Using pond daphnia to feed larvae?

I've already got my BBS hatchery on its way but I was reading that you can collect living food from a 'healthy' pond to feed newly hatched axies. yum:lick:. Does anyone know the risk factors of doing this? I only wonder because I have a small pond in my garden and it would be very useful! I know to pick out the larger, nastier bugs that might harm the axies but what of other parasites/fungi etc?

siona said:

I've already got my BBS hatchery on its way but I was reading that you can collect living food from a 'healthy' pond to feed newly hatched axies. yum:lick:. Does anyone know the risk factors of doing this? I only wonder because I have a small pond in my garden and it would be very useful! I know to pick out the larger, nastier bugs that might harm the axies but what of other parasites/fungi etc?

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Be very wary of doing that ... you can buy daphnia in many local fish shops in the uk, mind you I once bought some and it contained all manner of midge larvae as well!

You could get some from a pond or buy some and make your own daphnia hatchery. A large jar or an old 5 litre spring water bottle might do the trick. Fill it with some tank water, add a pea (sounds weird but it works) to the water and place it next to a strong light or on a sunny window ledge. The pea breaks down in the water and releases it's nutrients which then induces algae growth and you end up with green water (which daphnia love). If you keep this going for 30 days or so it will effectively be quarantined. Most parasites and nasties would only use daphnia as an intermediate vector on their way to bigger hosts so hopefully should be fairly safe to feed to your babies because by then any parasites would have been unable to move on and so died off ...

You need to change the water every so often or your hatchery will crash.

I collected small animalcules (as van Leeuwenhoek named them) by pouring pond water through a fine mesh. My larvae grew quickly with this as a first food. I used this in conjunction with newly hatched brine shrimp. I collected from my different ponds in my area as well as a clear running spring with great success.

I agree with Mr. Richards with the worry of invaders coming along home with the wild caught daphnia.

I personally have 4 daphnia/microfex worm cultures going at all times in case one crashes so that i am never outta live food.

Keep in mind i currently have 22 fish tanks and 25 axie larvae so my scale of daphnia cultures are not what you may need.

I do recommend to have at least 2 cultures going at the same time though in case of a crash in one.

I've used pond daphnia with little ill effects. Just be aware that there can be consequences.

What other visitors do you have to your pond? Is Chytrid present in the UK?

Oh yes, it is. Definitely something to be concerned about.
Using wild crustaceans always involves certain risks, although generally they aren´t too big. Ideally, crustaceans should be cultured to avoid those possible risks.

Thank you, Azhael, I wasn't sure.

I agree. Culturing your own crawlies is much better. For one, you've got a steady supply, and for two, you know what goes into them.

Thanks for all the advice - I think I'll stick with my BBS for now. I did take a jar of water out of my pond yesterday just to take a look and couldn't see anything moving in it with the naked eye anyway. It was VERY green and smelled funny! So maybe I'll stick to my own cultures

Random idea... If you do happen to come across some daphnia in a fish shop (they usually have them in bags kept in a fridge for about £0.70 a bag) you could get a couple of bags and pour them in your pond. If your water is green they should do really well in there, they might help clean it up as they are filter feeders. You might end up with some really interesting lodgers in your pond going after them as food, you might get various larvae and in turn, maybe frogs .. newts.. you might be able to create a little mini wildlife refuge.

Sorry, I tend to go off on one like this from time to time. I live in inner London and am constantly dreaming about the day I become super rich and can get a place with a decent sized garden where I can build a wilderness area with a pond, boggy bits, wildfolowers etc. And a shrubbery!

The "work" thing I have to do in the meantime is just to pass the time until my lottery numbers come up.

MorphyRichards - That's a great idea! My local shop sells live daphnia too...might be a job for the weekend

I'm loving the shrubbery idea. and another shrubbery! but a bit higher up to give a sort of two-tiered effect...

siona said:

but a bit higher up to give a sort of two-tiered effect...

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...with a little path running down the middle?? xD

Oh, Siona, look what you started. ¬_¬ Now you've got Morphy going. lol!