Infusoria culture

[idris]

I'm trying to culture some infusoria to feed some Killifish fry I'm trying to hatch, but I'm not certain whether I've got there yet.

1L plastic bottle.
Contains tank water, a plec wafer, small piece of lettuce.
Lightly oxygenated via air stone.
Kept on window sill for 3 days so far.

Day 0 : Set up.
Day 1 : Water turns slightly milky white.
Day 2 : Water still slightly milky, with a possible hint of green
Day 3 : Water looking clearer and very pale green. Also there are quite a lot of small white lumps, about 1mm, floating around. These are much bigger than I was expecting for infusoria from what I've read, so I'm guessing their just rotting lettuce and wafer.

Are the white bits good or bad news?
Other than a colour change in the water, will I be able to see the infusoria with a magnifying glass?
And I can't find any quantitative suggestions on how much to feed newly hatched Killis. Any thoughts?

 

[Michael W]

I have no experience with killifish but if they're any similar to angelfish fry then you'll wait until the egg sac being nearly depleted before feeding. You must be careful when feeding infusoria as too much will pollute the water very quickly since the culture consists of rotting matter and its impossible to rinse.

 

[sparkyweasel]

Yes, a hand lens will let you see infusoria swimming about, and distinguish them from non-living debris.

+1 to Michael W's advice.

 

[idris]

Thanks.

How much should fry be fed?
Say I have 10 fry, is 1ml of infusoria culture, twice a day, likely to be enough, in 250ml of water, or should I be aiming for 10ml or more?

 

[foxfish]

I have always fed my killis on gridle worms from birth until they are about 7mm long & then they eat powdered flake