Urgent request

[vampybabe]

Hiya
Im trying to find a stockist in the exeter region that sell live daphnia, no where seems to sell it, we normally just leave the eggs in the tank for the adults to eat (done the breeding thing before and its hard work) but for some reason, this time we took some out and theyve hatched alot quicker than expected and I dont want them to starve

 

[jAfFa CaKe]

Try getting some off eBay, you can get them 1st class shipping and they'll most prob come the next day.

 

[vampybabe]

I need to get them tomorrow morning or they wont survive im not sure they will make it through the night without food

 

[Chinadog]

Depends how many babies there are, but you could collect some local pond water and hope there's enough micro fauna in it to keep them going?

 

[jAfFa CaKe]

When where they laid? They can go for a day and a bit without food, or has the yolk already been used up?

 

[vampybabe]

they hatched this morn, when I lived in london it wasnt an issue as everywhere sold them but down here all I hear is they dont have enough demand, the eggs pretty much gone.

 

[jAfFa CaKe]

They should be okay for the night, try to order some Daphinia or BBS if you can. Or, like Chinadog said, try and get some live food from outside, do you have a pond?

 

[vampybabe]

no pond but ill keep an eye out on my travels, ill stick some Tupperware in the car lol. experience with the last lot a couple of years ago the bbs are out of the window, they were too big, only daph seemed to do the trick, was hoping maybe some locals knew of somewhere id not tried, but I like the pond idea as long as its safe

 

[xxianxx]

Put the larvae in the fridge , it will slow down their metabolic rate till you sort their food out. The problem with daphnia is that it takes a while to establish a decent population then its prone to boom or bust, so its not a reliable food source unless you can establish a few cultures, shop/internet sources are unreliable. You can collect it from the wild along with other small bugs using a fine mesh net. Have you considered baby brine shrimp as an alternative ?

 

[vampybabe]

the last time we had babies, they didnt get on with the baby brine, problem is down here it seems its all live food, its not just daphina, there's nothing no bbs no nothing maidenhead aquatics in teignmouth said they have something begining with c, they said they are small so gonna have to trek down there and give them a go. wasn't sure about the fridge, didnt know if it was too cold for babies (as daft as that may sound)

 

[xxianxx]

The brine shrimp in the shops is adult, you need baby brine shrimp. You can buy the eggs online and hatch them your self, make sure you buy hatchable eggs, some eggs are used as fish food and are non hatching.