javalee

Hi all,

I posted "powerhead stirring up mulm in 29g" and am having some cloudy water issues that may be green water, but not sure yet. But since I have so many wonderful species of invertebrates in this tank, I was wondering about how you can get daphnia.

I live in Louisiana, and my family has ponds. I'm disabled and can't go collecting, but can you see and identify these guys with your naked eye? Think someone could get some from some pond water? I have a cousin who keeps natural tanks and has a pond and would be interested too?

My tank is really thick with plants, but would they survive all my fish, tetras, angel, guppies, barbs, and ram?

If ordering a culture is my best option, i'd like info on that too.

Thanks,
Javalee

mistergreen

No, the fishes will eat them up faster than you can say "daphnia".
try aquabid.com . You'll find lots of options up there.
You're lucky, I happen to have a link on culturing daphnia..
http://fins.actwin.com/killietalk/mo.../msg00217.html

you can also leave an a tub of aquarium water outside until you get green water and then throw in the daphnia. You just have to worry about mosquitoes.

sb483

Dallas Discus has one of the lowest prices if you choose to order by mail.

Muirner

Javalee - I had green water in my 55 NPT when i set it up. It took about a week or two for it all to clear but i did it with fast growers. I used Cabomba aquatica mostly because i like how it looked but Bylaxia did real well for me too. In no time my green water started to clear. Now as far as i can tell it's gone.

javalee

Thanks everyone for the responses. I guess I can't have my own colony of Daphnia as they would just be a healthy snack for the inhabitants. Too bad. I like invertebrates and odd critters. Thought it would be a nice solution with a fun side to it.

Muirner, I think you're right. In fact today, it doesn't look as thick as it did yesterday. I had some house plants floating in there and took them out along with a lot of the water lettuce, salvinia, and duckweed, trying to get more nutrients and light to the rooted plants, and that's when I noticed a greenish hue to the water, not pea soup yet, just a bit cloudy.

However, the floaters are mighty healthy and making a comeback already. I'll just let them continue to cover the surface and thrive. That might do it. With the water lettuce roots hanging and the intense light in there, all that green is actually kind of pretty. Just want my poor stem plants and tiger lotus to get some light too!

Thanks everyone.
Javalee

Valley

OK I've never tried this since I've never had green water but I've heard that you can take a fresh willow branch and stick it in the water with the top in the air. Leave it for 3 days (no more or apparently is starts to rot) and it's supposed to suck up all the stuff green water is living on. Like I said I've never tried it but it from a gardeners (dry garden) point of view it makes sense. As a side note it should also help with any plants still trying to develop roots. Good luck with the green water. I hear it can be a real bear.

dirtmonkey

Most kinds of willow will root and live a long time in water. I've taken cuttings (meant for the garden) and never got around to taking them back out for months- they just keep growing more roots and leaves. I haven't tried leaving them in water in the winter dormant season though. Right now would be a perfect time to get those cuttings in most of the US.

aquabillpers

I've purchased daphnia and worm cultures from http://www.lfscultures.com/ on several occasions and I have been quite satisfied. I am about to order from them again.

I did purchase one daphnia culture from Dallas Discus last year, because the price was quite low. I was disappointed. I ordered Daphnia pulex and received a culture with it, (probably) D. Moina, and other organisms, including one that was long, thin, and fast . That culture never did well. I tossed it after four months.The vendor did not respond to two emails.

I've also had good experiences with Aquabid, although I think their vendor rating system is unreliable.

Bill

Jimbo205

I would love to hear more about Daphnia. I am currently hatching brine shrimp eggs (nauplii) for my baby Endler Fry. But I would also love to learn more about Daphnia.

If the Daphnia would eat my algae and then my fish eat the Daphnia, well that would be perfect!

I would love to hear from someone that has done this!

mistergreen

You wouldn't want to raise daphia in the same tank as fish... You'd have to raise them separately.
The fish would eat the daphnia faster than you can say daphni*