Im trying to culture daphnia, but they r dying in a matter of days.. I keep them in a small plastic container tht they sell @ the markets, i use tap water with water conditioner. Also for food, i dissolve some active dry yeast with water... But i have noticed tht when i got the daphnia in the mail, most of them were swimming in circles @ the bottom on the container, while a couple of them were swimming normally. Do u guys think i got a bad shipment?? Or did i over feed them?? Cuz i have abt 20 in a container and i gave abt one squeeze of the yeast from a medicine dropper. Again, ive had them for two days now, and most of them died off. And the couple i have left dont look very well. I tried doing a water change yesturday but it didnt seem to help. By the way, i ordered the daphnia from ward's natural sciences. Please help!
Daphnia dying :(
- Thread starter fish guru
- Start date
My guess is a combination of starvation and water quality. I have daphnia in a bare bottom tank. I think they need the same basic conditions as shrimp. a small container may not have the movement, aeration, or biofilm to keep them going. I'd try either a baby brine shrimp set up, or a 2.5g tank with a tiny air driven sponge filter. Water changes are a must. In a small cup, you'd want to do 50% a day probably. That's a lot of maintenance... it gets easier on a larger scale.
also, invest in a GOOD bbs net... the bbs nets sold at petco etc are white, but don't trap daphnia or nauplii... you want the ones that are like thick stretchy white fabric, that you can't see through at all. Someone gave me a couple of those, and they've made things a lot easier.
also, invest in a GOOD bbs net... the bbs nets sold at petco etc are white, but don't trap daphnia or nauplii... you want the ones that are like thick stretchy white fabric, that you can't see through at all. Someone gave me a couple of those, and they've made things a lot easier.
Well Guru, I would definatly get a small tank (2-5 gallons). Let the water age for a while (week or two) and dechlorinate the water if you are using tap water. They also like warm water around 70-75F. I have heard they feed mainly on algae films and not yeast. So if possible, put the tank in direct sunlight or purchase a light and some plankton. Best of luck to you. And don't raise brine shrimp, they are a pain and require much more attention due to thier need of high salinity.
I would agree you must age your water, tank water is best. They are very sensitive to metals in the water. But its ineviable, lol IMO my culture just crashed, too. Im not sure what my problem is, but i think it was starvation. But it was healthy previously. The number one way to kill daphnia is over feed, second is water that hasn't aged.
oo ic, haha so i shuld pretty much treat them as any other type of fish/invert. silly me, haha i thot tht daphnia can sumhow magically survive in a container. Ive been readin a bunch of articles, but it said tht airline tubing isnt neccesary, and tht they can live on yeats.... so thts what ive been doing but yea... i guess ill try ordering from tht link u provided for me... thanks guys!
I bought aome daphnia a week or so ago at my fish club meeting just to feed my fish a treat. My BF has a fish bowl outside filled 2/3 of the way with water with a carnivirous <sp?> plant in it . He dumped my daphnia in there and so far they seem fine. I am going to wait and see. They are pets now instead of food. I hate it when that happens.! LOL
Water quality is critical to daphnia. Tap water will not do. Chlorine/chloramine = death. And yes a larger container is a must. I use 4-5 gallon buckets and larger when culturing.
Green water is also one of the keys to daphnia. If you can produce green water and put daphnia into it or put into your daphnia cultures they will flourish. The components of green water is what they live off. They don't seem to mind ammonia spikes or high nitrates, which sort of makes sense because these condition help generate what they feed on.
Green water is also one of the keys to daphnia. If you can produce green water and put daphnia into it or put into your daphnia cultures they will flourish. The components of green water is what they live off. They don't seem to mind ammonia spikes or high nitrates, which sort of makes sense because these condition help generate what they feed on.
Oh, but i add the water conditioner, so it should b fine right?
And also, from the research, it said they also eat dissolved active dried yest as well... Is this true?? Or am i just gonna have to start a green water culture? I would actually like to refrain from making green water, so if there r any substitutes, plz tell me. But if it is def a must, then i will start one.
And also, from the research, it said they also eat dissolved active dried yest as well... Is this true?? Or am i just gonna have to start a green water culture? I would actually like to refrain from making green water, so if there r any substitutes, plz tell me. But if it is def a must, then i will start one.
