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Daphnia, yeast, and stuff

>From me....

>Potatos only would be an interesting experiment.  I keep my Daphnia magnum
>under light 17 hours a day,...

Math challenged when I wrote this.... 15 hours a day is the real number

>>From: "David W. Ranney" <dranney at alvord_k12.ca.us>
>>How big of a container to you keep your daphnia in?

How I should have replied....

>I keep the Daphnia in 25 liter, opaque plastic containers.  The Container
>Store sells them as picnic baskets as they have a clip on top (if you want
>to use it), but I've seen them in other stores (Target) cheaper as just
>utility boxes.  Each container has about 10 liters of water,...

Each container has about 15 liters of water.  The container measures 12" by
17" by 9" deep.  I think lots of surface area helps.  Also, be sure to swap
out dirty water from time to time and replace it with clean water.  I just
use aged tap water.  My water is pH 7.4 and soft-medium hardness.  Since
the daphnia live, it mustn't have many metal ions in it.  Other suggest
aquarium water (no sludge from the bottom... polution kills) or R/O water.
Whatever works.  Add crushed coral too so the daphnia gets calcium for its
carpice.

>From: "M.J. George" <yurko at warwick_net>
>Subject: Re: Daphnia, yeast, and stuff

>> Only problem is, the daphnia turn orange and if I slightly overdo
>> the food, they disappear!  Of course, they reappear as the
>> food is eaten. 
>
>What do you mean by "disappear"? Die out, or just not visible i the
>orangy water?

They turn orange from eating the sweet potatos and if there's sweet potato
in the water (making the water orange), they "disappear."  They do not die.
 Quite the contrary... fiesty little buggers...

>What proportion of yeast, sugar and lettuce do you use. I realize, that
>you do not measure it out accurately, but an approximate ratio will do.  

1 gallon clear plastic bottle; 2 teaspoon of sugar, 1/4 to 1/3 of a 1/4 oz
(7g) packet of Fleischmann's Ra[idRise yeast; chopped up lettuce to cover
surface (add more lettuce as it decomposes).  Cover container in the sun.
Keep outside pr plan to be single (if you're married).  Real answer is a
pinch of this a dash of that... kinda experiment a bit.  Leave the numbers
to the tax man.  Enjoy the experiment, it's part of the hobby.  And I think
we all have enough variables in our setups that what works very well for
one may not work for another and vice-versa.

>How much do you add, in proportion to the volume of your container?

It seems to be very rich, so I'm only adding a couple of ounces at one
time.  Not enough to begin to cloud the water.  I use a bubble wand to keep
water moving.  Most of the literature says not to.  Works for me, so I do.

My contribution to the Daphnia mail list.... <G>

---John