Adding paramecia to larvae

[Otterwoman]

I have a large pickle jar of paramecia that I managed to grow. I also have eggs about to hatch.
My question is, I want to add the paramecia to the larvae. But the water the paramecia have been grown in doesn't circulate and is a bit rank smelling. Is there a way to filter out the paramecia, or should I just add them, water and all? The larva tank is aerated. I don't know if the paramecia water is poisonous or just smelly, and I don't want to kill my larvae.

[Kerry1968]

I had to do a google search to find out what paramecia were, I came across this artical, which besides being very informative, is also very funny!

I don't know the legalities of posting someone elses writings, but the authors name is there in the page for all to see and to give credit where credit's due!

Sorry I couldn't help you with the query Dawn, but perhaps this will help inform and entertain a few people on the subject of paramecia.


http://www.aka.org/wako/Culturing%20Paramecia.html







(By the way Dawn, I held a ferret today for the first time! Completely irrelevant, but just thought I'd let you know.)

[Otterwoman]

Thanks, I've read that article before. I just want to use the culture up, not keep it going (now that I know how to start them). I just want to know, I guess, if the water will poison my larvae if I pour it in.

[Mark Aartse-Tuyn]

Could you strain them through kitchen towel? I've used it for brine shrimp before but I'm unsure how much smaller paramecia are.

[Otterwoman]

You need a microscope to really see them. Otherwise they look like little flecks of dust. They are about that size.

[Jennewt]

I would bet that they could be strained with a brine shrimp net. Some might be lost, but you don't need huge numbers.

[Kaysie]

Or a coffee filter.

[Johnny O. Farnen]

You could definitely use a coffee filter, however, given their size they are prone to sticking to it. My plan of attack would be to inoculate the rearing tank a few milliliters a day with the culture. This will allow the nitrogen cycle to remove the foul stuff without killing off your critter crop.

Another option is the purchase of some 100 micron filter cloth from a Science or Industrial supply house. The advantage to this is it will capture your paramecia and also makes the best darned brine shrimp and daphnia nets!