Daphnia crowding

[akira]

My friend also gave me starter culture for daphnia. I don't know much about this, but read lots. It says like not too crowded, but I know not how much is too much. Now I put daphnia in same kind of cup, and they start reproducing! But, how much daphnia is too much? (eg, animals/L) Then, I will transfer some to a new cup, maybe to a bigger bin.

 

[joan]

I grew mine in a 20gal aquarium with a light over top. The light helps grow algae, and the daphnia will reproduce to their carrying capacity. With your hatchlings, you're going to want just-hatched daphnia. I put a few adults into the hatchling container a few days before the axolotls hatch, that way when they do come out, there's a good supply of little daphnia for them to eat.

 

[akira]

So, all in all, about how many daphnia live in a 20 gallon aquarium, Joan? Do you fill it to the top? I feed them with yeast so far. I have about 15 living in a cup now, which is five times what I started with, so I guess I will put half of them in an aquarium. I guess it will take some weeks to stabilize, but unsure when to start harvesting.

 

[joan]

I put in about 3 inches of water, and dumped in 500 daphnia and some greenwater (they feed on suspended algae). If your starting culture is 15, you've got a LONG way to go before you can harvest. I let my culture run for a week and still exhausted it in just over a month.