live food

[hdking]

ive never delt with live food before and i have a question. is it possible to buy stuff like live mysis from a place like live aquaria and put it in your refugium to keep it alive?

[Uncle Salty 05]

Absolutely.

http://reed-mariculture.com/

[snorvich]

I seed my refugia with a variety of stuff including copepods, amphipods, minibrittle stars, etc.

[hdking]

whats the best way to move them to the display tank for feeding? surely you dont rely on your return pump

[Uncle Salty 05]

You can add them directly to the tank or your refugium.
Fuge is best if you have one.
They can pass through your return pump unharmed.

[Teddynola]

This place has really good prices on mysis, I don't know what their shipping costs are, though.


http://mblaquaculture.com/content/organisms/live_mysis_shrimp.php

[risin]

As bad as it may sound... A pair a breeding clowns will provide some high quality live food.

[davocean]

As bad as it may sound... A pair a breeding clowns will provide some high quality live food.

That would only be a day or two every two weeks or so.
Most living things in your fuge will pass through intakes/pumps w/out issues believe it or not.

[Uncle Salty 05]

A pair of breeding clowns fed live rotifers can fill your tank with clowns.

[mx51]

This place has really good prices on mysis, I don't know what their shipping costs are, though.


http://mblaquaculture.com/content/organisms/live_mysis_shrimp.php
Will they breed in the fuge? Or do you have to buy more every so often to restock them?

[Uncle Salty 05]

Yes.
If you feed them phytoplankton their numbers will multiply.

http://reefnutrition.com/phyto_feast.php

[davocean]

A pair of breeding clowns fed live rotifers can fill your tank with clowns.

If only it were really that easy...

[Uncle Salty 05]

I'm going to do it.
Devoting a tank to it.

[davocean]

I've never seen a common display tank ever successful in raising clownfish fry, not that I will try to talk you out of that.
Normally we pull eggs and have growout systems prep'd w/ live rotofers at the waiting and low flow dark tanks, greenwater, all that good stuff.
I do agree my clowns do provide wonderful food when they spawn every two weeks, but that may only feed my fish for one day out of those two weeks, guessing OP is looking for something more substantial.

[Uncle Salty 05]

I've already got Roti-Grow Nanno and live Rotifer cultures going.
All I need now is a mated pair and decide on a species.

[davocean]

I've already got Roti-Grow Nanno and live Rotifer cultures going.
All I need now is a mated pair and decide on a species.

If you are serious, I highly recommend Joyce Wilkerson's book on clownfish.
That book is the breeders bible.

[Uncle Salty 05]

Yes, I am serious.
Thank you, I will check it out.

[hdking]

yes dave im looking for a reliable renewable souce of live food without having to constantly be ordering stuff..uncle salty thanks for the info. i plan on a couple of false perculas so ill keep my fingers crossed on that one.

[hoooop54]

Is there a downside to feeding your fuge Phytoplankton? For example, would it increase algae growth?

[Uncle Salty 05]

Over the weekend I bought a mated pair of True Perculas.
The wanted $99.99 for the pair, I called aside a guy I have been dealing with for 20 years. He got me down to $72.00 for the pair.
That plus the $110.00 I spent at Reed Mariculture for my phyto and rotifers brings me up to $182 total to set up a breeding tank.
With a little luck one or two spawns will pay that back.
I will post pics and let you know how things progress.

I coaxed the clowns into the RBTA I put in the tank for them.
They liked the nem, but the nem does not appear to like them. This morning wen I got out of bed the nem had moved from the rock it was on and was on the other end of the tank in the sand bed. Hopefully they will kiss and make up.

[Uncle Salty 05]

Is there a downside to feeding your fuge Phytoplankton? For example, would it increase algae growth?

Not unless you over dose with it.
A little goes a long way.