How long can I keep my homemade infusoria before it goes bad. Its about 5 days old and smells like vomit now!!! I made it by soaking a banana peel in a jar of tank water or lettuce leaf.
infusoria shelflife
- Thread starter mermaidgirl
- Start date
mg:
I am no means an infusoria breeder as I also have had a ton of problems and am not trying to culture them now but I can relate some experience.
I do not know what you mean by keep?
Did your culture ever clear?
The following is based on a one gallon vessel which is slightly over 1/2 full and in which a 6" diameter portion of a lettuce leaf has been placed.
- [1] A clear vessel is OK. I had virtually no joy using a gallon milk carton with the top cut off.
- [2] Start the culture with tank water instead of aged, dechlorinated tap water.
- [3] Place the vessel in indirect sunlight.
- [4] When you first observe the bacteria bloom remove approximately 1/2 of the lettuce leaf.
Also induce aeration which only gently agitates the water's surface.
- [5] When the bacteriological bloom is fully evident place an approximate 1" diameter lettuce leaf in the vessel.
- [6] When the culture clears remove the old lettuce leaf.
Also commence removing approximately 1/2 cup of culture water daily or bi-daily and replace with tank water.
- [6] When the leaf appears to be turning brown place another leaf in the culture.
- 7] When the old leaf turns brown remove it from the culture and repeat the process.
The above listing may appear like I this down but I do not as tons of experimenting were necessary to attain my current level of competence (or incompetence - I am not sure) as may last culture (last fall) only lasted approximately 3 weeks before the smell which you noted became evident.
When spring comes to West Texas this year I anticipate trying this again and adding Trumpet Snails to the vessel.
If anyone has any other ideas or suggestions please post as I would very much enjoy starting a culture at the end of April and the culture lasting until the middle of October. (My vessel is located in a shaded area of my back porch.)
TR
Keep as in, do you need to use it up within 1 or 2 weeks before its no good. My culture never went clear its murky. Ive never changed the water. Would it be easier just to buy something from the LFS? At the moment I've changed to using a few drops of hard boiled egg yolk mixed in water for my baby danios but i know it can foul up the water if you use too much.
mg:
If the culture did not clear you did not generate much infusoria as well as the banana starter "soured" and the bacteria began dieing which were the source of the odor.
I have read about the egg yolk but have never used it due to the messiness.
Please note that I have not had a problem with using 1/4 cup of the infusoria culture in a 5G tank daily or bi-daily.
WRT buying something at the LFS my thinking (and I could easily be wrong here) is that my fishies enjoy live instead of frozen, freeze dried or pastes.
Hence the infusoria and red wiggler worms as well as I anticipate attempting a brine shrimp reproduction tank this spring also.
In addition the time consuming part of my infusoria culturing attempts was the experimentation. I am hoping that once I get this down this year it will be painless, ie. taking a half cup out of the culture daily or bi-daily, replacing with tank water and every couple of week removing and replacing a small piece of lettuce.
TR