Daphnia questions

[Tephra]

I wish to set up a proper daphnia culture, but I have some questions. I'd be grateful if someone with experience in culturing daphnia would answer them.

First off, how do you start? Do you have to setup a tank/container first, let it grow algae and only then add the daphnia? Or can you add the daphnia straight away?

Second, I've heard they benefit from some aeration. No air stones, just plain bubbles. Is this true?

Are water changes needed? If so, what percentage and how often?

I'm unable to keep them outside. If they are in a dark spot inside the house, will illuminating the tank with a lamp work to grow enough algae?

What temperature do they require? What temperature is considered harmful to them? (both freezing and hot)

I've read somewhere that bought daphnia often contain harmful metals, but that live caught daphnia can often carry parasites. Which would be the safest choice? I have access to several ponds/lakes if I wish, it should present no problem.

The container... I know it should be transparent to let the light in, but should I go for plastic or glass?


Those are all the questions I can think of now. If I have any more I'll ask them later

 

[layna]

Hey so if you look on ebay you can buy culture starter kits that have everything you need.
If you dont fancy that, then my personal method was as follow;

I got a 4 litre see through plastic tub, i added an air stone but put a clip on the tube so only 1 little bubble came out at a time.
I put in fresh dechlorinated water, but i also added some pond water and green stuff for them to eat ect.
I did a weekly water change of about 10% as they are not very messy and occasionally threw in some more pond algae stuff and a tiny amount of yeast for them to eat
I would buy double the amount of daphnia you need when you first start though as by the time they start breeding you will have used a lot of them haha.


Hope this helps

 

[taapua]

Slight aeration is beneficial. You can feed baker's yeast dissolved in water. Just enough to make the water slightly cloudy. Then don't feed again until the water is clear. This way you don't need a clear container or aquarium. I would not use aquarium water to start the culture as you can introduce animals that can prey on the daphnia. Some light is OK as long as it doesn't heat the water too much.

 

[mjmpt]

Do you know this one?
Daphnia is a great food for many young and adults fishes.

 

[wallfriend]

I have found that daphnia cultures are not very productive without frequent water changes. When I change 50% of the water twice a week, the daphnia population increases exponentially.

I find maintaining green water to be impractical. Here is the recipe for the food I use instead: 5 ml activated baker's yeast (NOT brewer's yeast) 2 ml Spirulina powder, 2 ml Chlorella powder, 2 ml powdered infant formula and 2 ml of chick pea flour. In a brand new glass container, I add 200 ml of water from an aquarium. I microwave the water for about 15 seconds until it is lukewarm. Next, I add the baker's yeast. I stir it until it breaks down, then I set it aside for 5 minutes. Then I stir it again. I then add the other ingredients and stir them well. You should store the container in the fridge and stir the contents each time you feed the daphnia.

Feed the daphnia with an eye dropper. It's the only way to accurately the amount you are feeding. If you start with a culture of 100 daphnia, 3 or 4 drops a day is all they need. You can increase the amount you feed as the daphnia multiply.

I feed my cultures sweet potato baby food once or twice a week. It works so well that I am tempted to say that it is an essential food. I feed my established cultures a pea-sized blob dissolved in water. I find that if I feed sweet potato baby food to the daphnia more than twice a week the cultures crash.

Sorry for making this such a long post.

Dave

 

[Dugnbeck]

I got my starter culture from eBay. I put the green water in my back yard and it did great all summer. I used a quart measuring cup to feed the cultures I have growing in five gallon buckets. I have a few Axolotls, so when I change their water I replenish the green water. Now that it's cold out, I moved it to my garage with a grown light. It's been super easy for me. I don't use aeration, but once a week when I do water changes for the axies, I use my brine shrimp net to filter put serif the daphnia water and replace it with tank water. I have more than I know what to do with!