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Re: Live Foods Digest V2 #6



>Subject: Re:  Feeding daphnia
>
>>	I have tried feeding yeast, spirulina and yeast residues from
>brewing beer to my daphnia culture, which is a buried  (round end just
above ground level)plastic 55 gallon drum outside. I get either no effect
on yield or a
drastically reduced yield (overfeeding?).  What are the dimensions,
temperatures, water, etc. of your daphnia culture?  Mine do OK in Spring
and Fall but never a lot - perhaps enough twice a week to feed a small amount
to a dozen or so tanks of breeding pairs.
In the summer, I get some daphnia when the weather is cool, none
when it is hot. In the winter, I get none, even on warm days like today (air
temperature in the 60s). I would like to set up a system, outdoors or
indoors that
would either produce more or at least produce year round.
>>Lee Harper
>Lee,
I cannot compare your system to mine as they are totally different.I am
using a plywood tank with a glass insert
Personal opinion:I think your 55 gal drum is to deep.If you can get
another plastic drum and cut it in half lengthways and aireate it I think
you would have more success.Better yet get the plans for a plywood tank and
make one like mine.

As everyone on this list should know by now I feed my daphina gram flour
(ground chick peas). I to agree that the depth of your drum is not helping.
surface area is the most important factor as daphina love light. Winter
here in the UK this year is very mild and three of my outdoor cultures are
still producing enough to feed a couple of tanks each every day. You say
you get no increased yield from feeding but are you harvesting as a given
volume of water will only support a given population of daphina only by
harvesting will you set the conditions for a population explosion. My
containers consist of shallow containers such as washing up bowls, baby
baths ect and all produce prolifically during the summer months. I also
maintain a few snails in the containers and keep free of weed and algae. If
a container becomes contaminated with blanket algae I break it down clean
the container and set up anew. I leave all mulm on the bottom as this is
were the resting eggs are. This means only one swoop of the net at a time
as it swirls up the bottom but this is not a problem. Whilst I may not be
able to reproduce enouch daphina to feed all my tanks to saturation each
bowl will harvest enough daphina daily to the equalivent of five portions
as supplied by our local aquarist shops. With the number of other
cultivated live food I tend to use mine for certain species and pregnant
females. Indoors I have found moina far more productive all year round its
just finding room for all those two gallon jars.
More info on my cultivating methods for both daphina and moina can be found
in the back pages section of or web site.

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