[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Isopods
Michael Hissom wrote,
>Bentley, I also interested in the aquatic isopods, can you go in to
more
>detail about how you culture them? How big of containers, water
conditions,
>harvesting, and yields? What's the biggest isopods you have ever seen?
Thanks
Hi Michael,
My present isopod culture is is relatively small and new. They seem to
be thriving so far but there is no evidence of reproduction as of yet.
As I mentioned my culture container is an old fridge crisper drawer. I
find that it serves the purpose well because it is shallow and has
proportionally a very large surface area. The water is gently aerated
using an airstone. The bottom is littered with leaves for the isopods
to hide under and to consume. Occasionally I put some flake fish food
(well rinsed) in and it seems to be consumed readily. Isopods are easy
to please when it comes to feeding. Any scraps of vegetable matter or
dead animal matter will do.
I'm actually currently keeping my isopods in the same container as my
small thriving blackworm culture. The two creatures don't bother each
other at all. To ensure success with the isopods I would recommend
keeping them in their own container however, so as to eliminate any
competition with other species.
In previous cultures of Isopods I have seen incredible reproductive
ability. One such group of isopods was kept in a culture tank for my
waterfleas (Simocephalus). The funny thing is I wasn't even paying any
attention to the group of isopods I had thrown in. This particular tank
was about 20 gal, with no lighting, heavily aerated, and a lot of mulm
on the bottom. The only food I put in was liquified yeast for the
fleas. One day i looked in and there were literally thousands of baby
isopods all over the glass and the bottom. Unfortunately I didn't
collect a bunch and put them in a separate tank. After a couple of days
they had all but disappeared--likely from over-crowding.
Anyways, I hope this has helped Michael. Sorry to ramble so long.
Any other questions--feel free to e-mail me personally.
Bentley Christie
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com