Frozen Daphnia

[redtxn]

My daphnia cultures are becoming overpopulated and I got spooked about them crashing. I am currently siphoning out my main population and pouring them through various size window screen mesh to sort out the adults. The adults are rinsed then placed into ice cube trays and frozen then the cubes placed into a large zip-lock bag for later use. Any idea how long they can be stored in the freezer?

 

[Jennewt]

Excess daphnia, there's a problem we all wish we had! You are wise to keep the cultures from getting too crowded, it's annoying when they crash. I would expect the frozen ones to keep as well as anything else in your freezer - things tend to start getting freezer burn in a couple of months. You can keep them longer if you put them into a styro cooler inside the freezer - this protects things from thawing during the auto-defrost cycle.

 

[Jake]

It might also be worth it to vacuum seal the bag you store them in. I've noticed with frozen bloodworms that if a pocket of air is sealed in the package the ones exposed to it don't seem as fresh as the ones surrounded by ice.

You could also try using a cookie sheet with wax paper on it instead of an ice cube tray so you get flat pieces that will be easier for you to break up into portions for use later. I've done that with mosquito larvae and it works like a dream!

 

[redtxn]

good to know, will try that with the next culture.