Wild daphnia .. how to sterilize ?

[ping]

Hi,

I am curious about feeding with wild-daphnia (caught from lake, river, etc).

How to sterilize them ?
Anyone feed their discus with wild-daphnia ?
Is it safe for discus ?

Thanks in advance.

Regards,
Ronny

[jeep]

I remember reading a long time ago where dahpnia is great food for discus, and I know they love them. The bad thing is that there is a high risk for introducing parasites such as tapeworm.

I don't know about in Australia, but here in the States I've seen home grown daphnia cultures for sale. Sounds a lot safer that the wild variety.

Brian

[ping]

Hi Brian,

Thanks for your reply. Daphnia has carotene which is good for discus. I used to feed them with Hikari Daphnia but i cant get it in Australia anymore. I think that it must have been banned by government.

I am worrying about the parasites as well. We dont have live daphnia for sale in Australia. :(

I read in the discus book to use Oxytetracyline (antibiotics) to sterilize them, but i am not sure how safe to feed discus with it.

Regards,
Ronny

[jeep]

Ronny,

I have no idea if you could sterilize the daphnia in a way that would rid them of parasites and keep them alive at the same time.

Too bad though. I use to feed them to my discus a long time ago when I had no idea the food I was feeding could be bad for my fish.

I know there are freeze dried daphnia for sale but I have no idea if it loses any nutritional value. I buy it freeze dried and mix it in my beef heart.

Brian

[ping]

Hi Brian,

I am thinking to freeze them. My cousin used to feed his koi with wild-daphnia. He used to catch 3 to 4 buckets of wild daphnia and freeze them. I have never heard any problems with his koi. He did not sterilize them, just washed them with water few times.

It might be a bad idea to feed with wild-daphnia, it's just a though that it would be great if possible. :)

Thanks again.

Regards,
Ronny

[jeep]

I'm not positive, but I believe tapeworm eggs can survive the freezing process of a normal home freezer. Not cold enough. That is, if I was correct about them being infected in the first place.

LOL... I was only 10 when I read that information :)

Brian