For several years I’ve kept daphnia using the following method. Fill one of the new type of household bin with water. Go to local farm and get a large handful of hay. Put the hay and a stone into an old nylon stocking, tie a piece of string to stocking and drop into bin. Tie string to bin handle. After about two weeks buy a couple of bags of daphnia from local pet store and add to bin. Some yeast can be added at beginning. This is kept in garden and can attract blood worms etc. Hope his helps
great information Rus...I used to raise them when I was a kid and feed them to my fish...this might give me the boost I need to start a colony up again!
I totally agree with you...during the summer I also get mosquito larvae outside from a bucket of water, fish loves those too...anything that wiggles and darts and swims frantically! @@Aquarimax
@@Aquarimax thanks Rus! Love your videos! Your passion for the hobby has introduced me to so many new critters to appreciate. Keep up the incredible videos!
Awesome video! I would suggest everyone, when i make water changes, i siphon water from inside the tank using an airline tube (4/6mm) with a fine airstone , this avois Daphnia been sucked out. It takes a while, but, if you left the airstone hanging at the desired level nightime, in the morning after you have done the job. Hope this can help anybody. Continue this way
Three thumbs up!… How come it is so difficult to find simple, informative, straight-to-the point and well-articulated video without all those unnecessary emotions and other BS?… Finally, I have found one! Cannot wait to check other videos…
to do a water change that doesn't get any daphnia or only a few, use an airline tubing with a fine bubble air stone on the intake end in the tank. This is also good for changing water in tanks with tiny fry. The air stone only lets in small amounts of water through and the tubing size means a slow removal rate of water from the tank with daphnia or fry in it. Still if you see any get through to your receptacle before you dump the water, just use a fine mesh seine net to scoop them out and put them back in their tank. Or you can use a piece of nylon stocking rubber banded around your intake end of your syphon hose.
Thank you. I've been having issues establishing mine... Especially without risking losing too many during water changes. I also love your alternative feeding ideas.
Glad to hear this was helpful! They can be tricky to start, but once you get them going you should be able to maintain them indefinitely. 👍 Frequent small water changes really help mine breed prolifically!
@@Aquarimax Thank you for that advice. I've found it very hard to do water changes without sucking up a portion of them. Any solid ideas to avoid that? Or do I just have to deal with losing some no matter what?
@@Aquarimax yeah I thought about that, but even placing a baby Artemia net in front of the hose I'm worried to suck out the babies. I'm the type that won't kill anything unless it's necessary. But, I suppose they all end up dead without a water change.
Hello, how to suck out water fleas if you have them at the bottom of the aquarium? How many water fleas is good to have in a 5l aquarium so that it is not too many? Thanks for the answers!
A long pipette can usually reach them…just get one that matches the depth of your aquarium. Generally the density depends on the species, the feeding and water changing regimen, and whether or not there is aeration. 👍🏼
I want to use them to clean the green water in my 20 gallon fish tank. It has guppies, a molly, mystery snail, and a bottom feeder. Will it work or will they get immediately eaten? Will the filter suck them up.
Your concerns are valid. Some people have used a fine mesh net breeder to protect the daphnia…the green water and some of the tiny young dapjphnia get through, but the daphnia are protected from both fish and filter, and can handle the green water quite well from inside. I haven’t tried it, but others have with success.
great video! I do have a quick question though. How would I be able to keep the numbers low? I have only a few tanks, and probably wouldn't need over 200-300 daphnia in a culture. Would feeding less cause them to breed less?
Thanks for this helpful info! I was wondering if the dehydrated eggs need to/can be separated from the other debris? If I want to store the eggs as a backup, is the freezer the best place? You're amazing. Thanks so much.
Storing a small amount of debris with the eggs can work. Too much debris, and the bacterial bloom may reduce oxygen once the mix is rehydrated. A little debris will provide enough food for microorganisms that the daphnia will feed on, though.
Is it possible to raise daphnia in the same enclosure as some bumblebee gobies? Every video I see on them has them being raised in a separate tank before being transferred into the tank with the fish you intend to feed. I'd love to raise some to feed my gobies but I'd rather not raise them separate if I can help it. Also you said that they don't do well with shrimp, but some of the shrimp I've looked into getting (like the sky blue velvet) say that they prefer environments with decaying plants and algae. So would something like them be okay to include or would you still recommend keeping them separate? Great video though. Lots of helpful info! I look forward to trying to grow my first culture
Hi! Great questions. Raising daphnia in the same tank with fish doesn’t tend to work out, as the fish will constantly feed on them until they are gone, and the type of water quality fish prefer (and the water clarity we prefer) are not ideal for daphnia. Some Neocaridina shrimp might be worth a try, though. I have kept and bred Neocaridina and other shrimp, but haven’t kept them with daphnia.
I wouldn’t suggest adding the eggs directly to the tank, as they might not hatch, and if they did, any fish in the tank would probably finish them off quite quickly. If you have green water, you can try adding a mesh breeder, and then adding adult daphnia to that. That way the daphnia can access the algae, but the fish can’t get to the daphnia (at least not all of them). Various people have reported success with this method.
Hello Rus great video as usual 😀 Can we culture copepods for betta fish ? They are pretty much easy for me to harvest as they are readily available in my water tanks .
Kazi Ayesha Thank you! I have had copepods as incidental inhabitants of my daphnia/scud cultures for years, but I have never attempted to mass culture them separately. I know that people do it, though.
@@Aquarimax I do not need to culture them as they are plenty of them in my house water tank . They are pretty easy for me to harvest also, but are they nutritious for betta ?
Kazi Ayesha I would say that copepods are a good natural food source, but their nutritional value would depend partly one what they are eating. If they are growing in conditions where algae is growing, they are likely to pick up some nutrients from that, and would be a good food for appropriately sized betta fry. Here is one of my videos about scuds: th-cam.com/video/BIRyuTnWF6c/w-d-xo.html
@@Aquarimax thank you very much Rus you are always ready to help and take out some time for reading our comments 😃 Here is one last request I wanted to download your videos on my device not via TH-cam but , I want to download them from google please share the link of your website . I wanted to download your videos and share them on social media to increase your subscribers.
Thank you for all the info! You made it sound so simple, I’m currently trying to culture daphnia in a jar. Would you still recommend a snail or two to clean up the excess food? Or would the bioload be too much in a jar culture?
A very small snail would probably be a good idea, if it is young enough not to have mated already...otherwise you might end up with too much bioload as you mentioned.
I don't change water, I only complete every 2 weeks. I have a 30liter plastic box with daphnias and snails. There is a perfect symbiosis between daphnias and snails. I agree to the rest of your video
@@Aquarimax normal vaporization of water. I complete water until I have 30l again.I add water until a mark is reached. It simulate the rain and they like it. I think water replacement you have to do if you permanent overfeed them.
kohle65 I see! That is an interesting low-maintenance method. I have found that my daphnia respond better to water changes rather than replacing evaporated water, but as you say, it may be that my method is a more intensive culture with higher nutrients... in any case, daphnia are pretty adaptable, and there is more than one path to success with them. Thanks for sharing! 😊👍
Thanks for your videos, which I find very informative. I have ordered Daphnia to start a culture, and have a question about what to provide for their water. My water source comes from collected rain water which has a pH of around 6. For my fish tanks I add baking soda, calcium chloride, magnesium sulfate (epsom salt), and potassium sulfate to bring up the pH, KH, & GH. My fish do fine, but it's kind of a hassle to do my water changes which I have to prepare by first mixing in a 55 gal drum, then circulating overnight with an air stone & with a heater. I have read Daphnia are sensitive to salts, so maybe this water mix would kill them? I could use just enough baking soda to bring the pH somewhere between 7 and 8, and use calcium carbonate instead of calcium chloride, and leave out the magnesium and potassium. What do you think?
Tare Wade Thanks for watching! This is a very good question...I have always had to deal with hard, alkaline water, so I never run across this issue. If you are certain your aquarium water is hydra-free, you could probably use old aquarium water with success. Baking soda and calcium carbonate are worth a try, though. It would be great if you could set up 3 or 4 culture containers with different water conditions to discover which daphnia did best.
@@Aquarimax Yesterday I received my Daphnia Magna & my Moina and set up 3 different culture containers for each. I checked the pH of the water the Daphnia came in and it was around 7.8, so I adjusted rainwater with baking soda up from 6.0 to 7.8, and added a small amount of calcium carbonate. I then added a portion of of the Daphnia to these gallon jars. Then I set up jars with water from one of my planted aquariums, and from an ibc tote that I have outside which I have Wakin goldfish in. Both of these tanks were from rain water that i had adjusted the pH with baking soda, added calcium chloride, magnesium sulfate, & potassium sulfate. Both of these tanks have fairly heavy fish loads, well filtered, and have had a 50% water change a little over a week ago. The pH in the Wakin tank is about 8.2, and the aquarium is about 7.8. Today I checked on the cultures, and to my surprise the Daphnia in the jars of water from both fish tanks look great despite the added minerals I had used, and the higher pH from the tote. Unfortunately, in the rainwater I had carefully adjusted using calcium carbonate & baking soda, the Daphnia died. Not what I expected. I was careful about keeping temperature the same also as to not shock them. Looks like there is something about the old water they like.
If you can find daphnia eggs for sale, generally you can add them to R/O water or distilled water with a small amount of organic material (leaf litter, for example) and they will hatch within a week or so, , amd then care is the same as described in my other videos. 👍🏼
Hi, thanks for the video. Very helpful. Can you keep ramshorn or mystery snail with daphnia? Do they eat daphnia? Also, if i use old aquarium water but have tanning from almond leaves, will that effect the daphnia?
You can keep either snail species with daphnia…they may eat dead daphnia, but not really the active ones. Too many tannins might have a negative effect but. Little should not be bad if they are properly acclimated
@@cassiepham456 I would say mystery snails are quite active when the water quality is good. Tannins tend to bring down pH, and in my experience daphnia prefer pH above neutral
It depends on the weather where you are. I raise them year round indoors, and outdoors in my climate, I can produce them from about May to October…a little ice on the surface of the bucket did no harm.
I was thinking about putting the daphnia a bottle with small holes, sink it in the aquarium, letting the adults inside the bottle and breeding while the fry will hopefully comes out from the holes. But I guess Inwill have difficulty in feeding the daphnia. Did you ever tried solid foods instead of dissolved spirulina and flours?
@@alvingalang5106 i dont think the adult ones live very long though. But it could work. Not necessairly to trap adults in, but give them hiding space in general. I think big javamoss patches and good soil would help too, as i unintenionally bred them in a guppy bowl that way..
Hi Rus. I hatched daphnia magna about 2 months ago and it's been fun trying to raise them although they sure are a lot of work! It's been great, however i haven't really been able to get the population to explode. It just sorta stays stagnant. Mature larger ones seem to disappear while a bunch of tiny ones reappear to replace them. I've been manually feeding green water. It seems with my current feeding and water change regimen is not enough to get them to a good enough population to harvest. Although there's no complete dieoff,. I just can't get to seem to get high enough population density. Any ideas?
I might suggest tying a different food …green water can be a great good, but it can also influence pH quite a bit. My current feeding regimen is astaxanthin & well-dissolved active yeast, along with sinking fish food pellets (the tank is well-populated with ramshorn snails). I change about 10-20% of the water 1-2 times per week. This seems to result in excellent reproduction . How often are you changing water?
@@Aquarimax I've been trying to promote reproduction recently by changing 15-20% every 3 days. Started about 3 water changes ago. Prior to that it was once a week. I did test my PH a few days ago and it was around 7.4 i have a small bag of crushed coral to keep alkalinity up for them. My tap is around 7.0. i used dechlorinated water and aerate for 3 days in prep for the next WC
Hi I live in Jamaica and would like to use Daphnia for my fish. Local pet stores apparently no longer keep Daphnia for sale. Would your Daphnia manage to deal with temperatures of over 100 degrees in the shade? Would it be better to source Daphnia in Florida as those might better tollerate the high temps here ? If so could you pls recommend a source in FLA.
David Jenoure I have had mine outside when air temperatures were 100+ degrees +. The water temp stays considerably cooler. I am not sure of a specific Florida source, but aqua bid.com does have some Florida sellers...
Ric B most species of mosquito larvae only eat microscopic organisms they filter from the water. There are some other insect larvae, such as damßelfly larvae, That are predatory and could go after daphnia.
I would consider the daphnia and scuds a supplemental food...even if I had a 300 gallon stock tank to culture them in, and could pull out more than enough to feed all of my fish to satiation every day, I would still offer my fish flake food, just to round out the nutrients they would receive. There’s no doubt daphnia and scuds are great foods...but flake probably contains some nutrients that they are deficient in.
Light, coarse aeration, but no mechanical filtration, is my preference, as anything pulling particles from the water would be competing with the daphnia for food.
You left out another way (really common way) to get daphnia cultures .... Ordering Aquarium plants online or from LFS!! I breed rainbowfish and have yet to find a better more easy live food !!
That is so true. I ordered some baby tears a while ago and grew them (emersed?) Anyway, my daughter had some sea monkeys/fairy shrimp from a little kit and I added a tiny strand of the baby tears for fun and looks and within days the sea monkeys were overtaken by what I believe to be daphnia. Honestly, I no longer see any shrimp at all now. But we now have thousands of daphnia and had to upgrade the tank.lol
I wish I could raise daphnia. My fish love them especially my pipefish. I've tried everything. De-chlorinated water, tank water and RO water. Aeration and no aeration. Glass jars and brand new plastic buckets. Green water, activated yeast and ground algae wafers. They always die within 48 hours of me receiving them no matter what I try. Even epphipia do not hatch. It has been suggested that it's because I order them through the mail and being shipped is too traumatic for them. Thing is I haven't been able to find any live daphnia within an hours drive. No LFS or hobbyists I've found have any. They all say daphnia are impossible to keep alive. I've wondered if something in the local water supply that can get through an RO filter is toxic to daphnia. The local authorities swear we have some of the cleanest ground water in the country, but not all areas get their water out of the ground. Any thoughts?
in my entire life i have found daphnia in two spots. one was a ephemeral puddle where the town dumped their leaf collections, and another was a sediment pond where water flowed through from a harbor silt pumping operation. i going to check the leaf collection site soon before summer, but the other location has been dry for years now. keep looking, gold is where you find it.
That is strange that there is so much trouble getting them to live in your area. I find them in my pond just scooping up plants and mud and they live under many different conditions. My household water is very hard water from a natural spring though so maybe that is why they survive for me.
Hmmm....I wonder if there is something in your water? Do you drip acclimate the daphnia when you receive them? I would be interested in hearing more from you about it...you can go to my contact me page if you like and email me
@@Aquarimax I acclimate them similar to the way I do fish and shrimp. I've tried adding just a tiny bit of water at a time. I've wondered if there is something in the water, but then I know people that keep delicate fish and have no problems at all. I wonder if I could use bottled water from another part of the country and condition it to get different results.
Lori B if i kynit we’re practical to use water from a distant source...i have failed with some strains of daphnia and succeeded with others. That could have something to do with it as well.
i have been looking for daphnia for over a month in local puddles and swamps. lots of seed shrimps and water bugs, but not one daph. it's a very dicey quest. once years ago, i hit the jackpot, but that area has been drained by the powers that be. as to heat the old school thought was to kept collected daphnia iced, aerated, and they would last a week. funny how old info has influenced me.
Bob S They are getting harder to find these days...my daughter just found some in a reservoir while we were herping last week. I wish the best of luck in your quest!
Probably possible to find them at any time, but your best luck will be in the summertime corresponding with algae blooms. I'm looking for a culture too, so this isn't from experience but rather a guess
metrikal1 i have found and collected wild daphnia many times, and I would agree...they are at their most abundant when there is lots of algae available.
My tank is milky with what look like utterly minuscule Daphnia. Under a magnifying glass they move like Daphnia. If it is the case that it is that I’m over run with tiny young Daphnia, what can I do to get their numbers down?
Thanks for all the Daphnia info, I just bought a colony and put them in a jar. Would love to know what to search to find those coarser nets that pick up the adults and not the younger ones? I took a few out of the colony and put them in my Betta's tank but he didn't seem to notice them, so I'm thinking I maybe should make sure to only give him the bigger ones in the future. Thanks.
You’re welcome! Most of the larger fish nets have appropriately coarse mesh, it’s the smaller nets with the finer mesh that will also catch the younger ones.
@@marshmello1107 that can be due to the food (algae contain natural color enhancers, but some foods have little or none) as well as the oxygen content of the water (daphnia can sometimes become redder if oxygen levels are less than ideal). There may be other factors as well.
orlan dalisay you will need daphnia is from somewhere...the dry eggs are occasionally brought to bodies of water by the wind or birds, but you need either live daphnia is or eggs to start.
Can you buy dried eggs online? Another option is to collect daphnia in a fish-free pond, especially one where livestock such as cows are in and around the pond a lot.
Hi, im starting a daphnia culture outside, a week ago I pick the starter from a lake behind my house, after a week, i found some other living stuff, it shaped weird, having 2 tail at back , moved so fast, and my betta wont eat it, they just grow so fast I have no idea whats that, can you help me? Thanks
@bojo perez I wonder if there is anything you can do to tell if it's fake? Like... if it is supposed to be spiral shaped then you could look at some under a microscope to see if it's that way
@@Aquarimax I was very surprised, since the only thing I associate with Spirulina is a health food store. I have never actually seen it though. I am very curious, if you put Spirulina into an aquarium or pool or whatever, does it grow?
I am not sure how much of a danger planaria pose to your daphnia, to be honest. They are predatory, but I would expect daphnia to be able to outmaneuver them.
I put a small group of daphnia with ghost shrimp and thr ghost shrimp attacked them savagely. I literally seen a shrimp grab one, stuff it into it's mouth and grab two in their claws. The daphnia didn't last 20min. Changed my thoughts on shrimp lol. They can be savage. Tells me shrimp with betta fry would be a bad idea too.
Very informative video. But Daphnia are not born gravid. at 20 C it takes them about 7-10 days to reach their primiparous install, at which point their eggs can be easily counted in a microscope. at this temperature, it will take the eggs about 3 days to develop. I do research on fatty acid metabolism in Daphnia and other zooplankton.
@@Aquarimax 90% of what you said was correct. btw, I meant primiparous instar, autocorrect changed that. for the record, it is very easy to vary the fatty acid composition of Daphnia by changing their diets. if their are fish that need a super high quality diet (i.e., high EPA content) that can be accomplished.
That can happen if the scuds don’t get enough to eat. Though i cultured them together successfully together for years, I now culture them separately? ASI do get higher daphnia yields this way. I Made a video about this a few months ago.
Soil often contains daphnia eggs and sometimes they just appear in an aquarium. Fascinating creatures.
They may be resisting in the tap water.
Great video and info for a newbie trying to raise daphnia . Thank you so much...from Australia
Glad it is helpful!!
For several years I’ve kept daphnia using the following method.
Fill one of the new type of household bin with water. Go to local farm and get a large handful of hay. Put the hay and a stone into an old nylon stocking, tie a piece of string to stocking and drop into bin. Tie string to bin handle. After about two weeks buy a couple of bags of daphnia from local pet store and add to bin. Some yeast can be added at beginning. This is kept in garden and can attract blood worms etc. Hope his helps
Robert Lees sounds like a great, low-maintenance method! 😊👍
great information Rus...I used to raise them when I was a kid and feed them to my fish...this might give me the boost I need to start a colony up again!
Sean Meister I hope you do...few live foods are quite as magical...
I totally agree with you...during the summer I also get mosquito larvae outside from a bucket of water, fish loves those too...anything that wiggles and darts and swims frantically! @@Aquarimax
Sean Meister definì...mosquito larvae are like fish candy...but full of healthy HUFAs...!
Had the best luck raising them in tubs left outside. Such a hard critter to master
Randy Tompkins they can be...outdoor tubs do often make the easiest cultures.
@@Aquarimax thanks Rus! Love your videos! Your passion for the hobby has introduced me to so many new critters to appreciate. Keep up the incredible videos!
Randy Tompkins comments like this make it all worth it!
Awesome video! I would suggest everyone, when i make water changes, i siphon water from inside the tank using an airline tube (4/6mm) with a fine airstone , this avois Daphnia been sucked out. It takes a while, but, if you left the airstone hanging at the desired level nightime, in the morning after you have done the job. Hope this can help anybody. Continue this way
Luca Lo Nardo that is a good idea, as long as you make sure not to exceed the capacity of your drainage container. 👍
Three thumbs up!… How come it is so difficult to find simple, informative, straight-to-the point and well-articulated video without all those unnecessary emotions and other BS?… Finally, I have found one! Cannot wait to check other videos…
I am delighted to know that you found this helpful! Let me know what you think of the other videos 👍
Enjoyed the Daphnia video. Thank you.
Glad to hear it! I should probably make an update 😁👍
Wow, you're amazingly knowledgeable, thank you! I'm excited to get these in with my BW plants ;)
They appeared from nowhere in an old hot tub full of leaves! I’m gonna start culturing them for my platys
EverythingCREATED Sounds like a bird with muddy feet may have left you a gift! That’s great! Your platies will love them. 👍
Aquarimax Pets or maybe a raccoon with mud on its feed
*feet
How does this happen? I've seen it before.
@S.Trades their eggs can survive being dried and be carried by the wind, or on the muddy feet of birds
I use chlorera green water to raise them in Thailand.
Really helpful! Thankyou!
to do a water change that doesn't get any daphnia or only a few, use an airline tubing with a fine bubble air stone on the intake end in the tank. This is also good for changing water in tanks with tiny fry. The air stone only lets in small amounts of water through and the tubing size means a slow removal rate of water from the tank with daphnia or fry in it. Still if you see any get through to your receptacle before you dump the water, just use a fine mesh seine net to scoop them out and put them back in their tank. Or you can use a piece of nylon stocking rubber banded around your intake end of your syphon hose.
Pup314 Two good suggestions! 😊👍
This is an awesome video!
Kyle Spotted Bear Thank you!
Thank you. I've been having issues establishing mine... Especially without risking losing too many during water changes. I also love your alternative feeding ideas.
Glad to hear this was helpful! They can be tricky to start, but once you get them going you should be able to maintain them indefinitely. 👍 Frequent small water changes really help mine breed prolifically!
@@Aquarimax Thank you for that advice. I've found it very hard to do water changes without sucking up a portion of them. Any solid ideas to avoid that? Or do I just have to deal with losing some no matter what?
@@anga9495 I usually end up siphoning some out, but you can pour the waste water through a net and then feed the daphnia to your fish,
@@Aquarimax yeah I thought about that, but even placing a baby Artemia net in front of the hose I'm worried to suck out the babies. I'm the type that won't kill anything unless it's necessary. But, I suppose they all end up dead without a water change.
@@Aquarimax ty for taking the time to respond to me. I really appreciate it.
Always good.👍 👍 👍 👍
Great Video !!!
Thank you 😊
Tawny kittie Galloway you’re welcome! Didn’t I use one of your questions in the video?
I've learned a lot from this video. Thanks for sharing your knowledge to us.
The Koi Pond Experience you’re very welcome, I am happy to help!
great info.thanks
Thank you very help ful
Glad it helped!
Wow I don't know that Daphnia can eat wheat flour, now I know from your video. Thanks sir!
I get the best results when mixing the flour with the other ingredients, but it will work on its own too 👍
Thank you Rus of Aquarimax Pets, very cool!!!
bbSeal Thank you! 😊👍
Hello,
how to suck out water fleas if you have them at the bottom of the aquarium? How many water fleas is good to have in a 5l aquarium so that it is not too many?
Thanks for the answers!
A long pipette can usually reach them…just get one that matches the depth of your aquarium. Generally the density depends on the species, the feeding and water changing regimen, and whether or not there is aeration. 👍🏼
You are excellent! 👍
I'm going to start changing one jugful each day. If i remember! 💪
I keep daphnia in all shrimp tanks. I feed wheat germ and spirulina.
I want to use them to clean the green water in my 20 gallon fish tank. It has guppies, a molly, mystery snail, and a bottom feeder. Will it work or will they get immediately eaten? Will the filter suck them up.
Your concerns are valid. Some people have used a fine mesh net breeder to protect the daphnia…the green water and some of the tiny young dapjphnia get through, but the daphnia are protected from both fish and filter, and can handle the green water quite well from inside. I haven’t tried it, but others have with success.
it did happen to my pond before I added the fish 4 days later not one was seen ever again.
All the daphnia disappeared?
great video! I do have a quick question though. How would I be able to keep the numbers low? I have only a few tanks, and probably wouldn't need over 200-300 daphnia in a culture. Would feeding less cause them to breed less?
In your case, I would simply use a small tank, maybe even a couple of 1-gallon jars. That way, you can produce the numbers you need.
@@Aquarimax ahh, that makes sense. Thanks!
"basically... i don't know" 😁
i love how honest he was 👍
Thanks for this helpful info! I was wondering if the dehydrated eggs need to/can be separated from the other debris? If I want to store the eggs as a backup, is the freezer the best place? You're amazing. Thanks so much.
Storing a small amount of debris with the eggs can work. Too much debris, and the bacterial bloom may reduce oxygen once the mix is rehydrated. A little debris will provide enough food for microorganisms that the daphnia will feed on, though.
Is it possible to raise daphnia in the same enclosure as some bumblebee gobies? Every video I see on them has them being raised in a separate tank before being transferred into the tank with the fish you intend to feed. I'd love to raise some to feed my gobies but I'd rather not raise them separate if I can help it.
Also you said that they don't do well with shrimp, but some of the shrimp I've looked into getting (like the sky blue velvet) say that they prefer environments with decaying plants and algae. So would something like them be okay to include or would you still recommend keeping them separate? Great video though. Lots of helpful info! I look forward to trying to grow my first culture
Hi!
Great questions. Raising daphnia in the same tank with fish doesn’t tend to work out, as the fish will constantly feed on them until they are gone, and the type of water quality fish prefer (and the water clarity we prefer) are not ideal for daphnia.
Some Neocaridina shrimp might be worth a try, though. I have kept and bred Neocaridina and other shrimp, but haven’t kept them with daphnia.
Would it help my algae bloom? Can I just simply add the eggs to the tank?
I wouldn’t suggest adding the eggs directly to the tank, as they might not hatch, and if they did, any fish in the tank would probably finish them off quite quickly. If you have green water, you can try adding a mesh breeder, and then adding adult daphnia to that. That way the daphnia can access the algae, but the fish can’t get to the daphnia (at least not all of them). Various people have reported success with this method.
@@Aquarimax thank you very much!
Dude looks like Walmart Chuck Norris... And he is really cool
I will take that as a compliment 🤣
@@Aquarimax Chuck Norris feeds fish to his daphnia...
Hello Rus great video as usual 😀
Can we culture copepods for betta fish ?
They are pretty much easy for me to harvest as they are readily available in my water tanks .
Kazi Ayesha Thank you! I have had copepods as incidental inhabitants of my daphnia/scud cultures for years, but I have never attempted to mass culture them separately. I know that people do it, though.
@@Aquarimax I do not need to culture them as they are plenty of them in my house water tank .
They are pretty easy for me to harvest also, but are they nutritious for betta ?
@@Aquarimax And what are scuds ?
Kazi Ayesha I would say that copepods are a good natural food source, but their nutritional value would depend partly one what they are eating. If they are growing in conditions where algae is growing, they are likely to pick up some nutrients from that, and would be a good food for appropriately sized betta fry. Here is one of my videos about scuds: th-cam.com/video/BIRyuTnWF6c/w-d-xo.html
@@Aquarimax thank you very much Rus you are always ready to help and take out some time for reading our comments 😃
Here is one last request I wanted to download your videos on my device not via TH-cam but , I want to download them from google please share the link of your website .
I wanted to download your videos and share them on social media to increase your subscribers.
Thank you for your clear & concise video, really enjoyable and one to keep for future reference 👍😷👍Take care my friend 👍😷👌
Thank you for all the info! You made it sound so simple, I’m currently trying to culture daphnia in a jar. Would you still recommend a snail or two to clean up the excess food? Or would the bioload be too much in a jar culture?
A very small snail would probably be a good idea, if it is young enough not to have mated already...otherwise you might end up with too much bioload as you mentioned.
@@Aquarimax Thank you!
Salt Water scuds, different from Freshwater or same species? Where can you get freshwater ones if different?
Dan Krohn They are indeed different species, aquabid.com usually has them to
I don't change water, I only complete every 2 weeks. I have a 30liter plastic box with daphnias and snails. There is a perfect symbiosis between daphnias and snails. I agree to the rest of your video
kohle65 Interesting! What do you mean by ‘I only complete every two weeks’?
@@Aquarimax normal vaporization of water. I complete water until I have 30l again.I add water until a mark is reached. It simulate the rain and they like it. I think water replacement you have to do if you permanent overfeed them.
kohle65 I see! That is an interesting low-maintenance method. I have found that my daphnia respond better to water changes rather than replacing evaporated water, but as you say, it may be that my method is a more intensive culture with higher nutrients... in any case, daphnia are pretty adaptable, and there is more than one path to success with them. Thanks for sharing! 😊👍
Great video, thank you.
Thanks for your videos, which I find very informative. I have ordered Daphnia to start a culture, and have a question about what to provide for their water. My water source comes from collected rain water which has a pH of around 6. For my fish tanks I add baking soda, calcium chloride, magnesium sulfate (epsom salt), and potassium sulfate to bring up the pH, KH, & GH. My fish do fine, but it's kind of a hassle to do my water changes which I have to prepare by first mixing in a 55 gal drum, then circulating overnight with an air stone & with a heater. I have read Daphnia are sensitive to salts, so maybe this water mix would kill them? I could use just enough baking soda to bring the pH somewhere between 7 and 8, and use calcium carbonate instead of calcium chloride, and leave out the magnesium and potassium. What do you think?
Tare Wade Thanks for watching! This is a very good question...I have always had to deal with hard, alkaline water, so I never run across this issue. If you are certain your aquarium water is hydra-free, you could probably use old aquarium water with success. Baking soda and calcium carbonate are worth a try, though. It would be great if you could set up 3 or 4 culture containers with different water conditions to discover which daphnia did best.
@@Aquarimax Yesterday I received my Daphnia Magna & my Moina and set up 3 different culture containers for each. I checked the pH of the water the Daphnia came in and it was around 7.8, so I adjusted rainwater with baking soda up from 6.0 to 7.8, and added a small amount of calcium carbonate. I then added a portion of of the Daphnia to these gallon jars. Then I set up jars with water from one of my planted aquariums, and from an ibc tote that I have outside which I have Wakin goldfish in. Both of these tanks were from rain water that i had adjusted the pH with baking soda, added calcium chloride, magnesium sulfate, & potassium sulfate. Both of these tanks have fairly heavy fish loads, well filtered, and have had a 50% water change a little over a week ago. The pH in the Wakin tank is about 8.2, and the aquarium is about 7.8. Today I checked on the cultures, and to my surprise the Daphnia in the jars of water from both fish tanks look great despite the added minerals I had used, and the higher pH from the tote. Unfortunately, in the rainwater I had carefully adjusted using calcium carbonate & baking soda, the Daphnia died. Not what I expected. I was careful about keeping temperature the same also as to not shock them. Looks like there is something about the old water they like.
Tare Wade They do tend to like old water. I am glad you set up several different containers as suggested...that can be a lifesaver with daphnia! 👍
Hello dear I am intrested in dormate culture can you shair more detail about preserve culture and shipping?
If you can find daphnia eggs for sale, generally you can add them to R/O water or distilled water with a small amount of organic material (leaf litter, for example) and they will hatch within a week or so, , amd then care is the same as described in my other videos. 👍🏼
From where I can gets these eggs?
Hi, thanks for the video. Very helpful. Can you keep ramshorn or mystery snail with daphnia? Do they eat daphnia? Also, if i use old aquarium water but have tanning from almond leaves, will that effect the daphnia?
You can keep either snail species with daphnia…they may eat dead daphnia, but not really the active ones.
Too many tannins might have a negative effect but. Little should not be bad if they are properly acclimated
Thanks for the answer. Is mystery snail consider an active snail? And what is the effect that tanning will do to daphnia, im just curious.
@@cassiepham456 I would say mystery snails are quite active when the water quality is good. Tannins tend to bring down pH, and in my experience daphnia prefer pH above neutral
Vary helpful
Rebeça Sabourin I am glad it is helpful 😊👍
Can you raise them through out the winter months? Or is it to late to start now?
It depends on the weather where you are. I raise them year round indoors, and outdoors in my climate, I can produce them from about May to October…a little ice on the surface of the bucket did no harm.
Did air pump is crucial? I have one on 10 litre tank and i havent any air pump
Not completely necessary. It will improve production, but it can be omitted.
@@Aquarimax how about light? I want to culture it indoor,is the room light is enough?
Is it good idea to grow them along with the fish?
They keep breeding and eaten by the fish, a continuous feeding for fish.
This can work for fry, or in very large ponds. In general, in an aquarium, the fish will eat them quickly and completely.
I was thinking about putting the daphnia a bottle with small holes, sink it in the aquarium, letting the adults inside the bottle and breeding while the fry will hopefully comes out from the holes. But I guess Inwill have difficulty in feeding the daphnia. Did you ever tried solid foods instead of dissolved spirulina and flours?
@@alvingalang5106 i dont think the adult ones live very long though. But it could work. Not necessairly to trap adults in, but give them hiding space in general. I think big javamoss patches and good soil would help too, as i unintenionally bred them in a guppy bowl that way..
I wonder if Bacter Ae would work to feed daphnia...
@@ptitenoli9219 that would be worth a try!
@Aquarimax ill try it. 🤗
Can you feed them chlorella if you don't have green water
I have used frozen algae pastes before with some success
Hi Rus. I hatched daphnia magna about 2 months ago and it's been fun trying to raise them although they sure are a lot of work! It's been great, however i haven't really been able to get the population to explode. It just sorta stays stagnant. Mature larger ones seem to disappear while a bunch of tiny ones reappear to replace them. I've been manually feeding green water. It seems with my current feeding and water change regimen is not enough to get them to a good enough population to harvest. Although there's no complete dieoff,. I just can't get to seem to get high enough population density. Any ideas?
I might suggest tying a different food …green water can be a great good, but it can also influence pH quite a bit.
My current feeding regimen is astaxanthin & well-dissolved active yeast, along with sinking fish food pellets (the tank is well-populated with ramshorn snails). I change about 10-20% of the water 1-2 times per week. This seems to result in excellent reproduction .
How often are you changing water?
@@Aquarimax I've been trying to promote reproduction recently by changing 15-20% every 3 days. Started about 3 water changes ago. Prior to that it was once a week. I did test my PH a few days ago and it was around 7.4 i have a small bag of crushed coral to keep alkalinity up for them. My tap is around 7.0. i used dechlorinated water and aerate for 3 days in prep for the next WC
Hi I live in Jamaica and would like to use Daphnia for my fish. Local pet stores apparently no longer keep Daphnia for sale. Would your Daphnia manage to deal with temperatures of over 100 degrees in the shade? Would it be better to source Daphnia in Florida as those might better tollerate the high temps here ? If so could you pls recommend a source in FLA.
David Jenoure I have had mine outside when air temperatures were 100+ degrees +. The water temp stays considerably cooler. I am not sure of a specific Florida source, but aqua bid.com does have some Florida sellers...
@@Aquarimax do you export fish and Daphnia out of the country
David Jenoure unfortunately I can’t at present.
@@Aquarimax Keep up the good work. Thank you
David Jenoure i hope you are able to source some daphnia!
can i add daphnia on main fish tank? or will they cause nutrition bloom?
Well, it depends on quantities, etc., but they won’t typically last long in an aquarium with fish.
@@Aquarimax thanks for the response. appreciate it
I just got some out of my local pond... now ive got thousands...
Do mosquito larvae eat daphnia or daphnia eggs?
Ric B most species of mosquito larvae only eat microscopic organisms they filter from the water. There are some other insect larvae, such as damßelfly larvae, That are predatory and could go after daphnia.
@@Aquarimax thanks!
Can you keep both daphnia and scuds together in a 10 gallon tank or is that too small?
I have done it successfully in a 10-gallon tank for about 2 years. Later I upgraded to 20 gallons...but the 10 gallon worked. 👍🏽
@@Aquarimax I was just thinking that live food like daphnia and scuds would be better for the fish than flake food.
@@Aquarimax would it work if they were the only food that the fishes ate or would that be too much of a toll on the colony. I have 5 tanks.
I would consider the daphnia and scuds a supplemental food...even if I had a 300 gallon stock tank to culture them in, and could pull out more than enough to feed all of my fish to satiation every day, I would still offer my fish flake food, just to round out the nutrients they would receive. There’s no doubt daphnia and scuds are great foods...but flake probably contains some nutrients that they are deficient in.
@@Aquarimax ok. Thank you? Are scuds attracted to light like daphnia are?
great video sir, i want to ask why many of my daphnia magna stayand clump on the bottom and grew white mucus like a fungi on them??
Are they dying?
@@Aquarimax yeah they are dying
So, no filter needed?
Light, coarse aeration, but no mechanical filtration, is my preference, as anything pulling particles from the water would be competing with the daphnia for food.
Why do you have to do water changes? More specifically is their a element that becomes toxic to daphnia or are you describing basic husbandry?
Both, really. Various wastes build up and seem to slow reproduction. The influx of new water seems to stimulate them to breed as well.
How do we contact you to purchase daphnia?
You can visit www.aquarimax.com/price-list/#Livefood
You left out another way (really common way) to get daphnia cultures .... Ordering Aquarium plants online or from LFS!! I breed rainbowfish and have yet to find a better more easy live food !!
The Fishy Life ! Good point! That is exactly where I got my first scud cultures...
That is so true. I ordered some baby tears a while ago and grew them (emersed?) Anyway, my daughter had some sea monkeys/fairy shrimp from a little kit and I added a tiny strand of the baby tears for fun and looks and within days the sea monkeys were overtaken by what I believe to be daphnia. Honestly, I no longer see any shrimp at all now. But we now have thousands of daphnia and had to upgrade the tank.lol
Can Daphnia survive in metal stock tanks?
Some might, but they do tend to be sensitive to metal contamination in the water.
@@Aquarimax that's what I was reading. I tried anyways but I didn't see any last night when I held the light on the water for a while.
Daphnia also you can find daphnia in. Stock Water aoutside orr Cannal.. Right
Time stamp: What tank mates or other aquatic pets can you have with Daphnia? 7:26
why did you stop using dried yeast?
Is it a bad idea to just have daphnia in the aquarium with the fish? I want a few live food options living with my betta. He loves to hunt.
The betta will probably overeat at first, clearing out all the daphnia. Scuds would be a better option for low-density live food in with your betta.
I wish I could raise daphnia. My fish love them especially my pipefish. I've tried everything. De-chlorinated water, tank water and RO water. Aeration and no aeration. Glass jars and brand new plastic buckets. Green water, activated yeast and ground algae wafers. They always die within 48 hours of me receiving them no matter what I try. Even epphipia do not hatch. It has been suggested that it's because I order them through the mail and being shipped is too traumatic for them. Thing is I haven't been able to find any live daphnia within an hours drive. No LFS or hobbyists I've found have any. They all say daphnia are impossible to keep alive. I've wondered if something in the local water supply that can get through an RO filter is toxic to daphnia. The local authorities swear we have some of the cleanest ground water in the country, but not all areas get their water out of the ground. Any thoughts?
in my entire life i have found daphnia in two spots. one was a ephemeral puddle where the town dumped their leaf collections, and another was a sediment pond where water flowed through from a harbor silt pumping operation. i going to check the leaf collection site soon before summer, but the other location has been dry for years now. keep looking, gold is where you find it.
That is strange that there is so much trouble getting them to live in your area. I find them in my pond just scooping up plants and mud and they live under many different conditions. My household water is very hard water from a natural spring though so maybe that is why they survive for me.
Hmmm....I wonder if there is something in your water? Do you drip acclimate the daphnia when you receive them? I would be interested in hearing more from you about it...you can go to my contact me page if you like and email me
@@Aquarimax I acclimate them similar to the way I do fish and shrimp. I've tried adding just a tiny bit of water at a time. I've wondered if there is something in the water, but then I know people that keep delicate fish and have no problems at all. I wonder if I could use bottled water from another part of the country and condition it to get different results.
Lori B if i kynit we’re practical to use water from a distant source...i have failed with some strains of daphnia and succeeded with others. That could have something to do with it as well.
How to remove daphnia waste from the tank?
I use a gravel vacuum, and siphon out the waste from the bottom at least once a week
can they be breed outside in cold places like wisconsin? out side at night doesnt have to be winter but just how tough are in they in the winter?
i have been looking for daphnia for over a month in local puddles and swamps. lots of seed shrimps and water bugs, but not one daph. it's a very dicey quest. once years ago, i hit the jackpot, but that area has been drained by the powers that be. as to heat the old school thought was to kept collected daphnia iced, aerated, and they would last a week. funny how old info has influenced me.
Bob S They are getting harder to find these days...my daughter just found some in a reservoir while we were herping last week. I wish the best of luck in your quest!
Probably possible to find them at any time, but your best luck will be in the summertime corresponding with algae blooms. I'm looking for a culture too, so this isn't from experience but rather a guess
metrikal1 i have found and collected wild daphnia many times, and I would agree...they are at their most abundant when there is lots of algae available.
My tank is milky with what look like utterly minuscule Daphnia. Under a magnifying glass they move like Daphnia.
If it is the case that it is that I’m over run with tiny young Daphnia, what can I do to get their numbers down?
hello, is it possible to start culture with dechlorinated tap water?
Thanks for all the Daphnia info, I just bought a colony and put them in a jar.
Would love to know what to search to find those coarser nets that pick up the adults and not the younger ones? I took a few out of the colony and put them in my Betta's tank but he didn't seem to notice them, so I'm thinking I maybe should make sure to only give him the bigger ones in the future. Thanks.
You’re welcome! Most of the larger fish nets have appropriately coarse mesh, it’s the smaller nets with the finer mesh that will also catch the younger ones.
@@Aquarimax Cheers 🙂
Is there a life span for daphnia?
Almost how long does it live?
Not too long, from what I've read. Typically, they live about 2-3 months on average, although in some cases they can live about 5-6 months.
Can they grow in planted tank with substrate?
Under certain conditions possibly.
How can we go about buying a starter culture from you and try our hands at setting up our own daphnia culture for our fishy pets.
Thanks for asking! You can message me here : www.aquarimax.com/contact/
Would freeze dried daphnia eggs work the same.
Armenestra Patey I have heard of some people having success hatching them...never done it myself...
What is the natural food for daphniya??
Algae and other small organisms suspended in the water. 👍
Hlo sir my dhapnia trun white why sir????
@@marshmello1107 that can be due to the food (algae contain natural color enhancers, but some foods have little or none) as well as the oxygen content of the water (daphnia can sometimes become redder if oxygen levels are less than ideal). There may be other factors as well.
Is it possible to culture daphnia,, without starter???
orlan dalisay you will need daphnia is from somewhere...the dry eggs are occasionally brought to bodies of water by the wind or birds, but you need either live daphnia is or eggs to start.
Thanks master,,, from philippines 🇵🇭 👍
Can u pls me suggest me a method to produce dapnia without starter , because in my local stores daphnia is not available
Can you buy dried eggs online? Another option is to collect daphnia in a fish-free pond, especially one where livestock such as cows are in and around the pond a lot.
@@Aquarimax can u pls send me the link of product so that I can buy them !
Hi, im starting a daphnia culture outside, a week ago
I pick the starter from a lake behind my house, after a week, i found some other living stuff, it shaped weird, having 2 tail at back , moved so fast, and my betta wont eat it, they just grow so fast
I have no idea whats that, can you help me?
Thanks
Are they Triops?
@@Aquarimax is triops's big?theyre a bit smaller than daphnia
Ah! Possibly copepods
@@Aquarimax can i keep em for food?
@@erikpratama320 copepods make good food for many small fish...not so great for adult bettas though
Is dalphia and moina are same
How to culture this
Very similar...they culture the same way.
I went to a health food store to ask about Spirulina, but they had never heard of it... 🍃🌿
@bojo perez I wonder if there is anything you can do to tell if it's fake? Like... if it is supposed to be spiral shaped then you could look at some under a microscope to see if it's that way
Zom Bee Nature how strange! Fortunately it is also available online. 👍
bojo perez it is possible that it contains some additives that harm the daphnia...
@@Aquarimax I was very surprised, since the only thing I associate with Spirulina is a health food store. I have never actually seen it though. I am very curious, if you put Spirulina into an aquarium or pool or whatever, does it grow?
Zom Bee Nature Good question... what I understand, the dried spirulina that we buy is no longer viable.
I think i have planaria in my culture, is it okay? Or what should i di about t?
I am not sure how much of a danger planaria pose to your daphnia, to be honest. They are predatory, but I would expect daphnia to be able to outmaneuver them.
@@Aquarimax yea, ookey thank you
I have a question my does my daphnia always go to the corner of my container?
RealFurious This may have to do with light. Daphnia usually try to go towards the brightest light source.
Aquarimax Pets thank you for your help
RealFurious you’re welcome!
Why is my culture crashing? i keep it in aged water but after a day when i feed them i see a bacterial bloom on the surface and then my daphnia dies.
Tahmeed Mazumder Hmm... tell me more about the food you are using and the aeration...
I put a small group of daphnia with ghost shrimp and thr ghost shrimp attacked them savagely. I literally seen a shrimp grab one, stuff it into it's mouth and grab two in their claws. The daphnia didn't last 20min. Changed my thoughts on shrimp lol. They can be savage. Tells me shrimp with betta fry would be a bad idea too.
XiAmFAUSTX ghost shrimp are very opportunistic...I am not surprised. Scuds make a much more suitable tankmate for daphnia. 👍
will general cure kill daphnia?
I haven’t used it with daphnia. They tend to be sensitive to many chemicals though.
What's in terrium to ur left russ
Rochelle Nilson-huntley That is Tiki, one of our crested geckos
Is it okay to feed dead daphnia?
why daphnia are used in toxicological tests?
They are easy to breed and very sensitive, like the proverbial canary in the coal mine.
Very informative video. But Daphnia are not born gravid. at 20 C it takes them about 7-10 days to reach their primiparous install, at which point their eggs can be easily counted in a microscope. at this temperature, it will take the eggs about 3 days to develop. I do research on fatty acid metabolism in Daphnia and other zooplankton.
Good to know! I gu as the information I had on that point was not correct..
@@Aquarimax 90% of what you said was correct. btw, I meant primiparous instar, autocorrect changed that. for the record, it is very easy to vary the fatty acid composition of Daphnia by changing their diets. if their are fish that need a super high quality diet (i.e., high EPA content) that can be accomplished.
@@MichaelTBrett How do you incorporate those oils into the food, or is it the type of food? What is your source for the fatty acids?
What's a few millilitres can you be more precise?
K P 2 fl oz. of water per 1 tsp. Powder for the mix, and 1-2 ml per feeding.
0:38 'the continent of the United States'
🤣 I am afraid you heard me wrong. I said ‘the continental United States’. 🤣
@@Aquarimax oooooh lol
Pretty sure scuds ate all my daphnia
That can happen if the scuds don’t get enough to eat.
Though i cultured them together successfully together for years, I now culture them separately? ASI do get higher daphnia yields this way. I
Made a video about this a few months ago.
THEIR EGGS HAVE PARASITES!