Feeding Daphnia for a week without a human present...

[mdfa.ca]

I just got a live daphnia culture off the internet and then had a huge Duhhh... moment last night. I'll be going away for a week soon and what am I going to do with these little guys? Will they survive for a week? I don't have a fish-sitter and will basically rely on those gel packs to feed my fish, but these guys require a bit more specialized feeding. Maybe I should just take them with me?

Has anyone ever had this problem and if so, how did you solve it?

Margaret.

[OldMan]

If you have access to a green water algae culture, get it bulked up good then put most of it in the container with the daphnia. It will take them several days to clear out the green water and there is no better daphnia food. If you can start with your population low on adults, use a large mesh net to thin them out, you will have fewer new mouths to feed while you are gone and that may save your culture. No guarantees but it is something I would try in your situation.

[mdfa.ca]

Thanks, Oldman... Unfortunately I don't have green water at the moment. It's "growing" but won't be sufficient when I leave to feed the daphnia. So far I've been giving them dissolved spirulina flakes and yeast.

Margaret.

[Melody]

Any chance of moving their tank to a window? Seed it with your culture and the sunlight will keep it growing. It would have to be a window that didn't get too much sun or the tank would overheat, but otherwise it's so crazy it just might work. Many people culture both together in the same tank.

Could use a slow release plaster block with your powdered seaweed of choice, but I'm not sure how sensitive they are to parameter changes - plaster can increase the hardness a bit.