I myself use dried milk powder for infusoria. (idiot-proof)
I use plastic goldfish bowls (cruel for goldfish IMO but fine for my use)
Two of these can supply all the infusoria I need.
A constant temperature of 74'F the setup should produce infusorians within 4 days. at lower temperature I find the culture takes longer to get going.
So how do I go about culturing Infusoria
Place about 1500ml of boiled water that has been left to cool, and place about half a teaspoon full of fresh powdered milk into the water, (the water will go cloudy) If kept at the recommended temperature the water will clear in about four days and with a small handheld magnifying glass you should be able to see a dust like cloud of small particles just below the water level, the cloud will move as one around the tank.
After this I set up my second culture the same method as before. This way I have a continous supply to hand. From the time the water clears the culture will last for about a week before it starts to go downhill. You can revive it somewhat by adding just a quarter teaspoon of the powdered milk. After a period of time the culture will go off and start to smell, so its time to set up a new one and discard the old.
Do not go over the amounts of dried milk as you will just end up with a smelly soup, no good for feeding fry.
Feed in small drops with an eyedropper, do not overfeed. Keep the fry receptical clean and perform small regular waterchanges.
I hope this was of some help to both you and fellow forum members on a failsafe way to culture Infusoria.
Regards
BigC

BigC,

I'm a vegan and thus don't buy powdered milk. Think powdered soymilk will work?

I honestly dont know as I've never tried it, but you could give it a whirl and let know your results.
Regards
BigC
Why cant you use powdered milk, your not consuming it. (forgive my ignorance, is there some code that prevents you from handling powdered milk)Just curious.

Another one of your great contributions, Colin! I have copied it immediately into my 'fish folder'. Btw, mid Feb I will know when going to Cameroun, so I will be coming back to you then about some killifishing!

No Problem Biulu
Anytime
Enjoy the trip
Regards
BigC

I use a 60 litre plastic storage crate filled with tap water. I shred a couple of lettuces and drop them in along with an airstone that bubbles away. I put a lid on it and leave for a couple of weeks.

To havest I remove the airstone and leave the water to settle for about 10 minutes then use an icecream bucket to scoop out the clouds of paramesium that are moving about. From then on I add a couple of lettuce leaves and some clean water each day and keep the airstone in until I want to harvest more.

This setup will last for months and as long as the mozzies are kept out you will get plenty of baby fish food.

Years ago, I used to culture infusoria in a glass milk bottle on a sunny windowsill, by just adding a small twist of straw... (Glass milk bottle - that tells you how many years ago..!)

Great guide BigC, I have tried culturing infusoria using banana skins, but this method I have much better results with.

Just set mine up last night for the 1st time.
hope to get some infusoria from it.
YAY, Just in time as well, as GWCMM are spawning