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Re: Live Foods Digest V3 #143

Hello Dan,

It is true, that feeding Daphnia with yeast or other artificial foods
CAN lead to a crash. But developing a feel for the right amount of food
to feed is quite easy IF one approaches the feeding from the LOW food
side. Once the Daphnia get used to the food, there are few problems.

I feed a mixture of yeast and Algamac 2000 exclusively, enough to last
two days, i.e it takes 2 days for the culture to clear up. Water is
changed (75%) every two weeks. As said before, after the
getting-used-to-the-food period, no crashes have occured in my cultures
in years.

On the other hand, if I try to feed homogenized peas or carrots --
instant crash!

In my hands algae -- "green water" -- sometimes work, most often they do
not work! I have not tried to culture a specific alga, but the "green
soup" I sometimes manage to get, does not seem to feed the Daphnids.
They just swim in it, for weeks, without diminishing the color and
opacity of the water! 

I don't know whether the difference lies in the different strains of
Daphnids, different water, algae, or what, but the literature is full of
various "magic" recipes that seem to work only in specific cases.

In any case, I think that people should not be discouraged from
experiments in feeding their Daphnids artificial diets!

Best,

George




> Date: Sun, 25 Feb 2001 08:18:18 -0500
> From: "Dan McMonigle" <mcdaphnia at lycos_com>
> Subject: Re: Daphnia foods
> 
>  Yes, Daphnia can be fed artificial foods. Yeast, powdered or skim milk, clam juice, will all work, but you have to check about two hours after feeding, and do a 20% water change if the water is not beginning to clear, or a 50 to total water change if the water is getting cloudier or smelling off. The nose is a critical tool when feeding the above items. You should have more backup cultures when using any of the above foods, since crashes happen quickly.
> 
> The algal pastes and marine green waters commercially available will work. I have used them. Some of those may add a little salt, but that does no harm to my strain. I have heard of strains that can't tolerate the least bit of salt so be cautious. The Marc Weiss products, Spectra Vital and Blackpowder, both work. Blackpowder increases the red color of the Daphnia. Krill meal is also a good Daphnia food. Spirulena powder is not absorbed well, although if it's run through the blender with water an
> 
> 
>  if you have a lot of Daphnia to feed. Use the cleanliness you would use for your own food in preparing, storing, and using this recipe.
> 
> I knew a local discus breeder who raised a lot of Daphnia. His methods were interesting. He put a 5 gallon plastic bucket of Daphnia under his messy birds' cage so hulls, parakeet poop, and feathers would fall in. He used blood meal and dried cow manure, products he bought at a garden store, to feed larger cultures of Daphnia. I would be nervous about introducing pathogens or waste products to my fish tanks if I used his method, but I never heard any negatives from him.
> 
> I feel that Daphnia fed my concoction may be a bit more nutritious because of their diet than anything else you can feed them. I may be wrong, but I base that on the health and growth of my fish.