Lucy

I've found a recipe for making infusoria using lettuce and tank water.
Bear with me here.....could you use lettuce that was gone bad in the fridge? You know how it can get all watery and green.
Would it have the same nutritional value?

I hope I'm explaining this correctly.

agabr123

i guess it depends how bad? if its watery, some of the nutrients could have leeched out maybe?

inuyasha_lover_21

That one is tough. I would say no since there could be bad bacteria

Alessa

hmm... most of the one that has been kept in the fridge isnt reallt full of bacteria. Depending in the environment it would have been only oxidized by "good" bacteria. I think it is definately worth the try?

Drew 43920

Why risk it ?

Lucy

My thinking is, this recipe calls for lettuce in water. Wouldn't lettuce broken down be less diluted?

sirdarksol

Many of the nutrients would have been damaged by the breakdown. It probably isn't really dangerous, but it's likely less nutritious than making the stuff from fresh lettuce.

Lucy

Thanks for everyones in put.
I've got some newly hatched tadpoles and some lettuce in the fridge that I was going to toss. I think I'll add just a pinch and see if they go for it while waiting for the other to cultivate.

If anyone has anything else to add, please do.

sirdarksol

Let us know how things go.
Reading more about infusoria, you may be on to something here. It may work out well.

Butterfly

Actually Lucy when you make it your suppose to "crumble" or break the lettuce up so it will deteriorate faster. So unless it has gotten slimey I don't see why not.
Now remember me trying to grow green water(and I never could)? Thats basically what green water is infusoria soup So I bought frozen rotifers for the Ram fry. Would this work for your tadpoles?
Carol

Lucy

Maybe, I've never heard of rotifers. What is it?

Butterfly

Rotifers are the tiny microscopic critters in green water and infusoria. I couldn't grow green water so I ought frozen Rotifers.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...m?pcatid=19772
Carol

Lucy

Thanks Carol.

Butterfly

Anytime
I thaw a cube in a tiny bit of water and suck some up in a small needless syringe (meant for giving medicine) and put it down in the water and squirt just a tiny bit at the fry. Even my tiny angel fry like it. It almost looks like dust their so small.
Carol

CHoffman

Hey Lucy,
I was looking at this after I read your thread..I found this site..http://www.killitank.dk/food/Infusoria.htm
She seems to think Old lettuce is better then fresh..Is this the same kind of receipe you found?

Lucy

Great link Cesch, thanks. It's very similar.

On the 7th I put fresh lettuce in a jar of tank water on the window sill. Yesterday I added some that had gone a little mushy and the water is starting to look greenish today.

CHoffman

Awesome!!!.You've grown green water .That's way easier and cheaper then having to order. Keep me posted. If I'm ever in need of some fry food this would be a excellent way of doing it. Thanks for info Lucy.

Butterfly

Way to go Lucy!
carol

Lucy

I added some of my concoction to the tank yesyerday. Lots of teeny tiny particles floating around and at the top of the tank. It looks like the tadpoles are going for it.
They're so tiny you can't see mouths, I suppose they're eating.

CHoffman

How funny..lol..I'd love to see the little things..Hopefully their getting some of that good stuff. Good luck with this spawn. Get us posted.

Lucy

Thanks Cesch! My husband kept looking in the tank trying to see the tadpoles, but they're so teeny tight now. lol
Theirs eyes start to kind of glow after a day or so. He finally saw their eyes. lol

My camera can't capture them.
I had some pics up of slightly older tads from one of the last spawns.
If the female lays the eggs at night, they're usually gone by morning.

Butterfly

Lucy are their tummys transparent like baby fish? I use a magnifying glass to look at my tiny angelfish fry and their tummys bulge and turn orange when eating Baby brine shrimp or turn kind of brown if eating first Bites.
Carol

Lucy

How cute! Orange fishy bellys. lol

It seems like they're all eyes and tail. I'll have to get the magnifying glass out and take a look.

Butterfly

Yes and they bulge so. Of course their all belly at that age LOl It would be cool if your tadpoles were that way too
Carol

Lucy

Carol, Had you tried to grow green water using tank water and lettuce?

Butterfly

Lucy my brilliant idea was to use a small tank and grow green water in it and move the ram fry to the tank and they would have constant food.
so I set the tank up in front of a window(lots of bright indirect light) used tank water siphoned from another tank at water change time. Crumbled lettuce up in it. I also had a cycled sponge filter in it and a bubble stone for aereation. Waited a few days and nothing happened. then I added some plants that were looking bad and still no green water. Thats when I bought the frozen Rotifers and started feeding them LOL I had one survive and is starting to get lots of color I think it is a little male
what I think happened was the sponge filter was maybe using the nitrates produced by the mushy greenery to feed the beneficial bacteria residing in it.
Dino and CWC are still always laughing at me
Carol

Lucy

That is funny. How many posts do we see where members have green water and don't want it.

I just looked through the magnifying glass. Little bulgy bellys. I haven't started them on bbs yet so they weren't pink. My goodness, they have big eyes that shine like flashlights. I wish I could get a good pic of them.

I'm crossing my fingers for success this time.
Having a ready supply of green water, bbs (frozen) and them being in a cycled tank will do the trick.
Last time I had them in a Kritter Keeper with an airstone.

Butterfly

I bet their little bulgy bellys are cute I'm sure they will do much better this time.
The next time I try green water i will leave the sponge filter out and see what happens
Carol

Lucy

I put lettuce....both fresh and not so fresh in a jar on sealed the top with plastic wrap and a rubber band.
The articles I read never said what kind of lettuce. I used a mixture of Romaine (fresh) and iceberg (not so fresh)

I'm sure you'll have better luck next time.