# infusoria?



## iheartfish:) (Jan 19, 2011)

How are infsoria cultures made and fed? I have heard that you take handful of hay and boil it to get rid of bad bacteria, then add an already started culture, and feed it drops of boiled milk...? is this true? or is there a better/easier way? how do YOU make infusoria cultures? Any advice is welcome!! Thanks!!


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## AvocadoPuffDude (Jan 20, 2011)

IT IS SO EASY a kindergartner could do it.
Take some regular old tap water in a mason jar (clear glass container at least.)
Set it in the window where it will get sun every day. DO NOT COVER IT.
In a week or so, depending, you'll start to get algae growth.
Go outside and pick up some dirty leaves, a pinch of grass from your yard, about a tablespoon full of outdoor debris. If you can find a puddle that stays around a while outside, take a small cup of that, too. (make sure it's clean, not oily!) Think about a kids swimming pool or a koi pond or something that fills with rainwater and doesn't dry out very often.
Within a few weeks, hold it up to a bright light and you'll see all the little critters bouncing around in there, what look like little sand-fleas (think that's daphnia, but don't have a microscope.)
I've raised baby zebra danios on such a concoction. I am currently making a nice thick soupy mix of algae and little bugs for an upcoming attempt at breeding bettas.
Keep it filled up, with rainwater if you can or tap water, preferably let it set for a couple days before adding it to let the chlorine and stuff evaporate out, if you have a bit of duckweed or a snail or a small piece of aquarium plant to throw in, all the better. 
Good Luck! I keep several jars going in rotation so I always have a bountiful supply when I need it.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Don't boil the hay, though, or you'll wipe out all the critters you're trying to grow.


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## iheartfish:) (Jan 19, 2011)

Thanks guys! I was warned against taking water from a random pond because of possible harmful parasites and stuff... Some people use banana peels, too... What do you think of that? 
What does everyone else do to raise infusoria? Let's turn this into an infusoria survey!


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

I just take globs of plants from my guppy pool and swish them around in a big jar of water, and then I let that now-green jar of water sit in good light. It separates at first, but eventually the critters start to appear. If they don't, I add a few bits of grass, and I'll invariably have paramecium swarms visible at the very least.


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## AvocadoPuffDude (Jan 20, 2011)

I think Hydras are the most potent threat from using pond water, but I've yet to have any of those show up in several years of doing this. Then again, I live in a northern clime where outdoor ponds tend to freeze over during winter, so maybe they can't survive the cold...?
So far I've never had a problem, and I've been adding this mix to my main tank for quite a while, my tank is both art and science experiment, and I tend to believe the biodiversity is a good thing, to have little critters swarming in and amongst my floating plants for the random baby fish that comes along. 
"Eh...just my thing...."


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## iheartfish:) (Jan 19, 2011)

Are paramecium good for fry? I mean, are they edible, like infusoria? And I guess it's only dangerous if you go to like a swamp or something for the water. Anyone tried banana peels? Or flower stems...?


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Almost any living or dried plant material will work, including banana peels. Paramecium ARE infusoria.


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## Bettawhisperer (Oct 1, 2010)

Ok it doesn't get any easier then this. Jar of water, place lettuce leaves in it. cover and let set in the window a few days. When you see the leaves rotting you have infusoria. Use a turkey baster to suck some up and put that into your tank.


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## iheartfish:) (Jan 19, 2011)

Oh, hahahaha..... *uncomfortable chuckle*..... I didn't know that paramecium are infusoria.... Oops. :chair:
;-)


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

No worries. "Infusoria" is a slang term anyway, despite being so old. It of course comes from the word Infusion, and refers to the swarms of tiny critters you get from making an infusion, otherwise known as a stinky mess of grass and water.


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## AvocadoPuffDude (Jan 20, 2011)

And remember, if your little glass jar of infusoria gets a scum on the surface......it worked! In this case, SCUM IS GOOD!
My jars bubble they have so much good stuff in them....I even put a snail in to see how it would do, and despite not being heated seems to be faring just fine, chugging around eating the algae. Haven't seen any eggs or babies yet, though, it's only been a few weeks since I put the snail in, so I would expect his reproduction rate would be greatly slowed down due to the colder temp.


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## Bettawhisperer (Oct 1, 2010)

Also if it's a male you're not going to get any eggs. You should probably put a few of them in just to make sure you have both male and females.


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## sam555 (Dec 22, 2010)

AvocadoPuffDude said:


> IT IS SO EASY a kindergartner could do it.
> Take some regular old tap water in a mason jar (clear glass container at least.)
> Set it in the window where it will get sun every day. DO NOT COVER IT.
> In a week or so, depending, you'll start to get algae growth.
> ...


do you add some dirty leaves, a pinch of grass from your yard and about a tablespoon full of outdoor debris at the beginning or when algae is growing?


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