Daphnia and ammonia?

[Molch]

My Daphnia have gone into a phenomenal growth phase - I pull nets and nets out of there every day, and all my newts, young and old, are feasting on them. I blame Jennewt for her soy protein/spirulina recipe kiss

However, when I tested the Daphnia water, I was amazed that one tub had very high nitrite and the other had high ammonia. Both tubs have hornwort and a sponge filter in them. I suck up debris and change some water about 2x per week.

I guess I have to let them cycle and all, but how can the Daphnia be that prolific if the water is trashy? Are they just not sensitive to N-waste in the water? Am I getting a hint that I'm overfeeding?

 

[Jennewt]

I'd recommend removing more daphnia from the tubs, and also cutting back on their feeding. It is surprising that they are tolerating the ammonia/nitrite. You may want to aim for a lower steady-state density of daphnia in the tubs.