Infusoria, an Instant Live Food

Infusoria, an Instant Live Food

Infusoria (a menage of one-celled or equally teeny multi-celled animals) get their name because they originate from vegetable infusions – pulverized vegetation in water. Lots of tiny critters live in infusoria. Some of the better known ones are paramecia and rotifers.

Small egg layers like, tetra, bettas, Gourami's, Barbs etc produce large numbers of tiny fry's, their mouth size is smaller than the size of widely used first food, Artemia. Bettas may rip and eat baby brine shrimps. But all other fry's need a life food which can fit their mouth. Here are the things necessary for producing Infusoria.

• Bottles, long neck bottles prefered.

• Branded Yeast, as I feel they show better results.

• Cabbage, lettuce, hay.

Wash the bottles and sterilize them, cut a portion of (cabbage/lettuce/hay) and fill the bottle with well water or dechlorinated water, add few pinches of yeast, add the leaves/hay. Cover the mouth with cloth to keep away mosquito's.

Leave the bottles for 3 days, we can start harvesting Infusoria from the third day. Vegetable matter in the culture jar decomposes in few days. So start a new culture every 3 to 4 days to have a fresh Infusoria. Most of the fry are ready to accept slightly larger foods like brine shrimp nauplii in a week of feeding on infusoria. Harvesting:

Infusoria are microscopic so even a small amount of water from the culture bottle will contain many infusoria. They tend to accumulate near the surface, this is why long neck bottles are used, we can use a syringe to harvest them. Feed atleast 3 times to the fry's. Courtesy: Koiphen, Wayne1, Resources online, Aqua Culture Books by OFI, My journals and discussions with some experts. All mentioned methods are tested at my place and shared only after confirmed results.