[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Masquito :) eggs

Hey Jeremy!

	That is a shrewd approach to getting a culture started. If anyone on
the list has an outdoor culture container crack, melt and drain over the
winter, a lot of time the soil or leaf litter from the container's
bottom can be put in something watertight, filled with a hose and it
will be discovered blooming in a couple of weeks.

	Mosquito eggs float, looking like little pieces of charcoal which were
peeled from a larger piece of charcoal by a fingernail. They break up
pretty easily, looking like soil. Some hobbyists claim the eggs can be
dried, frozen and stored in freezer bags. I find them great for newly
hatched anabandid fry, rainbows and small mouthed killie fry. They are a
useful weekend feeder for fry when away on weekend trips.

	In our area every five or seven years we get terrific rains followed by
even more terrific mosquito hatches. The media refers to them as flood
mosquitos. Evidentally their eggs are laid at "high tide" and can go
years before hatching.

	Concerning your daphnia eggs, they also tend to be dark colored and
take up to two weeks to hatch. You may have seen pairs of them on the
backs of female daphnia. Either the daphnia dies or sheds its shell
(daphnia undergo several "instars" as they grow). Some of these eggs or
cysts sink and some float to the edge of the pond. They, like brine
shrimp eggs or cysts, can last a long time. If the soup in which your
mosquitos are hatching is not too rich, you may yet get daphnia. If the
culture has a funky aroma, the daphnia are on hold until a more livable
water quality is established.

	They will filter feed on tiny mosquito larvae and bacteria (and newly
hatched brine shrimp!) along with the greenwater and whatever else they
can find. Keep a light on the container (without overheating it). If you
have any greenwater from a tank, add a little. Perhaps also run a hard
airline hose in for moderate aeration.

	Indoor daphnia cultures which have crashed while being cultured in
anything from gallon jars to plastic tubs have been know to regenerate a
couple to several weeks later. If a light is left on for 24 hours the
water will usually turn green. If there are daphnia eggs in the
substrait, the greenwater will star to fade and it is harvest time!

	If you get little daphnia in the next week or so, let us know.

			All the best!

			Scott