Succesful infusoria culture!!

[Rocky998]

So after about 4-5 days of trying to get some better food for my fry... It finally paid off!! The water cleared and I put it under my microscope to see all sorts of little microscopic beings moving around. The infusoria the fry eat are little oval shaped "bugs" and there were a lot of them moving all about. I started the culture with tank water in a jar and some banana peel... I just added a shot to the breeder box for the fry... Sadly a lot of my fry disappeared... I dont know what happened. Maybe they were not eating tge egg yolk? After all they are picky eaters I have heard... So hopefully these 2-3 I have dont starve themselves.
Here is a picture of the jar:

 

[Byron]

Dried leaves are one of the best sources for infusoria. Fry will grow faster with dried leaves present, it is the infusoria produced as the leaves decompose. n And unlike banana peel or similar, dried leaves in the tank do not pose any other risks (pollution, etc). I use oak leaves collected in my back yard, maple and beech are also safe, and Indian almond leaves.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Dried leaves are one of the best sources for infusoria. Fry will grow faster with dried leaves present, it is the infusoria produced as the leaves decompose. n And unlike banana peel or similar, dried leaves in the tank do not pose any other risks (pollution, etc). I use oak leaves collected in my back yard, maple and beech are also safe, and Indian almond leaves.

+1 to the above, I believe every FW tank should have IALs, the benefits are proven

 

[Rocky998]

Yah I have been wanting to get some Indian almond leaves... I just heard banana peels can be really good if you don't have something else to use. Also bananas have potassium which can be really good for java ferns!

 

[Byron]

I'd be careful putting things like thick banana peel in the tank itself. You have it in a jar. Of course, polluted water holds infusoria in the water, but you don't want that. This Wikipedia article explains it pretty well.

Infusoria - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Rocky998]

I'd be careful putting things like thick banana peel in the tank itself. You have it in a jar. Of course, polluted water holds infusoria in the water, but you don't want that. This Wikipedia article explains it pretty well.

Infusoria - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

sketchapedia... But yes, Ill read it

 

[Rocky998]

Just read it... Yup this is exactly what my jar did. It got really cloudy and then cleared up. The fry have been zipping all about when I put it in there meaning they are probably eating the infusoria...

 

[Beastije]

For the leaves - I store them dry in a jar, but have several in a jar with water which I replace once a month. You are not supposed to wash the leaves before adding to the tank, the yuckier the leave and film on it the better for the tank. Takes about a month in a jar full of water to achieve the good yucky film. Some use the water to treat the tank with tannins, but I dont, cause it also smells after a month.

 

[Rocky998]

I'd be careful putting things like thick banana peel in the tank itself. You have it in a jar. Of course, polluted water holds infusoria in the water, but you don't want that. This Wikipedia article explains it pretty well.

Infusoria - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Just so you know, I used tank water to start the culture and a day before using the infusoria I added some more tank water to the jar to top it off and to freshen the water a bit