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Re:Ostracods
Bob Dixon wrote:
>
>Anyone know where I can get a starter culture of these, and whether they
>would make a good thing for feeding fry? If I kept a colony of adult
>ostracods in a fry tank, could they be encourage to multiply fast enough to
>be a primary food source?
>
I would not recommend them as a good source of food for fish fry. Fish
don't seem to like them very much, mostly spitting them out, after they
have taken them in. Fish do whittle down the population to only a few
individuals over the weeks, but I have not seen evidence of most fish
actually liking them the way they like Daphnia. Bettas may like them. I
have seen Bettas systematically hunting them and making those "chewing"
motions unique to Bettas after taking them in. I think Bettas have teeth
deep in their pharynx that they use to crack up the shells of ostracods.
For fry, I recommend (A) a Paramecium culture, and (B) microworms. Both of
these sources of food can be multiplied up rapidly to any amount you want,
and they are very nutritious. Ostracods meet neither of these criteria.
If you actually don't have them, consider yourself lucky, but I bet you do.
Have you ever tried a plant tank without any fish? I can send you a
culture if you really want to try them. I can also send green water, hair
algae, and a culture of the common cold.
Paul Krombholz, in cool, dry, central Mississippi, the home of the Bermuda
High, soon to be renamed the Mississippi High.