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RE: Keeping Daphnia



I think I have a pretty successful culture, which is now more than 2
years old.
I don't use bubbles, heaters, yeast etc. I live in San Francisco Bay
area. At my back yard, I buried a 18 gal Rubbermaid tub ( 18"-20" deep )
except the top 1 inch or so. ( Think of it as a small pond ). By doing
so, I anticipate that the water temperature won't vary quickly. Around
the tub, there are some weeds which shade the water during hot summer. I
initially put about 1 inch of garden soils at the bottom. But I don't
think that's necessary. I have been feeding the cultute yard debris,
tree leaves etc. I think those debris will feed plankton which Daphnia
will eventually eat. And Sun provides the natural green plankton.  Be
careful not to feed them with too much yard debris ! Every week or two,
I add waters to make up for the evaporation. Direct tap water is OK. I
don't treat the water at all. Especially during the summer, the culture
is fantastic. I can harvest everyday. Surprisingly, I can still harvest
during the winter twice a week. When catching them, harvest only from
the top 4 inches of water to keep the population constant. And there are
bonuses ! I have good supplies of mosquito lava ;-) Fish actually prefer
mosquito lava when both are available. As long as you harvest every day
from the top 4 inches, mosquito lava rarely can be adult mosquitoes ;-)
jLee

>-----Original Message-----
>Date: Tue, 19 Aug 1997 13:46:15 -0600
>From: gawdess <gawdess at earthlink_net>
>Subject: Keeping Daphnia?
>
>I have finally found sources for Daphnia cultures, but I am having
>trouble sorting through all the conflicting culturing information.  Some
>say add bubbles, some say don't, some say add egg yolk, others say yams,
>brewer's yeast... and I can't find any info on the best way to harvest
>and clone the cultures.....
>
>Raven
>
>------------------------------
>
>End of Live Foods Digest V1 #9
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