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
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
