Moina - vacation

[erikthur]

May-be Singapore is not the right place to ask this question since you so readily have access to commercial available Moina but I will try it anyhow.

Is there any way to maintain your own Moina culture during a weeks vacation?

How about Moina cysts? How to produce, collect, store and hatch them?

Any experience? Any god links?

[stormhawk]

Erik,

I don't have much experience with culturing Moina and I know they pretty much die off in large numbers when left unattended. I found some links for you though:

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/FA024

Links on Daphnia, related but I suppose they are applicable to Moina:

http://www.aquaculturestore.com/info/daphnia.html

Hatching instructions for ephippium (resting eggs):

http://www.aquaculturestore.com/info/ephippium.html

A forum for people who culture their own live foods, hosted by Jim Atchison's Bug Farm:

http://www.livefoodcultures.com/bull...b9f17e24f84c3e

[erikthur]

Thanks for the links.
I guess it is time for some experiments of my own.
Moina was first sold in Europe some 25 years ago in the form of cysts.

I collected "wild cysts" last year but I never managed to hatch them.
But then I was probably not motivated enough.

[RonWill]

Is there any way to maintain your own Moina culture during a weeks vacation?

Erik,
If you have green water, it might be possible to set up a very slow drip to feed the moina culture. Of course how long the drip will last depends on the container holding the green water, without overflowing the culture

Alternatively, a piece of lettuce + snails will provide some bacterial food for the moina as well. Worth a try, I think.

How about having another fish-friend care for/back-up part of the culture?

For cysts, ephippium or resting eggs, I brought in Daphnia magna but unfortunately, nothing happened.

Have a safe and fun vacation.

[erikthur]

Of course having other hobbyists taking care of your moina or even encouraging them to start and maintain their own cultures wouldbe the best alternative.
But if their cultures fail while I am away on my 3 weeks vacation?
I am looking for an extra insurance so to speak and I think cysts might be it.
But, it seems that the knowledge of how to go about it is lost...