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FAQs on Daphnia & Feeding 

Related Articles: Feeding Reef Invertebrates, Culturing Food Organisms, Foods/Feeding/Nutrition, Brine Shrimp

Related FAQs: Foods/Feeding/Nutrition, Foods/Feeding/Nutrition 2, Coral FeedingAlgae as Food, VitaminsFrozen Foods, Culturing Food Organisms

 

Daphnia in Crawdad Tank  10/10/13
Hi! My son has a tank with apricot Charax' crawdads and he had a sudden explosion of daphnia. I know some owners feed them to fish but there are no fish in this tank and my son is concerned they will be detrimental to his crawdads well being. Should he worry?
<No; not a worry. He is fortunate to have such an experience, and a conscientious father>
 If so, how can we be rid of them without harming the crawdads?
<Best to simply net out excess; but they will "pass" on their own in time>
Thanks for your time!!! Brad Hunt
<Cheers, Bob Fenner>
Re: Daphnia in Crawdad Tank  10/10/13
Thanks for the info, Bob! You are very kind to get back to us so quickly.
My son is relieved. Again, THANK YOU!!! Brad Hunt
<Ah, glad to be of assistance to you both. BobF>

Angelfish and daphnia     10/10/12
Hello:
<Judy>
I got some frozen daphnia for two adult angelfish. I think that stuff is more for baby fish. I thawed it and put some in with the angelfish. It spread out and looked like it was snowing in the tank. The angels ignored it. Do larger angels eat that, or is it more for baby fish? Thank you!!
<Yeah, adult angels will look at daphnia and then look at you obviously thinking "You're kidding, right?" Smaller fish like guppies and neons, as well as fry love daphnia, but angels will have to work very hard to get a full belly.. Blood worms, glassworms (mosquito larvae), Mysis shrimp, beef heart, and even plankton are much better sized.>
Judy
<Rick>

Daphnia, Freshwater Pipefishes, and miracles      6/15/12
Hello Neale and all the good people at WetWebMedia,
<Ben,>
I wish to report to you about the progress of my freshwater Pipefishes.
Months ago I almost traded them with Spiny Eels, but I changed my mind and keep the Pipefishes (and bought Spiny Eels, so I have both). I get a larger aquarium and fill it with silica sand. Now both Spiny Eels and Pipefishes swims happily in my aquarium.
<Cool.>
After months of having the Pipefishes living in my aquarium, and eating mosquito larva+live worms, several days ago I saw one of my pipefish ate frozen Mysis shrimp (meant to be for the Eels). That was a small miracle I think. I believe the current from my twin filters (I have two filters in my aquarium) fooled the pipefish to think that the frozen shrimp were alive (it "moves"), so they ate some. Is this just an one-hit wonder/miracle, or is it really possible to train them to eat frozen shrimp?
<Yes. If you look back over the older (marine aquarium) literature on Seahorses and Pipefish, you'll see this was standard practise, or at least, the standard goal. It was never easily done, but one of my Seahorses switched to frozen Mysis shrimps and lived for many years (while the other didn't, and only lived a few months).>
There haven't been any observable reoccurrence so far.
<Oh.>
Also, I finally found a reliable supply of Daphnia water bugs (picture included). The seller said they are good food for the pipefish.
<Yes.>
What are your thoughts about these water bugs? Are Daphnia good for pipefish?
<Yes.>
Will the Spiny Eels eat them too?
<Possibly.>
It's surely more convenient to me to buy these bugs weekly rather than hunting mosquito larvae.
<I bet.>
Well, thank you for your time, and wishing you a happy weekend!
Best Regards,
Ben
<Daphnia are generally safe because they're cultured away from fish, so aren't likely to carry infections. They're also clean water animals, so tend not to be exposed to dirt in the same way as, say, Tubifex. Definitely worth persisting with. Cheers, Neale.>

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