culturing moina

[Graham]

I'm planning on getting a culture of moina going in a spare 10 gallon tank. What I was wondering is if anyone has ever tried putting a sponge filter in with them to help keep ammonia under control? Since daphnia are notoriously touchy with "new water", I'd like to keep water changes (and excess labor) to a minimum.

Would a sponge filter with a very minimal air flow through it pull them into the sponge? Has anyone tried this?

Any other tips appreciated. I plan on feeding brewers yeast, rice bran and possibly green water as summer approaches.

Thanks!

 

[tjudy]

I think that if you use a fine pore HydroSponge and keep the flow very slow you will probably be ok. Moina are touchier than Daphnia, IME. One thing I do with Daphnia is to only change water with water I am taking from a large aquarium during a water change. I pull 5 gallon out of the water column for the daphnia before sweeping the gravel.

I have started feeding pure spirulina powder to my Daphnia. Seems to be working. I get it from KensFish. Expensive, but I use about 1/4 tsp a day, along with 1/4 tsp of dry yeast. I shake the yeast and spirulina up in a bottle before feeding it. I know the daphnia are eating the spiruline because when I harvest them they are very green.

 

[fishgeek]

i found mine just go very well on there own

a large surface area to volume container
outdors in direct sunlight
and as ted has said i only change water from tanks into there container

i do not feed as the sunlight means heaps of algal growth

andrew

 

[Graham]

Thanks for the replies guys.

I was planning to start the culture indoors and move some out into a tub in the yard once the overnight temps stay above freezing. I'm going to cover with a screen so it doesn't turn into a mosquito farm...though the larvae would be an extra bonus, I doubt I could stay on top of it.

Can you suggest anything else that would coexist with moina in this type of setup? Being able to culture more than one live food in a tub would be great. I suppose the obvious magna and/or duplex would guive some size variety. Anything else?

I like the idea of using spirulina enrichment, Ted. I've cultured phyto in the past for reef tank purposes and it's a hassle-filled can of worms I'm hesitant to go back to. I can get spirulina powder at the local co-op for a pretty decent price. Do you use brewer's (nutritional) yeast or the actual active dry (baking) yeast? I assume it's the brewer's (yellow) variety...

Thanks again!

 

[tjudy]

I use bakers yeast.... the cheap stuff.