Journal of the American Killifish Association

Fry care and feeding

Developed eggs are taken from the petri dishes and placed in a portion of peat sufficient to form a 5 to 10 mm layer at the bottom of a hatching container. Fresh water is added to the peat and eggs. I use RO water that is at room temperature. The peat with eggs is swirled, large clumps of peat broken up, and left to stand overnight (I normally hatch eggs in the evening). In the morning the fry are removed to a new container. To collect the fry the water of the hatching container can be poured into the fry-rearing container. Most fry will flow out with the water. The remaining fry can be spooned out of the shallow water of the hatching container. The hatching container is refilled and stirred. This is repeated three times over three days. On the fourth day the peat is redried. The same portion of peat is reused multiple times with developed eggs added to it and then inundated. Once the fry are removed from the peat they can be fed. Feeding the fry over the peat can result in uneaten food dying in the peat, fouling it, and killing any remaining eggs in the peat. The fry are large enough to eat newly hatched Artemia nauplii and microworms (Panagrellus species). I have found that a mixed diet of fresh Artemia nauplii and enriched microworms or small Grindal worms is able to get the fish to sexable size in three to four weeks, and that growth on the mixed diet was faster than on Artemia nauplii alone (Figure 4). A diet of unenriched Artemia alone does not achieve this rate of growth. Artemia can be enriched using a product such as SELCO2 .

Microworms have high levels of fats, especially arachidonic and gammalinolenic acid (Table 2) that are needed for growth and nervous system development. The use of microworms on their own is not recommended due to the low fiber content of the worms which could cause intestinal issues.

Apistogramma sp. “Maulbruter”, the one and only

The Mouthbrooder were well conditioned upon a diet that consisted primarily of live foods such as Grindal worm, Daphnia, brine shrimp (Artemia) nauplii, and whiteworm. These live foods were offered twice daily and eagerly accepted, along with occasional offerings of dry granulated foods.
https://www.freewebs.com/microman1/documents/2007%20Breeze,M.Apisto.sp.Maulbruter.pdf

Performance of juvenile angelfish Pterophyllum scalare fed with the oligochaetes Enchytraeus buchholzi. （Grindal Worm )

Abstract

The angel fish Pterophyllum scalare is one of the main species of ornamental interest and widely exploited in Colombia for export. Objective. To evaluate the influence on growth and survival of juvenile P. scalare veil variety fed with Enchytraeus buchholzi. Materials and methods. Ten juveniles per fish tank were randomly distributed among nine fish tanks and then treated with three different diets (D1, D2 and D3): commercial feed containing 45% of crude protein (CP) (D1); commercial feed containing 45% of CP + E. buchholzi with 11.6% of CP (D2) and E. buchholzi alone with 11.6% of CP (D3). Animals were fed during 28 days and final weight (FW), final standard length (FSL), weight gain (WG), gain in standard length (GSL), specific growth rate (SGR), and survival were measured. Results. Significant differences were observed (p <0.05) for the variables FW and FSL. Individuals fed with diet D2 showed higher FW and FSL than those fed with diet D1. The best growth performance was in overall obtained with D2 and were not significantly different (p >0.05) to those observed in juveniles fed with D3. Conclusions. Based upon our results, we recommend E. buchholzi to be used as a supplement to the artificial diet instead of a diet on its own. The adequate proportion in the diet must be known for its optimal use.Key words: growth, live food, angelfish, survival.

The reproduction of Enchytraeus sp.--technical improvement for the counting of juveniles.

Matějů V1, Vosáhlová S, Kyclt R, Janoch T, Šedivcová G.

Author information

Abstract

Soil-dwelling annelids of the genus Enchytraeus are used in ecotoxicology for testing of chemicals mixed in artificial soil or for testing of wastes and soils of unknown quality. ISO 16387 describes a method for determining the effects of substances or contaminated soils on survival and reproduction of Enchytraeus albidus or of the smaller species Enchytraeus buchholzi or Enchy-traeus crypticus. After the total test duration of 6 (or 4) weeks, the juveniles hatched in the meantime are counted. There are several possible extraction techniques, which are always followed by counting the juveniles by hand, but none of them seems easy to handle. We proposed a new modification of the worm extraction method using flotation of fixed and stained juveniles followed by taking a photograph. The digital image of the juveniles is evaluated by computer processing. It makes the counting of juveniles much easier and less labor intensive.

PMID:

 

24026638

 

DOI:

 

10.1007/s10661-013-3409-7

Salamanders feeding

Caudata (Urodela)

Eric J. Baitchman, Timothy A. Herman, in Fowler's Zoo and Wild Animal Medicine, Volume 8, 2015

Feeding

Most salamanders are eager and enthusiastic feeders so long as the appropriate food items are provided. A salamander that frequently refuses food is likely suffering from compromised health or an inadequate environment. Unlike most frog species, many salamanders use olfactory cues in conjunction with movement to detect food. As a result, some species (typically aquatic taxa) will feed on nonliving foods, including frozen thawed insect larvae and even commercially available pelleted foods. Many aquatic salamanders and larvae use a lateral line system, similar to that of fish, to detect movement of prey underwater. By and large, live moving food items are more readily detected and eaten by all salamanders. Many caudates have occasionally been documented to eat other salamanders, and the risk of consumption of smaller taxa or conspecifics should be considered in husbandry.

A broad diversity of invertebrates comprises the staple diet of most salamander species. Earthworms and nightcrawlers (Lumbricus terrestris and others) are an excellent food source for many terrestrial and aquatic taxa, although the “red wiggler” (Eisenia foetida) sold for bait and composting may be refused because of its production of yellow defensive secretions. Smaller worm species that may be used for larval and adult salamander food include California blackworms (Lumbriculus variegatus), tubifex worms (Tubifex spp.), whiteworms (Enchytraeus albidus), Grindal worms (Enchytraeus buchholzi), and microworms (Panagrellus spp.). Insects provide the staple diet of most terrestrial salamanders. In captivity, the most readily available and useful feeder insects include the domestic cricket (Acheta domestica), wax moth larvae (Galleria mellonella), house fly larvae (Musca domestica), fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster and D. hydei), bean beetles (Callosobruchus maculatus), terrestrial isopods (woodlice), and springtails. Aquatic insect larvae form an important dietary component of many salamander larvae, although their availability is limited in captivity. Fly larvae such as bloodworms (family Chironomidae) and glassworms (family Chaoboridae) are occasionally available at pet stores, live or frozen as food for tropical fish. Mosquito larvae (family Culicidae) and other aquatic insect larvae may be locally collected for salamander food.

Performance ofjuvenile angelfish Pterophyllum scalare fed with the oligochaetes Enchytraeus buchholzi (Grindal Worm )

Universitas Scientiarum

Print version ISSN 0122-7483

Abstract

JIMENEZ-ROJAS, Jhon Edison; ALMECIGA-DIAZ, Paola Andrea  and  HERAZO-DUARTE, Diego Mauricio. Performance ofjuvenile angelfish Pterophyllum scalare fed with the oligochaetes Enchytraeus buchholzi. Univ. Sci. [online]. 2012, vol.17, n.1, pp.28-34. ISSN 0122-7483.

The angel fish Pterophyllum scalare is one of the main species of ornamental interest and widely exploited in Colombia for export. Objective. To evaluate the influence on growth and survival of juvenile P. scalare veil variety fed with Enchytraeus buchholzi. Materials and methods. Ten juveniles per fish tank were randomly distributed among nine fish tanks and then treated with three different diets (D1, D2 and D3): commercial feed containing 45% of crude protein (CP) (D1); commercial feed containing 45% of CP + E. buchholzi with 11.6% of CP (D2) and E. buchholzi alone with 11.6% of CP (D3). Animals were fed during 28 days and final weight (FW), final standard length (FSL), weight gain (WG), gain in standard length (GSL), specific growth rate (SGR), and survival were measured. Results. Significant differences were observed (p <0.05) for the variables FW and FSL. Individuals fed with diet D2 showed higher FW and FSL than those fed with diet D1. The best growth performance was in overall obtained with D2 and were not significantly different (p >0.05) to those observed in juveniles fed with D3. Conclusions. Based upon our results, we recommend E. buchholzi to be used as a supplement to the artificial diet instead of a diet on its own. The adequate proportion in the diet must be known for its optimal use.

Keywords : growth; live food; angelfish; survival.