11 Infusoria (microscopic aquatic protozoans)
Description
This article is from the Aquaria: Food FAQ, by Oleg Kiselev, Don Wilson, and Steve Bartling.
11 Infusoria (microscopic aquatic protozoans)
Uses:
Feeding of newly hatched fry.
Culturing:
Starting with a culture of green or pond water, add plant
material such as lettuce, alfalfa pellets, etc. to your culture
container. Good results have been found with boiled vegetation,
which appears to break down more quickly. When the plant
material begins to decay, bacteria will initially appear, then
the protozoa will quickly increase in number as they feed on
the bacteria. Note that new cultures may contain largely
bacteria, not infusoria. If the infusoria culture is vigorously
aerated, odour will be minimized. If the aquarist intends to
maintain the culture over an extended period, every 3 - 4 days
one must siphon out the "expired" organic material which
settles to the bottom and discard it, then replace it with new
culture media. Optimum culture size depends on how much
infusoria is needed. One of us (DW) uses a spare 15 gallon
tank, which can produce prodigious amounts of infusoria.
An effective means of concentrating the culture before use is
to turn off the aerator, then place a small spot lamp beside
the culture container and let the culture settle. Within 15
minutes, the infusoria will begin to form shimmering clouds
around the light or they may form a distinct whitish layer in
the water, often just below the surface. One may be able to see
minuscule silvery bits of "dust", moving distinctly and
purposefully through the water. The infusoria concentrations
may then be selectively siphoned out and added to the fry
tank..
Sources:
Old tank water (especially out of the filter), friends, mail
order
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