Damselfly nymph feeding?

[Ben M]

hi, i have received a damselfly nymph today, and i am just checking on what to feed it. previously when i have grown them i have found them in my main tank and left them there, without feeding them anything special. but this time i am setting up a 30l tank for it outside. i will put in sand that has been in my main tank for months, so that it has bacteria in it, and i'll use water from my main tank. i'll also put some rocks and a few stem plants in. the tank won't be heated, should that be ok? i don't really want to buy any foods especially for it, so could i feed it fish food, or does it need something like daphnia, and if so, where could i get it? i've read that if you put a lettuce leaf in a tub of tank water then the daphnia from the water will eat it and breed, and you can tell when the water is cloudy. is that true?

cheers

 

[Ajm200]

As far as I know daphnia will happily eat the algae in green water and survive in rain water butts so you shouldn't need anything special for them. They are sometimes suggested as a rather impractical 'cure' for green water in fishtanks. You should be able to pick up a bag of them from your local MA for about a pound.

 

[Ben M]

thanks, so do i just chuck the daphnia in a tub of water in the sun, without feeding them, or do they need feeding?

cheers

 

[Ajm200]

I'd get some green water going first then add the dapnia. Don't know what sort of water quality your damsel fly nymph needs but you shouldn't need to let the whole outdoor tank turn green. Just culture some algae in jam jar of old aquarium water and dribble a bit in each day.

Here's a link with some advice on rearing daphnia.

http://www.aquaculturestore.com/info/daphnia.html

Never tried keeping daphnia as live fish food myself but will when the big tank is up and running as the rams love the stuff.