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NFC: Re: Recent SSA newsletter on planktons
What do I feed plankton..and daphina
----- Original Message -----
From: Paul Sachs <deano at aquaculturestore_com>
To: <nfc at actwin_com>; <Nativefishconservancy at yahoogroups_com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 23, 2002 9:53 AM
Subject: NFC: Recent SSA newsletter on planktons
> Sometimes it's a wonder why certain plankton cultures fail. Here are
> a few comments on keeping your plankton cultures growing strong!
>
> 1. There's a predator in the soup!
>
> Yes, a predator of some kind, be it bug larvae, or amoeba, something
> might be munching on the plankton you want to culture. If this is the
> case, and there are still enough representatives of the plankton you
> want to culture, sort some out into a clean bowl, and start new! If
> the predator is a bacteria or some kind of disease, start with new
> water, and clean container.
>
> 2. Parameters are out of whack!
>
> If water parameters are not acceptable the plankton will show you by
> either dying out right, or slowly. Signs include swimming actions
> different from known actions like suddenly slowing down or speeding up
> exceedingly, dropping out of the water column (unless they're supposed
> to), turning an odd color like white when they're supposed to be red,
> slowing down in production of new planktons or perhaps just
> dissolving! To avoid these problems water should be as close to the
> water you have your culture in, or your plankton should be acclimated
> to temperature and water quality over a period of time. An hour or
> more pouring small quantities of new water will help the animals get
> used to new water parameters. There are no good rules of thumb here
> as far as acclimation is concerned. Although, slowly is more
> cautious, a drastic quick water change may also do the job if the
> problem is something like excessive ammonia or poison. Also, some
> waters may not carry all the nutrients, or needed minerals the
> plankton needs for growth, such as water lacking selenium will not
> support Daphnia. In this case if plankton production slows down
> perceptibly, try adding a good multivitamin to the mix!
>
> 3. Feed is wrong Kind or not enough!
>
> Feed is a first consideration. Planktons that I know of like to eat
> all the time. Knowing what feed they like, feeding them plenty will
> always benefit them. The object of water quality is the key. Feed
> planktons as much as you possibly can without causing the water
> parameters to go wacky! Use your nose unless your trying to raise
> something anaerobic, if the water smells putrid, it's in desperate
> need of changing! But a healthy culture will be so saturated with
> food that the little critters don't work to hard to fill their tiny
> little bellies as fast as they can. With the water parameters in good
> standing, the culture may take on a deep green or color change by the
> feed! Keep the color up and your culture should thrive! Keep water
> changes up if needs be, but then the nose never fails unless you've
> got a cold! A good rule of thumb is to pay attention to your plankton
> population, and increase the feed to keep the culture water saturated
> with it. If the feed saturation starts causing problems, reduce the
> feed (maybe after a water change :(
>
> These are just observations on plankton culture in general and many
> more thoughts and practices are not mentioned. Knowing what a
> plankton does like makes it easier to see when things are going wrong,
> so love your planktons, take a few for a walk in a glass, look at
> them, coo to them.. :) while doing this, check their size, numbers, if
> you can see their bellies full.......
>
> Sincerely,
> Paul
>
> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
> Sachs Systems Aquaculture
> 1185 Thompson Bailey Road
> St. Augustine FL 32084
>
> PHONE: (904) 824 - 6308
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> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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