Daphnia is a superb live food for killifish and not difficult to culture.  Daphnia drops live napauli as well as egg cysts as can be seen in the photo to the left..

     Many techniques are used by hobbyists, all have some basic similarities.  Most people use yeast as the primary food, but infusoria is also excellent if you culture it.  The trick is not to overfeed the Daphnia.  If you choose yeast, simply add a small amount of the granules into warm water until it becomes milky.  Pour a small amount of this mixture to whatever container you use (see below).  Feed only when the water in the container is clear again.  Chances are good you will see a large bloom of Daphnia within a few days.

Snails are an important part of maintaining the culture.  They consume the dead Daphnia and produce wastes which allow for infusoria to grow.

     It is very important to harvest Daphnia on a very regular basis or the culture might crash. 

30-gallon Daphnia tubs

CONTAINERS:  I use 30-gallon plastic rubbermaid tubs – mostly green or blue.  I start them out with water I have siphoned when cleaning my fish tanks and then add snails to the tub.  After a few days I add a starter culture of the Daphnia – taken from an active tub. 

    Harvesting the Daphnia is as simple as using a fine mesh net and swirling it in the tank lightly and then adding what is in the net into a small feeding container of fresh water.  Feeding the Daphnia to the fish is as simple as using a turkey baster to squirt the food into the tanks.  I often add other foods such as frozen brine shrimp to the same feeding container.  White and other forms of worms can also be used the same way.

(more to come)