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| SCUDS & MOINA COCULTURE Indoor |
| Item #1568277438 |
Current Auction Time: Sat May 18 03:14:48 2024
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Final: | $18.00 | First Bid | $18.00 | ||
| Time left | 00:00 | # of Bids | 1 (bid history) | |||
| Started | Aug 29 2019 - 03:37:18 AM | Location | Veneta OR 87982 United States | |||
| Ended | Sep 12 2019 - 03:37:18 AM Auction Closed |
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| Seller | Food (356/360)  |
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| (View seller's feedback) (view seller's current auctions) (ask seller a question) | ||||||
| High Bidder | Stinkyfisherman (2/2) | |||||
| Payment | See Item Description, PayPal | |||||
| Shipping | Will Ship to United States Only Buyer Pays Fixed Amount, See Item Description | |||||
Seller assumes all responsibility for listing this item. You should contact the seller to resolve any questions before bidding. Currency is U.S. dollars (US$) unless otherwise noted. |
Cost: $17(culture) + $8(shipping/USPS priority)= $25 total.
Make payment with Paypal using: ryanthehut@gmail.com
I can't combine orders as this fills the package.
Auction:
Moina & 50 scuds from a co-culture kept in the garage. The culture is unheated except for winter where it's kept at a minimum of 60 degrees. The culture is lit by a single fluorescent daylight spectrum(6500 kelvin) bulb.
What is a coculture:
A coculture is no more difficult and in many aspects makes the culturing of moina/daphnia easier. Most cultures you see are cocultured with snails, but other things are just as effective, such as scuds. How? Daphnia/moina are a filter feeder, so organic matter not at a microscopic scale and suspended in the water column, is unavailable to them. By ripping apart & consuming solid organic matter, they release nutrients for the daphnia to consume, and their excrament is rich in bacteria(food to daphnia). They also help by keeping the culture more consistent.
What is a scud?:
They are shrimp about the size of a large grain of rice. They are extremely easy to culture - much easier than daphnia/moina. Daphnia are popular because they are so interesting, but if I had to choose one aquatic organism to culture, it would deffintely be scuds. There are many reasons: their cultures are always harvestable, a culture is nearly impossible to kill off, one large scuds is enough to feed most aquarium fish, you can add hundreds into a fish tank to feed for weeks, etc.
FYI: A common concern about scuds is they eat aquarium plants. That isn't accurate as scuds eat soft and decaying organic matter. Plants are something you want to keep with scuds as it gives them surfaces to cling to.
There are no special tricks with a coculture. Add a slice of cucumber, the scuds will rip through it releasing nutrients for the daphnia, and their excrement is rich in bacteria - both great sources of daphnia/moina food. If you aim for more scuds provide more surfaces to cling to and feed more often, and to increase daphnia/moina numbers reduce the surfaces scuds have available to cling to.
Tip: For a very efficient/effective setup, set up your scuds and daphnia/moina in their own cultures. Scud culture water will turn green with suspended algea. That 'green water' is ideal food for your daphnia. Every few days add water from the scud tank into the daphnia tank to feed them. Also, there is no need to ever do water changes on a daphnia culture, something they are sensitive to, because the water from the scud culture is ideal. It's a simple system: feed cucumbers into the scud cultures, add the scud water to the daphnia culture - the result is enormous scud & daphnia harvests.
Keep some of what I send as a backup:
Scuds are very hardy and little needs to be said about them - just remove them from what I send and add to your tank. However, daphnia are well known for being sensitive when being transitioned to a new water source, but you can eliminate this risk by saving most of the water I send you.
If you remove most of the daphnia, and all the scuds, you can keep the water/culture I send as a daphnia/moina mini-culture for an extended time. Culturing in something as small as a soda bottle is as easy as something much larger - its just smaller proportions. Being I send a large amount of culture water keep most of it as your backup. Then, if your cultures fail to start, you still have what I sent you for a starter of moina/daphnia.
When you recieve the bottle gently pour it into a more usable container(a glass jar with wide lid works great), fill a couple tiny cups with the culture water, net out most the daphnia/moina and all the scuds, place into the cups, and then transition to their awaiting tanks. The culture water that is left over, about 1.5-liters, along with a dozen moina/daphnia, is then placed under fluorescent light at 6500 Kelvin(daylight spectrum). It will grow quickly. Then, if your primary cultures fail to start, you still have your mini culture to pick daphnia/moina starts from.
I fed it prior to shipping so it will be happy for two weeks. If you need to keep the culture going longer add a few drops of aquarium mulm, or add aquarium water(a great source of flora & fauna) every couple of days.
How to start a culture:
Scuds are very easy to get started but daphnia can be a bit a bit tricky. To ensure a successful startup with daphnia I recommend you start a couple small cultures. Yes, get your large primary culture ready, but for best results, start a number of small cultures. Culturing daphnia/moina in small containers just as easily as something large so start several. My favorite container to start daphnia cultures are 1-gallon milk jugs with the top cut off. Start each with water from different sources(aquariums), place in different locations both in & outdoor, and feed each differently. If your primary doesn't take one of the mini-cultures should.
The key to a successful startup is raising the level of organic matter. Daphnia like an organic rich enviroment. The more organic matter, with the addition of light, generates the growth of naturally occuring flora & fauna that aid in feeding your daphnia, and aids in keeping a balanced biome/cycle. To build up organic matter in a new culture use mulm from a fish tank. What is mulm? It's the debris you vacuum from the bottom of a fish tank. A fish tank with fish, snails, plants, etc, will provide a well rounded organic rich mulm. Fruits & vegetables are also helpful, such as cucumber, banana peel, melon, grapes, etc.
Week 1:
Any container works from soda bottles to pond liners. Lets assume 10 gallon for proportions.
Place under flourescent light(6,500 Kelvin) or where it receives filtered sunlight.
Add water. Aquarium water is ideal. If using tap water allow an extra week or two for cycling.
Lightly coat the bottom with aquarium mulm(3 to 6 shot glasses).
Add 1/4 slice of fresh banana peel & thin slice of cucumber.
Gravel, driftwood, aeration, are helpful but not required. A water only culture works fine.
Week 2:
Add 1 to 3 shot glasses of aquarium mulm.
Add 1/8 slice of banana peel & very thin slice of cucumber.
Week 3 - 4:
A few days before adding daphnia add a shot glass of aquarium mulm.
Add 2 to 3 daphnia per gallon. Don't add more as that stresses the cycling biome.
Feeding:
Outdoor: So much debris naturally falls into a culture there is little need to feed it. For a boost I throw in a banana peel each month.
Indoor: Each week I add a slice of cucumber/grape/tomato/etc, and every couple weeks a 1/4 slice of banana peel.
One of the most common questions I receive is why I prefer using banana peel & cucumber over something like yeast? I like them because they release some of their nutrients directly into the water for an instant feeding, and as they decay bacteria is released for the daphnia to consume. A banana peel will decay slowly over several months - acting like a time release food capsule. When some people make feeding daphnia sound like a science keep in mind green water isn't all that different than a cucumber slice.
Maintenance:
There is little need to clean or change water as the gradual buildup of organic matter is beneficial - that decaying matter encourages the growth of flora & fauna. Nitrates are kept at bay because the biome also grows. I lightly vacuum the bottom of a culture every month or two, and water changes usually come from replacing water I've dipped out when harvesting. Replace culture water with aquarium water.
Scuds:
If I were to select only one aquatic culture to keep it would be scuds. They are impossible to kill and always productive. They are larger and meatier than daphnia. I can release enough scuds into my aquariums to feed them for weeks at a time. The only tips I have is feed them soft fruits & vegetables, and give surfaces to cling to, such as plants(especially duck weed), driftwood, etc.
GUARANTEE:
If DOA I will send a replacement at no cost. Please don't file any claim as that usually adds additional steps for us both - just let me know and I will send another without a guilt trip.
FYI: During shipping, distance isn't a risk factor, neither is temperature - what will kill the culture is sunlight. It's critical the box not be left in your mailbox or sitting at your door. Alert your mail carrier you have a perishable package coming and ask for them to deliver it to your door. Watch for the mail carrier as it may still be placed in the mailbox. I will send a tracking number so you know when to expect it.
WHITE WORM MAN:
Visit both my Facebook page and YouTube channel for a variety of culturing information. No culturing information comes with package.
Facebook page and YouTube channel links, or search White Worm Man:
YouTube Channel: White Worm Man
Facebook Page: White Worm Man
Bid History:
Bidders Bid Time Bid Comments Stinkyfisherman (2/2) Sep 9 2019 - 09:34:17 AM $18.00 BUY IT NOW
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