Ultra Hi-Tech Algae Production

[badflash]

The basis for many live larval feeds is green water. Most folks are only interested in killing it. I need to farm it. Many fry need micro-food for the first few days of life and unless you are prepared to grow it yourself, there is little chance you have any chance of raising many species of fry.

Here is my latest, the Bio-Green 1000!


Notice the highly sophisticated Spackle bucket, hanging illumination source, and complicated water circulating system!

Yep, that is all there is to it. I use a daylight compact Fl bulb equiv of 100 watt incandescent on 24/7, a 5 gallon bucket and an in-tank Tetra whisper filter with the filter removed. Every day I remove 1/2 gallon of green water for my daphnia, and replace it with water from the tilapia tanks. That is it. I originally got a start of green water from a tank that decided to turn green on me, but I have also gotten starts from the LFS turtle tanks. That is all there is to it.

[dufflight]

Nice idea. We don't have a lot of fish able to breed by themselves. Most require a hormone injection.

[badflash]

Really? What species require that?

All the aquaculture species in North America I'm familiar with spawn on their own, at least seasonally.

[dufflight]

Golden and silver perch. Think they even give cod an injection but more to control the breeding window. I think the perch need enviromental conditions. Like throwing a bag of ice in with Koi to kick start there breeding cycle.

[davidstcldfl]

Here is my latest, the Bio-Green 1000!

" 4 easy payments of $19.99 each. If you call durring the next 15 minutes, we'll make 1 payment for you ! ".....

[badflash]

As a result of a constant supply of green water, I now have my moina (water flea) production is high gear. I have seven 3/4 gallon containers with a 1/8" hard plastic tube bubblier bubbling at a rate of about 2 bubble a second. No air stone as little bubbles get inside the moina's shell and incapacitates them at the surface.

To get started I got one culture going, then when it was going well I split it and added it to the other containers. Now I harvest one a day, saving 2 cups of culture to re-start it. Each one goes for a week. I clean the container, add the 2 cups of starter back in and top off with green water.

My next attempt is to use bran as a fertilizer for the algae. It is supposed to have nutrients essential for the moina. BTW Moina are 60% protein, so ideal to get fry off to a great start. Baby moina are smaller than baby brine shrimp, so even the smallest fry can enjoy them.

[davidstcldfl]

Wow Badflash, That sounds great. What range of water tempeture are you using, to do this ?

[badflash]

My basement is at 65F. It will likely do better as spring comes.

[jackalope]

The basis for many live larval feeds is green water. Most folks are only interested in killing it. I need to farm it. Many fry need micro-food for the first few days of life and unless you are prepared to grow it yourself, there is little chance you have any chance of raising many species of fry.

I wish you had this filamentous algae that's in the water here, and I had a feather up my nose .... we'd both be tickled! I can't get rid of this green stuff, snails can't keep up with it, when I feed it to the Tilapia, they fight over it and eat it right away, but it plugs up pumps, filters, and hoses where the fish can't get to it .... it's an annoyance!

[badflash]

I have it, but not in my tilapia systems. I culture in in some tanks for moss needed to spawn some of my smaller fish. Tilapia gobble it up too fast so it is never an issue in their tanks. In water that is deep green it can't get enough light to be a problem.