Infusoria culture not clearing?

[kleewill]

Hi, I'm not sure if I've posted in the right place...
Can anyone tell me if my infusoria culture is ok to use. It's taken a week now, it's definitely clearer than it was but it's still quite cloudy? Not 100% sure I've done it properly either, the websites I followed recommended putting in the sun, but I just recently came across a site saying don't put them in direct sun. It has been getting about 5 hours of direct sun a day. Thankyou for your advice!

 

[Uberhoust]

I tried the same method as you are. It took a long time to establish, ie like 6 weeks, also it never entirely cleared. That said it did generate a lot of protozoans. The method is very site specific because each persons windows have differing amounts of daylight and different temperatures. What are you going to use them for. I was going to use it for fish fry, but in the end had better success with Naupli.

 

[kleewill]

Yes, for fish fry for cardinal tetras. I don't expect to have any luck but I'm sick of them eating their eggs so I thought I'd give it a go

 

[kleewill]

What is Naupli sorry? I do have Hikari first bites, is it similiar? Thankyou

 

[Uberhoust]

Naupli are freshly hatched brine shrimp. I have a relatively simple way of raising them now. I don't know how well they do with cardinals. I think you might want wait till someone who raises cardinals jumps in. I really have no experience with them, I raised naupli for angel fry, and doubt that cardinals are the same, for all I know they may require infusoria. If your fry need infusoria then I don't think First Bites will work well. Good Luck.

 

[Colin_T]

Baby tetras are too small to eat newly hatched brineshrimp (nauplii) and need infusoria and or green water.

Infusoria cultures take around 4-6 weeks to cycle and get going. The plant matter needs to break down. Then bacteria need to grow. Then paramecium (infusoria) appear and start eating the bacteria.

Infusoria cultures develop faster if you have the top open but that allows mosquitoes into the cultures and their larvae eat the bacteria and paramecium. Cultures should also be aerated to keep oxygen levels high and to stop the culture turning black and anaerobic.

The following link has information about culturing food for baby fish and includes infusoria and green water.

Back to Basics when Breeding Fish

STARTING OUT Make sure you have a pair, (1 male + 1 female). There is nothing worse than spending your hard-earned dollars buying a couple of fish to try and breed and ending up with a pair of fish of the same sex. Let's face it, to reproduce fish you need a male and a female. Two males won't do...

www.fishforums.net

 

[Rocky998]

Mine took 4-5 days. I took some tank water and put it into a jar of banana peels and about 4 times a day I used a turkey baster to keep the flow in the jar by aerating it with the baster. Around the 5th day it was really clear and I fed my fry with it. I still have that jar of infusoria set up and still feed my fish with it.

 

[Back in the fold]

Look up fishguysplace.com . He has an excellent tutorial on paramecium / infusoria culturing. Your culture looks like it's still establishing. When it clears it means they ate up all their food.