Anybody have any plankton/green water setups for newly hatched fry?
Zooplankton culture?
Started by
Guest_Gambusia_*
, Feb 16 2008 11:56 PM
19 replies to this topic
#2
Guest_truf_*
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Posted 17 February 2008 - 11:46 AM
The Greater Cincinnati Aquarium Society's (GCAS.ORG) website has some articles on this, hope it helps a little.
-Thom
http://www.gcas.org/...ine_shrinp.html
http://www.gcas.org/...microworms.html
http://www.gcas.org/...od_daphnia.html
http://www.gcas.org/...negar_eels.html
-Thom
http://www.gcas.org/...ine_shrinp.html
http://www.gcas.org/...microworms.html
http://www.gcas.org/...od_daphnia.html
http://www.gcas.org/...negar_eels.html
#3
Guest_Gambusia_*
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Posted 17 February 2008 - 06:23 PM
Thank you for the great sites
#4
Guest_Newt_*
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Posted 18 February 2008 - 06:47 PM
Just an addendum- if you're raising zooplankton primarily for fry, you might try Ceriodaphnia dubia instead of Daphnia. The care is the same, but the adults are smaller, so more individuals will be edible to your fry.
Either Daphnia or Ceriodaphnia starters can be found here.
Either Daphnia or Ceriodaphnia starters can be found here.
#5
Guest_Gambusia_*
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Posted 18 February 2008 - 06:50 PM
I'm just going to get them from a local lake.
#6
Guest_Newt_*
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Posted 18 February 2008 - 06:54 PM
That'll work, too. You may get some little predatory zooplankters like Cyclops or water mites that will keep your overall production down, but they shouldn't be too much of a problem. You'll probably end up with a nice mix of Daphnia and kin, copepods, and maybe some ostracods. Your fry will love them!
#7
Guest_Gambusia_*
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Posted 18 February 2008 - 06:57 PM
I've collected out of a certain lake before and it's just packed with all sizes of zooplankton.
Especially in the summer.
Especially in the summer.
#8
Guest_truf_*
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Posted 18 February 2008 - 07:59 PM
You may want to collect from a fishless pool/pond.
-Thom
-Thom
#9
Guest_SeaweedGuy_*
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Posted 08 March 2008 - 11:41 AM
Ponds without fish will have bigger zooplankton. So if you're looking for small plankton to feed your fry, it actually makes more sense to go to places with fish.
#10
Guest_mikez_*
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Posted 08 March 2008 - 01:49 PM
I've been collecting copepods [mostly cyclops near as I can tell] and a large species of daphnia by using a brine shrimp net in ice fishing holes. The daphnia in particular are extremely abundant right now. They seem to collect under the ice surface. You can reach down with a scooper and swirl it around and dozens come up into the hole. Also at night, putting a flashlight shining into the hole will draw them up into the hole.
I've been keeping them in mason jars in a sunny spot and adding green water. So far I can't claim to get much reproduction but the ones I put in stay alive a long time.
Pretty sure this a cyclops
Side view of cyclops w/egg sack
Daphnia w/ greenwater in gut
I've been keeping them in mason jars in a sunny spot and adding green water. So far I can't claim to get much reproduction but the ones I put in stay alive a long time.
Pretty sure this a cyclops
Side view of cyclops w/egg sack
Daphnia w/ greenwater in gut
#11
Guest_Newt_*
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Posted 08 March 2008 - 02:02 PM
Awesome photos! If you want a bigger net to collect them with, the blue fine-mesh nets that PetsMart carries (can't remember the brand just now) work well. I just collected a bunch of daphnids, big red copepods, amphipods, and isopods from some weedy wet floodplain ditches.
#12
Guest_BTDarters_*
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Posted 09 March 2008 - 03:03 AM
Just an addendum- if you're raising zooplankton primarily for fry, you might try Ceriodaphnia dubia instead of Daphnia. The care is the same, but the adults are smaller, so more individuals will be edible to your fry.
Either Daphnia or Ceriodaphnia starters can be found here.
That MBL Aquaculture site is really cool! I wish they sold adult fish. Oh, well.
#13
Guest_Gambusia_*
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Posted 10 March 2008 - 11:51 AM
What can you feed daphnia or water fleas to keep them alive for a long time other than green water?
#14
Guest_Newt_*
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Posted 10 March 2008 - 12:57 PM
What can you feed daphnia or water fleas to keep them alive for a long time other than green water?
Active yeast, finely ground fish food, lettuce leaves (they eat the infusoria that emerge, not the leaves themselves), and filter gunk are all acceptable.
#15
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Posted 10 March 2008 - 03:56 PM
I just started a Daphnia Magna colony. They seem to be doing well on active yeast and filter pad squeezins. They are reproducing well. My fish are loving them.
Edited by dafrimpster, 10 March 2008 - 03:57 PM.
#16
Guest_mikez_*
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Posted 10 March 2008 - 05:49 PM
I just started a Daphnia Magna colony. They seem to be doing well on active yeast and filter pad squeezins. They are reproducing well. My fish are loving them.
Could you give a brief rundown on your set up? Also, where did you get your starters and how many did you start with?
I'm almost certain that the ones I'm getting in the local pond are magna. They certainly are huge. Big enough for darters and minnows to chase. I really want nauplii for fry, especially for some mudminnow fry I've got. I see no sign mine are reproducing although they eat greenwater and live a long time. I'm wondering if I'm starting with too few and/or not with good sex ratios.
#17
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Posted 10 March 2008 - 06:11 PM
Mikez-
If you want mainly small feeders, try Ceriodaphnia dubia. They are considerably smaller than D. magna, and in my experience breed more reliably. Most places online that sell D. magna will have C. dubia too, but they're pretty pricey ($40-50 for a starter culture that may only have 100 adults). I'll be happy to send you a starter culture of either if you like; just PM me. I keep them in a couple of different setups:
The main colony is in a big concrete trough with about 6" of water and a little pea gravel in it; the trough is in an unheated greenhouse. There is no filtration, aeration, heat, etc. I just add tap water to make up for evaporation as needed. This colony also has amphipods and snails that were accidentally introduced with some plants. The daphnid population levels rise and fall, probably corresponding to water quality parameters, but they never crash totally.
When I want larger populations of daphnids (as in the spring when I keep a lot of salamander larvae) I transfer some to a 29 gallon tank that has some plants in it; again, no filtration, but I have an airstone in this one and fluorescent lights; additionally, the tank is indoors, so the temp is more stable. I feed these guys a little more heavily. The populations in this tank will boom, but sometimes will also crash if I don't change the water frequently enough. When I do a water change, I put a brine shrimp net over the outgoing water to try to recover as many daphnids as possible.
If you want mainly small feeders, try Ceriodaphnia dubia. They are considerably smaller than D. magna, and in my experience breed more reliably. Most places online that sell D. magna will have C. dubia too, but they're pretty pricey ($40-50 for a starter culture that may only have 100 adults). I'll be happy to send you a starter culture of either if you like; just PM me. I keep them in a couple of different setups:
The main colony is in a big concrete trough with about 6" of water and a little pea gravel in it; the trough is in an unheated greenhouse. There is no filtration, aeration, heat, etc. I just add tap water to make up for evaporation as needed. This colony also has amphipods and snails that were accidentally introduced with some plants. The daphnid population levels rise and fall, probably corresponding to water quality parameters, but they never crash totally.
When I want larger populations of daphnids (as in the spring when I keep a lot of salamander larvae) I transfer some to a 29 gallon tank that has some plants in it; again, no filtration, but I have an airstone in this one and fluorescent lights; additionally, the tank is indoors, so the temp is more stable. I feed these guys a little more heavily. The populations in this tank will boom, but sometimes will also crash if I don't change the water frequently enough. When I do a water change, I put a brine shrimp net over the outgoing water to try to recover as many daphnids as possible.
#18
Guest_BLChristie_*
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Posted 10 March 2008 - 09:03 PM
Here's a link to a simple setup (it's from a reef site, I know, blasphemy) but for a while in college I copied this system and used it for both FW Nannochloropsis+rotifer cultures as well as SW Tetraselmis/Isochrysis+rotifer/copepod cultures, it was surprisingly easy to maintain, just make sure you harvest water daily and especially make sure to use 3 mil or thicker bags or the pushpins tear though and a bunch of water hits the floor and the landlord gets upset 
http://www.garf.org/39/BOB.html
http://www.garf.org/39/BOB.html
Edited by BLChristie, 10 March 2008 - 09:05 PM.
#19
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Posted 10 March 2008 - 10:15 PM
My setup is 10g tank. I have 13watt cf bulb in a clip on type fixture. Filled 3/4 full with water from one of my tanks. When I siphoned the water out of the tank I stuck the hose into the substrate a couple times to get some bacteria from the substrate. I had a chunk of java moss that was pretty gunked up that I threw in there and I also squeezed a filter sponge from another tank in there. The culture came with some duckweed. I bought the culture on Aquabid. It cost me 7.95 total and I got about 1500 daphnia. I fed off probably 500 or so and put the rest in the tank. I have an airline bubbling at about 1 bubble every 3 seconds just give slight water movement.
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