoon of bread yeast into a cup or two of water. You can feed every two or three days. Lots of people feed dilute solutions of sweet potatoes. (Baby food makes a really convenient solution, but Frank Cowherd makes his own solutions from fresh sweet potatoes.)
I keep a few Xiphophorus variatus on a window sill in a five gallon tank. The sunlight and the fish waste keep the water green. Every few days I pour a pint or so of green water into the culture.
Colonies often die off for no good reason. It would also be a good idea to remove a few daphnia from the tank and add them to another tank as a hedge against die offs.
marge618
CCA member
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Well, please keep us posted on how this turns out. When I went to Aquarium Depot they didn't have live daphnia available. I already have hard water, and baby food sweet potatoes are easy to come by. Raising your own live food sounds like a plan.
Marge
Sonny Disposition
Active Member
Just wait--they'll clear the water up.
DeeCee
Members
Hmmmm, now ya'll have me wondering if I should get an algae bucket started......
Of course, that means one more person to bid against Francine on daphnia!
SO - what do I need to do to get a daphnia tank started? Just water in a tank in a sunny spot? Add air?
DC
Of course, that means one more person to bid against Francine on daphnia!
SO - what do I need to do to get a daphnia tank started? Just water in a tank in a sunny spot? Add air?
DC
ltrepeter2000
Members
Should have been at the PVAS meeting. Franny wasnt there and three or four bags were auctioned off for just a couple bucks a bag.
kaj41354
Members
I wanted to chime in since I have been able to keep a Daphnia culture growing for about a year now. It does slow down on occasion but then I just don't feed for a week and it grows back. I have them in a 5.5 gallon tank. I started this tank a week before getting the daphnia with water from water changes. (BE Careful - No water with salt or other treatments). I have tried several combinations but what seems to work best is to have some plant life in tank (small piece of Java moss seems to work well), snails are a must, they apparently discharge something that is beneficial to daphnia as they are cleaning the tank. Slow large air bubbles, I have a "T" at the end of a piece of tubing with about 2 bubbles per second and light 24 hours per day! I then have tried different feeding techniques but what seems to work is 2 drops of algae paste each day (I get mine from Brine Shrimp Direct), a pinch of "Daphnia Boost" from Karma Farm Aquatics once a week, and a few pieces of lettuce every 2 weeks or so. (this is for the snails to eat). I also have thrown in some BlueGreen algae that refuses to vacate 2 of my tanks. I am really not sure why all of these things seem to work but it appears that they are a good combination.
Hope this helps
Kurt
Hope this helps
Kurt
Sonny Disposition
Active Member
I'll have to try the snails.
maddog10
Members
Frank wont mind if more people bid on the daphnia! He makes out like a bandit when we have fun at Francine's expense.
Sonny Disposition
Active Member
Frank makes his daphnia food a gallon at a time! I've never seen his set up, but he must have a lot of tanks going.
