Re: Live foods

[Wright Huntley <jwwiii at pacbell_net>]

George & Melanie Caruso wrote:

 > I am trying to get into raising more live foods for my killies. I feed
 >  baby brine shrimp and some white worms as the only live food at
 > this time.  Plan to get some black worms as soon as I purchase my
 > mini-frig. Also trying to set up a controlled arrangement for mosquito
 >  larvae.  I would like to get a daphnia culture going as well as
 > try my hand at raising up some brine shrimp to larger sizes. Would
 > appreciate any helpful input on these items.


Some have great success with wingless fruit flys. Around here, PetClub
has been pushing them with their Bettas, and starters are always
available from Carolina Biologicals. [PetClub gets about $5.] Epis and
other surface feeders adore them.

[I see, after starting this, that Bob G. has offered you a starter, so
all you need is some of the Carolina Biological food and some
appropriate jars. I like the wide-mouth plastic juice bottles.]

Raising brine shrimp is frustrating if you can't provide a rich
substrate that holds the right kind of bacterial/algal organisms, and
lots of sunlight. Several visitors to the recent WCW show and convention
took home some mud from the bay evaporation ponds where SF Bay Brand
gets their Artemia. See if you can locate some of that, as a starter.
Add to a tub with some soil and a few old leaves, and dump your used bbs
hatch water in with them for a while. About 4-6" deep water worked for
me. I got an ounce or two a week from a 20G tub sitting on the south
side of the house, in full sun. I think "Instant Ocean" or "Coralife"
salt for the starter water would be a good idea, as they contain a lot 
of needed trace minerals.

If your lfs sells adult BS, the water you normally discard when you
rinse them may have enough of the bacteria to serve as a starter
innoculation. Worth a try. Sprinkle with a little spirulina powder,
which may grow in the salt water and sunlight.

Daphnia are easy, but it helps to find a variety that lives wild in your
climate. We can get good starters, every spring, as transient ponds that
have no fish are nearly always loaded. [CA dries up in summer. :-(] I'm
getting the feeling that their nutritious value is best when they get
natural foods, just like the BS, above. Feeding yeasts and baby foods
have worked for me, but green water and the bacteria and infusoria from
rich leaf mulm may be the richest for the fish.

If you do Daphnia outdoors, the mosquito larvae are a free byproduct. 
Keep your neighbors happy by *always* collecting all of them before they 
hatch. :-)

Check the archives, as Mach Fukada has posted lots of info on how he
raises *moina* in the cooler part of HI. While I always kill my *moina*
or let them get contaminated, his green-water technique impresses me
with its effectiveness.

Try, as a start, http://fins.actwin.com/live-foods/month.200102/

Wright

-- 
Wright Huntley -- 290 521-0557 -- 731 Loletta Ave, Modesto CA 95351

                       "...the Middle East,
                        the inspiration for the
                        World Wrestling Federation."
                                       -- Ted Roberts --



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