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When you create your culture (a good starter mix would be a 1 gallon jar with a small bit of over ripe banana skin and some dried lettuce crumbled in and stirred - oh, and if you have snails, pop a couple of them in because snail droppings accelerate the process), it goes cloudy. That's bacterial activity, and the bacterial bloom soon clears. When it goes clear, there should be a band of water in the jar which, when you shine a light through the water, looks as if it has tiny dust specks in it, and upon closer examination, the dust specks will appear to be moving. They are your infusorians. Some are large enough to be seen as "dust specks" in the water with the naked eye if you shine a light through the water, while others need a microscope to detect them. The biggest ones tend to be Rotifers and similar animals, while the tiny microscopic ones include Paramoecium and similar creatures. Feed these to your baby fishes and they'll soon start putting on body mass.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

What is infusoria and how do i get it. I was also wondering what microworms are and how i could get some. Does anyone have any other suggestions for feeding baby corys>

http://www.thousandfootkrutch.com
http://www.hawknelson.com

at most lfs, they have a plant tank, try and see if they will give u any water, that water must be full of plant goodies, which will be good enough, but their are other baby foods on the market, like first bites.

Wow, i never knew that there is food just floating around in the water when you have a plant. Thnak you for telling me that, and for the suggestions.

http://www.thousandfootkrutch.com
http://www.hawknelson.com

You can also find Infusoria in a tank where Snails are, as they produce alot of it after eating. For Microworms, you need to get a culture & then you can mix it with some Weetabix & hot water & Yeast & you'll start your own culture.


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You could also look out for something called Liquifry. Here in the UK it's a baby fish food, and it comes in two varieties - one for livebearer fry and one for egglayers. I use the egglayer version for feeding baby Panda Corys and it's worked fine for me.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Do you find Liquifry in stores?

http://www.thousandfootkrutch.com
http://www.hawknelson.com

Yes you can find Liquifry in stores. There's one for egglayers & one for livebearers.



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http://www.flickr.com/photos/corydoras/
Member of the Malta Aquarist Society - 1970.
http://www.maltaaquarist.com

okay, thanks for telling me, i will have to go look soon.

http://www.thousandfootkrutch.com
http://www.hawknelson.com

Baby brine shrimp are good for cory fry. Maybe alternate feeding with microworms.

BTW, you can easily culture infusoria using some tank water and dry plant matter. I used dried old wild iris leaves from the garden (no pesticides). Within a day or two I had clouds of lovely little infusorians verified by microscope. I set up several quart mason jars thusly and used them on rotation to feed tiny African Dwarf frog tadpoles until they were large enough to take BBS. Next time, I'd try them on BBS sooner.

Oh, and when you DO fire up an infusoria culture, snail poo makes it develop faster. Pop one or two small snails in with your mashed and dried vegetable matter and hey presto, their droppings make a very nice booster for the culture.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

I'm not exactly sure how this infusoria thing works, with cultures and all that. Could someone maybe explain that or try to clarify that, some pics if possible would maybe help.

http://www.thousandfootkrutch.com
http://www.hawknelson.com

Infusoria is a source of live food for fry. In the world of aquarists, Infusoria as I understand it is a non-specific term for microorganisms that feed on decaying organic matter. Thus, to culture such life one only needs water and, say, a leaf of lettuce or other veggie. In short time there will be infusoria cultured in the water swimming around (though you won't be able to see the organisms because, of course, they are microscopic). More details should be given in actual articles about infusoria culture. I've never done it before so I don't really know the actual process. I'd be worried about ammonia and stuff.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

If you can't see them how do you know when you have any?

http://www.thousandfootkrutch.com
http://www.hawknelson.com

Thanks that is very helpful, but my fry are in a breeder cage, so can i still feed the fry, and not have it affect the other fish in the tank?

http://www.thousandfootkrutch.com
http://www.hawknelson.com

If your fry are in a breeding trap, just feed them infusoria using an eye dropper. That should give them plenty to fill their bellies with, and at the same time will not result in a pollution hazard for your other fish because chances are the fry will snap them up before they escape through the holes in the breeding trap!

Even if some do, they're live organisms, so all they'll do is provide extra nibbles for any of your adult fishes that can find them and hunt them down.

Liquifry needs a bit more care in administering, but even so, the dosages you should be giving your fry are small enough at first not to present a pollution hazard.

Oh, and if you add a drop or two of Liquifry to an infusoria culture, it feeds the infusorians. So they're gut loaded when you give them to your fish.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002