Breeding Daphnia Author: Caryl Simpson First published in Aquarium World August 2006 Despite being commonly known as water fleas, daphnia are not fleas – or insects for that matter. They are crustaceans. Less than 3mm, they are the most common crustacean found in lakes, ponds and small streams. An important part of the food chain, daphnia harvest algae cells that convert sun energy into food then pass this energy on to other animals, like fish.   Daphnia swim in a jer

Artemia Culture: Use a clear two litre soft drink bottle with the cap still attached, wash bottle to remove all drink residue. The bottom can be cut off the bottle then a 4mm hole drilled in the cap and a length of airline siliconed into the cap. I use another bottle cut at halfway to support the first bottle inverted in it then fix airline to valve then to the air pump, a one way valve can be put inline to prevent any backflow of water to pump.   Put 1 litre of

CULTURING MYSID SHRIMP   Various species of Mysid shrimp are cultured as live food for aquatic animals which prefer living foods, such as zooplanktivorous feeding fish, Anthias,seahorses and pipefish. Most other fishes relish live Mysid in their diet.   This is the method I have used which includes phyto plankton and Artemia nauplii as a food source for the mysid as well.   Equipment: I Use two 120 litre aquariums and twelve 20 litre plastic containers that I

Culturing Phytoplankton.   To feed rotifers for feed for fish larvae and for growing Artemia to adulthood. We are culturing Nannochloropsis (NAN), NAN is the best algae for rotifers and high in EPA;       Equipment Set-Up Fluorescent light or 40 Watt daylight fluorescent bulbs, I find 6500k bulbs the bare minimum for optimal growth and penetrating a dark green culture. On 24hrs a day. Air pump. 3 metre. Flexible airline tubing. 1 metre. Rigid airli

How to Cultivate Grindal Worms Author: Barrie McKoy For Killies these have to be one of the easiest live foods to feed to growing fry and adults alike. The worms themselves are a size that is halfway in-between both White Worms and Micro Worms. They will stay alive in the tanks for up to 48 hours which is great if you’re taking eggs from your fish and are going away for a few days. I feed Grindals to fry that are about 15 to 20mm long with even those that are only 10mm getting the odd one or two

Lumbriculus variegatus – Blackworms Author: Simon Check First published in Aquarium World Aug 2011 Few fish can resist a wriggling worm as part of their diet. Blackworms are ideal live foods for your fish for the fact that the worms are easy to grow and will survive almost indefinatley in your tank until eaten, thus preventing pollution due to decomposition. Although not bred or found often in New Zealand, Lumbriculus worms are actually quite common. They resemble Tubifex worms in appearance but

Wingless fruitflies Author: Rob Torrens Date: Friday, April 19 2002 These are small (about 3mm), prolific, easily reared and relished by smaller fish, particularly surface feeders. While being called wingless they are probably better described as being stump winged, as they still have wings but they are deformed so that they can’t fly. The fly’s body is soft and floats on the surface, where it can survive for hours. The larvae can be picked out and fed directly (though this is messy and probably