# How best to feed frozen Daphnia



## Cerulean (Jun 2, 2012)

I recently bought some frozen daphnia to treat some constipation issues. I did not realize how teeny tiny they were and put a bit in water from tank and poured into the tank( I then needed to do a full water change on each as they made a huge mess of the tanks). 😕

So my question is, other than putting the food in a cup and then adding the fish to the cup while feeding, and then putting fish back in tank after feeding, how the heck does one feed this stuff without making a huge mess? 

Even if you add just a tiny bit the fish can't eat it all before it sinks and makes a mess, so I want to know how others do this. 

Thanks for any suggestions as usual. 😊


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## kjg1029 (Jun 14, 2014)

try using a dropper, once they assoiciate it with food it will eat from it and not too much goes in the water, you could keep cupping him, but it would prolly be kinda stressful ....goodluck!


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## Cerulean (Jun 2, 2012)

Thx, I will try that.


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## givemethatfish (Feb 10, 2014)

I find it extremely difficult to feed daphnia even with a pipette. It just gets everywhere. The only time I feed it now is in a bare-bottom hospital tank that I can easily clean out.


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## Bikeridinguckgirl14 (Oct 22, 2013)

I find brine shrimp messy, so I only give it either when I'm about to do a 100% change or when someone is in the "death bowl" (a .5g bare bowl I put them in while I'm doing water changes)


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## Cerulean (Jun 2, 2012)

Well, after the first time when I had to clean the whole tank really well after, I have only done it in his little cup he came in. I use that for water changes and I realize it might be a little more stressful, but that stuff is just too darn messy in the bigger tank, even before a 100% water change, it is still hard to get it all. I think I will stick to that way, although using an eye dropper is better than pouring it all in at once as it seems to sink. With the dropper I can put in a bit at a time and they already goe after it. Smart guys.


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## Cerulean (Jun 2, 2012)

It is not such a big deal to feed frozen small food in a large aquarium with bottom feeders to clean stuff up, that is what I am used too. With just one little guy in a small tank it is a lot harder.


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## bettaluvr (Jan 6, 2012)

Where are you getting it from? San Francisco Bay brand discontinued it, and petco, petsmart and pet supermarket don't carry another brand.


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## Tree (Sep 29, 2013)

I still use a little cup and use tweezers to feed my bettas. luckily all of my boys and girl eats the extra that I grab before it falls to the ground. But the Dropper is a great idea! =O


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## nel3 (May 29, 2011)

I use toothpicks to feed the frozen bloodworms or brine shrimp after I have scrapped off some of the block onto a lid. all that's left is to separate the shrimp from the water after it thaws for a few minutes with a toothpick.

a dropper is an option but I find you can easily drop too much too fast and/or use a bit too much force and send the food down to sink too fast. I do use a dropper to catch any food that sinks before the fish gets a chance to eat it.


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## freeflow246 (Jul 24, 2011)

I find daphnia makes a huge mess. I feed Blizzard very little daphnia and very rarely. I chip some off of the frozen cube and thaw that in a cup of his tank water. I suck a little into a pipette and squirt it in.

Didn't realize San Francisco Bay was discontinuing them. My Petco had a space in the freezer that was full of them when I checked like a month or so ago.


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## Cerulean (Jun 2, 2012)

To those wondering where I got it, I was surprised and impressed myself that I was able to get it. I live in Canada and a small town in Alberta. I have a major city (Calgary) Stampede town over 1,000,000 people size about 1 hour away and probably could have found it there, but we have a smaller city about 45 min away and we had to go there anyway. I went to a store called ( homes alive pets) and they had just started carrying it. It was the frozen Hikari brand. The Petsmarts in Canada are not the same as in the states, you guys can get a lot that we can't.

On another note I went to get a general cure from api and they had it (for parasites ) and I had read a lot on this site about the prazi Pro being the best. So I looked all over online and it said we can't get it here, I tried on Amazon but they wouldn't send it to me. When I went to get the api I looked up on the shelf and couldn't believe they had a lg bottle of prazi Pro. Then I saw the price. $80.00.and noooo that is not a typo. And I went great and noooo way. Lol. So they are a pretty great little store. I don't honestly know if they are a private one of or not as I havn't looked it up. However, I have had pets of all kinds my whole life and grew up in Calgary and have never seen another. Hope you guys can find another place to get it. The other thing you could do, would be to get the freeze dried daphnia and rehydrate before serving to fish. Just a thought. Good luck.


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## Cerulean (Jun 2, 2012)

As for those and the way to serve it, I have come to some decisions. I will only feed in the tank a little bit by dropper on water change day. If i was a big dose and am not changing water I will cup him and still use a dropper. As for the toothpick, I use that for the blood worms but I am not sure how to do it with daphnia. Lol. I guess we all agree it is a pain in the but little crustacean that the boys and girls love. Just one more thing to make a bunch of work for us fishy parents. Hehe😄thanks for all the tips and suggestions though. If anyone comes up with anything brilliant let us all know, right?


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## Veloran (Jun 28, 2014)

I've looked up DIY fish food since my dad used to make his own using egg yolks as a binder since we had so many little mouths to feed, and came across using unflavored gelatin as a binder and was wondering if there's some way to incorporate this. There are some factors like the daphnia would have to be thawed to mix with the gelatin then put back in the fridge and for a single betta, may not be the most economical.


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## Cerulean (Jun 2, 2012)

Hmmm I don't know. Did you guys actually use the gelatin then? I am not sure about what it would do the there tummys. Right now he is extra sensitive because he is super bloated and I am not sure why. I treated for bacteria after fasting for about a week and using ep salts as w ell. So I got the daphnia to help this situation. It was then suggested to me from other posts and discussions that he may have parasites. So I am staring that now. Either way I will feed daphnia is again probably once a week as a nutrional item and also for gut health.


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## Veloran (Jun 28, 2014)

I've never personally tried gelatin, but I've been reading up on it. It was just a thought rolling around my head, just a way to get the daphnia to clump until it can be eaten.


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## Cerulean (Jun 2, 2012)

Worth looking in to for sure.


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## Hallyx (Jun 11, 2011)

I've read pro and con about gelatin but have never tried it. Fish don't eat a lot of cow hooves in the wild, so I'm not sure how their digestions would handle it. 

Alan Repashy uses kelp and guar gum as a binder for his "gel" food. I'm thinking of mixing up a batch with daphnia and spirulina (with garlic -- yummy!). But it's a hard sell to my spoiled bunch.


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