Live Foods

[bvega789]

I know pods come over time and you can add them as well but what other live foods can be added and actually survive in the tank????

Brine shrimp
Black worms
Daphnia

what else?
I know none of those i mention belong in marine water so thats why im asking what can live like pods do as a natural food source???

 

[ichthyogeek]

Depends on what you have in your tank.

Brine shrimp can survive in saltwater, and even reproduce. The problem is that they're weak swimmers and filter feeders, which is the exact opposite of what most people keep their reef tanks at.

White worms are reported to stay alive for around 24 hours in saltwater. I'm skeptical about this.

Amphipods/Scuds of the saltwater variety can be useful feeder foods for benthic grazers like angelfish or wrasse. They tend to reproduce well in the reef tank.

Mysis shrimp are another well known live food. They may survive, they may not.

 

[bvega789]

Where can you find live mysis?

and white worms i heard were the closest thing but arent they more of a snack than meal

 

[bvega789]

Brine i will try

 

[bvega789]

I used it before but seems like they dont last two hours

 

[ichthyogeek]

Whiteworms can be a meal if given in large enough quantities...although how healthy they are as a single meal is unknown.

For buying live mysis, you just have to google search where to buy live mysis, there's at least 3-4 suppliers right now.

I'm unsure how you kept your brine shrimp, but they should last for more than 2 hours in a saltwater tank. Maybe they just all disappeared into a filter sock?

Another live food item would be live clams (quarantined). A good food for puffers and triggers.

 

[bvega789]

Whiteworms can be a meal if given in large enough quantities...although how healthy they are as a single meal is unknown.

For buying live mysis, you just have to google search where to buy live mysis, there's at least 3-4 suppliers right now.

I'm unsure how you kept your brine shrimp, but they should last for more than 2 hours in a saltwater tank. Maybe they just all disappeared into a filter sock?

Another live food item would be live clams (quarantined). A good food for puffers and triggers.

I dont use filter socks i like to let the uneaten go to my friends in my sump

pods shrimp and crabs

 

[bvega789]

I dont use filter socks i like to let the uneaten go to my friends in my sump

pods shrimp and crabs

I but brine from algebarn

 

[bvega789]

Also another question anybody here have theyre own culture farms for live foods if so which ones and hows it going?

 

[homegrowncichlid]

If your doing the slow release container for your adult shrimps, you can DIY using an upside down clear plastic box (the one that comes with mixed nuts, peanuts, or even some sauces at the supermarket. Use a magnet to hold it against the glass. Now use a screen on the bottom opening, rubber band it in place. The screen needs to have a single little hole in it for the shrimps to swim though. Try panty hose or something similar. This mesh will allow oxygen and waste diffusion.
With the lights on, the shrimps should be on the top half, and when off, they will be evenly distributed. A water current below the box will pull them out of the container though the little hole.
Brine shrimp can live their entire lives in sea water and reproduce, which is way longer then your 2 hour observation.
there is also a simple in tank hatchery available online. air powered.

Do I do this? no, hatching shrimps cause lots and lots of wastes. I hatch them out in 2 L soda bottles, and dump the water out when finished.

 

[bvega789]

If your doing the slow release container for your adult shrimps, you can DIY using an upside down clear plastic box (the one that comes with mixed nuts, peanuts, or even some sauces at the supermarket. Use a magnet to hold it against the glass. Now use a screen on the bottom opening, rubber band it in place. The screen needs to have a single little hole in it for the shrimps to swim though. Try panty hose or something similar. This mesh will allow oxygen and waste diffusion.
With the lights on, the shrimps should be on the top half, and when off, they will be evenly distributed. A water current below the box will pull them out of the container though the little hole.
Brine shrimp can live their entire lives in sea water and reproduce, which is way longer then your 2 hour observation.
there is also a simple in tank hatchery available online. air powered.

Do I do this? no, hatching shrimps cause lots and lots of wastes. I hatch them out in 2 L soda bottles, and dump the water out when finished.

So would i be able to cultivate both a pods and brine shrimp farm in one 10 gallon tank together ? Or one would eat the other

 

[homegrowncichlid]

They conflict, you can set up either one, or both, but not together. If you're trying to mass produce live food, go with hatching brine shrimp out in 2 L soda bottles, then use them the next day before they use up their egg yokes.