Daphnia culture alongside betta?

Hey everyone,

I have a single wild betta in a Fluval Spec V. The tank is heavily planted, and I'm running without a filter (Duckweed FTW!). I'm wondering if I have a decent chance at maintaining a live culture of Daphnia within the tank. Do you all think the betta could hunt them down and eat them faster than they can reproduce?

If that doesn't work, I'm considering converting the built-in filter sump to a daphnia refugium. Has anyone tried that? Would a 1 gallon refugium work?

I would keep it in a separate tank, but it's sitting on my desk at work and I'm limited to just the one.

 

Hey everyone,

I have a single wild betta in a Fluval Spec V. The tank is heavily planted, and I'm running without a filter (Duckweed FTW!). I'm wondering if I have a decent chance at maintaining a live culture of Daphnia within the tank. Do you all think the betta could hunt them down and eat them faster than they can reproduce?

If that doesn't work, I'm considering converting the built-in filter sump to a daphnia refugium. Has anyone tried that? Would a 1 gallon refugium work?

I would keep it in a separate tank, but it's sitting on my desk at work and I'm limited to just the one.

I prefer keeping them separetly and feeding the fish whenever necessary as the betta will eat it up before they reproduce to a big extent

 

Your betta would gorge itself before the daphnias are able to reproduce. I have a small 2 gallon critter keeper for culturing daphnias and it works very well. I do have a spare daphnia culture just in case the first one crashes.

 

Plus you would likely pollute the betta tank trying to feed the daphnia. Co-culturing can work short term but not in the long run.

 

The daphnia will eventually die off. I have over 450 gallons of daphnia in my basement. You need at least 10 gallons to successfully keep daphnia reproducing. Plus, the yeast you would need to feed them would foul the water quickly

 

The daphnia will eventually die off. I have over 450 gallons of daphnia in my basement. You need at least 10 gallons to successfully keep daphnia reproducing. Plus, the yeast you would need to feed them would foul the water quickly

The daphnia will eventually die off. I have over 450 gallons of daphnia in my basement. You need at least 10 gallons to successfully keep daphnia reproducing. Plus, the yeast you would need to feed them would foul the water quickly

How you set up 450 gallon daphnia?
Only daphnia, Dechlorinate water, sponge filter and yeast?
Thank you.

 

I have about 450 gallons worth of daphnia. I sell them to LFS
The main containers I use are 32 gallon brute Rubbermaid garbage bins (the ones saltwater people use to mix their water change water).
I only use an airline without airstone.
You can use your old aquarium water to do water changes on your daphnia culture
Maintenance is key. I haven't had a crash in years after I started treating daphnia just like any other aqautic creature (pristine water + food). Syphoning the bottom is essential to remove uneaten food and dead daphnia.
My basement is full of tanks and containers lol