water fleas? good/bad?

[ReeferKimberly]

i just bought some whole water fleas for my discus. they are called "tetra natures delica whole water fleas". they come in these individual packs and in this gel stuff they call "nutrient rich gel". does anyone feed this...and is it good for growth?
thankz,
~kim~

[Debo]

I tried these also, none of my fish liked them. They would pick it up and spit it out.
Deb

[ReeferKimberly]

i have a bare bottom tank so i put some in. it floates to the bottom quickly but w/in a half hour of me putting it in, it was gone. either my discus ate it (i wasn't watching the whole time, its like water. it won't boil if u watch it) or my swordtails did. so, i'll put some more in later on, at least i know someone will eat it and it wont just rot. i put kind of a lot in and its spotless again so i guess someone thinks it tastes good :)

[farm41]

Are you talking about daphnia, fish love 'em. Get a culture going and feed them live. I raised them in a 55g on the front porch last summer, and the fish loved 'em. They don't foul the water either.

[Francisco_Borrero]

I just noticed you mentioned a swordtail in the tank.

While discus and swordtails can live together, the water parameters in which each will thrive are almosty opposite. Hard water and higher than neutral pH for swordtails, soft water and lower than neutral for discus. But your water may just be about midway.

Just something to think about. Cheers, Francisco.

[ReeferKimberly]

yes, i know bad me. ::) the swordtails are actually doing well. they were leftovers and had to go somewhere. i like the fact that they keep producing for me. the discus enjoy the fry as an occasional treat :)
i think i like the idea of a daphnia culture, i'll go look it up
thankz guys,
~kim~

[farm41]

ham,

The Live Foods Mailing List (http://fins.actwin.com/live-foods/) has more info on daphnia than you will ever want to know.

[arpanlib]

hi,
i used this gel food and it doesnot work out for my discus, infact the other fish love this food.

arpanlib

[RAWesolowski]

A side benefit to live daphnia is that they will clean any green water in your tank if they survive the fish! Had a green water explosion and added daphnia to a grow out tank. In the morning, the water was clear and the kids looked like they had to loosen their belts!