Green Water from Spirulina – How to?

[raven_wilde]

I keep seeing people mention that they use Spirulina powder as a first food for fry but I am a little confused…

Does this mean that all I need to do is mix the Spirulina powder with water and I am good to go?

Or should I mix it and let it ‘cure’ in a sunlit jar much as I would when making green water with lettuce?

Also, should I use aged tank water?

Thank you

[BallAquatics]

I’ve always just mixed it with a bit of tank water and then strait into the tank. I don’t like it as well as real green water because it will eventually precipitate out of the water column, but when you don’t have any green water…..

Dennis

[raven_wilde]

so the fry eat the spirulina itself rather than the tiny micro-organisms within green water?

[BallAquatics]

Yes they eat the spirulina. You can even mix in some yeast if you want. I’ve used a yeast/powered spirulina recipe for feeding daphnia many times. Actually, I think we are talking about two different things here.

When I talk of green water, I’m talking of what is often referred to as a green water algae bloom. The single cell algae number enough to tint the water green.

When I talk of tiny micro-organisms, I’m thinking of infusoria. I guess it’s a bit confusing. There may be a few infusoria in a green water cluture, but there is seldom green water in an infusoria culture.

I use Mike Hellweg’s book, “Culturing Live Foods”, for all my culture recipes.

http://www.amazon.com/Culturing-Live-Foods-Step—Step/dp/0793806550/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1328739729&sr=8-1

Dennis

[raven_wilde]

Yes… it looks like I have gotten the two mixed up. But, just to be absolutely certain… I’m going to go ahead and ask this probably stupid question:

The fry will also eat infusoria correct?

I’ve got a jar of tank water and mashed broccoli stems curing in the windowsill as we speak. Want to be all ready for babies!

[BallAquatics]

That’s a very good question. They will eat what they can. By that I mean they will eat everything that is small enough to get into their mouths. As they get larger, they will be able to eat the larger critters. If you are using moss for a spawning medium, they will graze on the wealth of micro-fauna that grows there as well.

Best of luck with your breeding projects!

Dennis

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