Daphnia: the habitat. Where do daphnia live? Is it possible to breed daphnia at home?

Many of us are happy to observe the disorderly movement of fish in the aquarium. This sight calms and relaxes, but only a few know how troublesome it really is to keep the house of such beauty.

Fish food

For many decades, lovers of domestic fish use daphnia as a food for their aquarium pets. Even in Soviet times these small crustaceans were caught by aquarists in natural reservoirs. It is clear that they should have known exactly where daphnia dwells. Then the crayfish were used not only in a live form, but also frozen and dried. Of course, it is quite difficult to keep a large number of them at home, which is why many people try to freeze daphnia during its mass reproduction in nature. If we talk about the nutritional value of frozen food, then it is practically in no way inferior to live crustaceans. Currently, in pet stores, you can easily purchase frozen daphnia, so this self-procuring becomes a relic of the past.

The structure of daphnia

I would like to say a few words about how these branchy crabs are structured, which we call daphnia. Their body is quite strongly compressed laterally, the latter covered with a two-folded chitinous shell.

Usually daphnia have two eyes that are located on the head, but sometimes mature individuals are distinguished by the presence of one complex eye, next to which there may be an additional small eye. On a small head size there are also two pairs of antennas. The rear (second) pair is additionally equipped with bristles and has large dimensions. It is due to the stroking of these antennas during the movement of daphnia make a kind of jump. Therefore, in the people they are also called "water fleas".

Reproduction of crustaceans

If you look at the process of reproduction of these tiny crustaceans from a human point of view, then it is very unusual. Females of this kind have a so-called brood chamber, which is securely protected by the edge of the shell and located on the back. When favorable conditions are created around, the female lays 50-100 unfertilized eggs in this cavity, where they develop. It is curious that of these eggs only females exit safely from the camera. Within a few days the process repeats itself, and the young, grown up and matured females will be connected to this rapid process of reproduction. That's why in the summer, where daphnia lives, the water seems reddish. The pond just teems with this plankton. When the end of summer comes, the temperature of air and water drops, males appear that fertilize females, giving eggs with a denser shell. These fertilized eggs are called etippies. Their distinctive feature is the ability to withstand winter frosts and drying up of water bodies, and they can be carried with dust. With the onset of spring and heat, females hatch from them, and the life cycle repeats itself.

Habitat

After we learned what daphnia is, the habitat of these representatives of the plankton genus should also become known to us, because surely many of those who read this article are fans of domestic fish and want to own such information. So, you can meet these tiny crustaceans in stagnant water bodies, for example, lakes, ponds, as well as pits with water, ditches and even puddles. Often, for self-procurement of daphnia, the places of their mass accumulation are excellent. Identify such a place can be quite easy: wherever daphnia lives, water often has a gray-green or reddish tinge. Food for them are infusoria, bacteria, plant plankton.

Such different daphnia

If you want to catch daphnids alone, you need to consider how sensitive they are to lighting. In bright light, the crustaceans will try to go deep. There are different types of daphnia. The most common in the middle zone is the crustacean of daphnia magna. The female reaches a length of 6 mm, but the male - only 2 mm. They usually live for 110-150 days and in one clutch bring up to 80 eggs, which grow for 4-14 days. The smallest crustaceans reach only 1.5 mm in size and ripen during the day, but litters are there every 1-2 days up to 53 eggs.

What are they good for fish?

Why do fans of aquarium fish try to feed them with daphnia? Everything is very simple. Regardless of whether fresh-frozen or freshly-caught, freshly-frozen in their stomach is usually full of plant foods, and this is so useful for aquarium fish that are devoid of natural diets. That's why daphnia in the aquarium must be. Despite the fact that the shell of daphnia is not digested, it serves as an excellent ballast substance. Thanks to him the activation of the intestine of the fish takes place, which does not have the ability to fully move in the aquarium. For not yet grown up aquarium fish, the representatives of the smallest daphnia - moyna, which was given the name of the "vivipar" - are ideally suited.

If you are planning to catch the crustaceans independently, it is necessary to take into account that, where daphnia dwells, the population of the crustaceans is consistently changing. For catching a cloth net is used, the cells of which must correspond to the desired catch. Some experienced "fishermen" are advised to catch a net with very small cells, and only then sort the feed by size through a sieve with different cells. Fishing can be done starting from spring and until the ice sheet appears on the pond. Choose for such an event is usually sheltered from the wind in a quiet weather in the morning or evening. Ideally, if the lighting is not bright. Then daphnia, the habitat for which in this way will be favorable, will rise to the upper layers.

Tips experienced

Remember that crustaceans do not tolerate too much density, so when transporting daphnia after catching, keep this in mind. They can also perish if there is a sudden change in temperature. This may concern the process of their sorting and washing, as well as the feeding of fish. It is very important to take note of the owners of aquariums that it is dangerous to feed their pets to unwashed crustaceans. This can lead to the fact that you will introduce parasites or infection into your home body.

Daphnia breeding

Breeding daphnia in the home - a fairly simple exercise, but requiring care and patience. For this, baker's yeast is usually used as food. Orientation is necessary for the color of the water in the tank, where you breed crustaceans. The water should be greenish or light brown. If you notice that its color becomes saturated, then in this case it is necessary to suspend yeast for 1-2 days. Very soon the water should brighten again.

If the breeding of daphnia seems to you a very pleasant and interesting occupation, be very careful and make sure that other inhabitants of the reservoirs do not enter the vessel along with the crustaceans, especially the cyclops. Get a magnifying glass and every day look at the brood chambers of females. If they contain few eggs, then it is necessary to strengthen nutrition. Daphnia, whose habitat at home is an aquarium or a temporary vessel with water, can also eat dried leaves of nettle or salad. Preliminarily they are ground into a powder and then filtered through gauze.

There is another simple way to breed daphnia at home. For this painstaking session, you will need a plastic or enamel bath, which you need to fill halfway with water, and put half-rotted hay and fallen leaves into it. Further in this mass bacteria will develop, which will become food for the crustaceans. Sometimes, in order to provide additional nutrition to the bacteria, a small slice of yeast (about 15 g per 1 m ^{3 of} water) is added to the water. This must be done every two weeks as the water becomes lighter.

And now the most important point: daphnia, the habitat of which is usually a natural body of water, should get into your vessel with cooked food. To do this, in a standing water body, about 50 liters of water are caught per 100 liters of water and poured into a prepared container.