Daphnia Tank

[saz326]

So I'd like to be able to feed live daphnia more often. Seems to make my tetra happier, but I dont want to be going to the shop every month.

Is it possible to have a small shrimp tank set up to grow daphnia as well?

Anyone got daphnia growing indoors in a tank like this?

 

[drobbyb]

So I'd like to be able to feed live daphnia more often. Seems to make my tetra happier, but I dont want to be going to the shop every month.

Is it possible to have a small shrimp tank set up to grow daphnia as well?

Anyone got daphnia growing indoors in a tank like this?

You also have to have alot of green water to feed the daphnia. Green water has quite the odor to it so it's best done outdoors. I'm not sure if you could possibly feed them something like powdered spirulina. Hopefully someone will come along with first hand experience with this.

 

[three-fingers]

It's very easy to do.

Set up a tub/bowl/tank where it will receive direct light from a window or put a small florescent light above it. Chuck in some snails (as a clean up and to provide infusoria), some kind of organic debris like mud from a pond and the daphnia.

They will multiply faster in warmer temperatures, but not as high as tropical fish, say 24*C.

 

[Honeythorn]

I tried and failed miserably even with green water ( from aunts pond ) and sunlight.

 

[three-fingers]

I find it very easy on my windowsill in summer, I had a 2 liter tank and a 500ml drinks bottle full of them reproducing! I just put in a few sticks from the pond, a couple of ramshorn snails and every week or two a fish flake .

 

[xmurdererx]

please can you tell me do they produce more babies as i have a plastic tank that oi want to reproduce some in and can you feed them any plant leaves from park

 

[three-fingers]

They do indeed produce babies, though in bad conditions (possibly when it's too cold too) they produce resting eggs, and they reproduce slower in the cold.

It's not the leaves themselves that they eat, rather on the algae and microscopic organisms that grow of the rotting leaves. Leaves from the park should be OK, but it's much better to find something from a pond/puddle as they will have all sorts of aquatic microorganisms already on them that will multiply.

 

[OldMan47]

I have some in a 10 gallon tank as an experiment. The tank is not filtered. I am getting enough daphnia to feed them as a treat about once or twice a week. I have no heater on the tank so it is at room temperature and I am running an air stone. I replace about 1/3 of the water every week with some of the water from a routine water change on another tank so the daphnia always get well aged water, not freshly dechlorinated. I am feeding them a mix of brewer's yeast and finely crushed spirulina flakes with a little paprika thrown in. I put it in an empty spice shaker and give them a shake or two twice a day. I almost lost my culture when I tried to use green water because I couldn't produce enough green water fast enough. I do have a green water culture going and once in a while I have enough to add it as part of my water change but it is just not enough to feed the colony.
My green water culture does not smell bad, it smells like most green things with that chlorophyl odor. The daphnia tank has nothing in it to give it a foul odor or much of any odor at all so I'm happy to have it in my fish room. It smells as good as any other tank to me.