I don't have a microscope, so I can't take pictures of my current obsession and show you what they're like. But you should know anyway. Does the name 'water fleas' ring a bell? Those tiny crustaceans that you might have heard about during your primary school days... they that live by the millions in the eco-garden pond. For the more scientifically-inclined, the term
Daphnia might be more accurate.
I now have a few small tubefuls of those creatures, plus a bigger 2L jar full of them. They started out as the 'unwanted bits' of my triops egg packet, but since the triops all died off, they were the only thing remaining. I kept a few - you could still count them then - and they've been multiplying. They've been laying eggs; I placed some debris and decaying organic material into a fresh, Daphnia-less tube, and after a few days little white clockwork specks appeared. It's kinda fun, rearing daphnias. In the two tubes which I left covered (almost airtight), the Daphnias appear much redder than the those in the uncovered containers - they synthesise more haemoglobin in an attempt to extract more oxygen from the water, hence the red coloration in their blood. Basic biology. Cool.
6 Comments:
Have you seen the microphotos here? http://www.micrographia.com/aadirpgs/specall/specgen/spegen01.htm
I want to culture Daphnia to feed my fish!
Me too!!
Jac, when you get back, I'll get you a Brine shrimp hatchery for X'mas and then you can set up a brine shrimp farm for all my fishes (and yours).
Tried to grow bloodworms and mossie larvae in the garden. But no avail.
hey mr budak, thanks for the link. yeah why not? they're self-sustaining populations... and the fish might like them. :)
xiyunicus, i think the british climate's hardly right for mozzies. and... sea monkeys? i've never had any luck with them. they all last for just a few days.
Years and years ago when I was little, I wanted a little pond in the garden but my parents wouldn't let me so I filled a bucket up with water. Forgot about it for a while and got some red wrigglies at the bottom in some detritus and lots of mozzie larvae. I think it was during hose pipe ban.
The red wrigglies should be bloodworms (midge larva).
I try buying a starter bag of daphnia from the store and place it in a container (with some organic debris), but they never seem to last for long. Maybe some aeration is needed.
oooh it's those water babies or whatevers i used to have, i played those for a while too hah, even before and after the craze in hk..
in aust i got them from some creek, i think in the end they somehow died cos of lack of salt water or oxygen :P so i fed them to gold fish :P
Ohhh red blood worms i fed to my fish/my grandpa did as well :P
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