Production outweighs consumption

[benjamin]

Well I put some adult daphnia in with my oldest newtlets. They have started to reproduce and half already multiplied so much that the newtlets don't even need to move to hunt them and are constantly eating. Now I know that the abundance of food is a good thing, but there is one problem. Despite my newtlet's rapid feeding, the daphnia continue to multiply out of control. I'm worried that the daphnia will multiply so fast that their population will crash and take the newtlets down with them, how can I stop this from happening. Also the constant feeding has caused constant pooping and now what was once a clear bottomed tank has a light sediment of "newt sausages" building up. I can easily remove the waste but it's building up very quickly; each newtlet swims around with a chain of its poop trailing after it.

 

[joseph]

I would leave as is as your larvae should grow very fast. But if you are worried simply harvest a few out to feed whatever else you have. You could even put them in your adult tanks if you wanted.

 

[jennifer]

I would recommend getting rid of the "sediment" on a regular basis. In the process of getting rid of it, you will also be doing a partial water change and reducing some of the daphnia overpopulation. Are you putting daphnia food directly in the same container with the larvae? Do you have a backup culture of daphnia separate from the larvae? You could use the daphnia that come out with the sediment to set up another separate daphnia culture. You will eventually reach the point where the balance will tip, and the larvae will eat daphnia faster than the daphnia reproduce.

 

[benjamin]

The daphnia are reproducing in the same container as the larvae and I have a back up culture. I do not put any daphnia food in the larvae water, I assume that there is lots of green algae anyway because the water has a slight greenish tint. I originally put only about ten daphnia in with the larvae. They weren't touched because they were too large, now there must be hundreds of babies in there, in addition to some more adults.