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Greenwater, or phytoplankton, are known by most aquarium hobbyists as good quality small fish fry food, like betta fry. This article will outline some of the ways you can make your own.
Steps
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Pluck 10 smoothly surfaced and thin leaves.
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Wash and rinse the leaves until they are clean. Don't use soap!
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Put the leaves in the blender with water. You can also add fish micro pellets to help the culture bloom more quickly.
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Blend the water with the leaves. Do this for about 1 minute.
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Sieve any blended leaves and put the water in a bottle.
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Put the bottle under a bright light overnight so that the phytoplankton will bloom.
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Fill a bucket with water.
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Put the greenwater that has been sitting under a bright light overnight in the bucket.
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Let the bucket sit under the sun. In about a few days, the phytoplankton will grow.
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Community Q&A
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QuestionEven after sieving all the leaves out, it is okay for the green water to have a thick, more green sediment at the bottom and the top to clear up a little and become less green?Community AnswerYes, this is probably common as some of the blended leaves will be in pieces that are too small for a simple filtering material. If you want to filter as much as possible I suggest something like nylon stocking material. It tends to filter better than cheese cloth and you can get it for $1 at a dollar store. I use them as a mechanical filter for my 55gal tank.
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QuestionThe green water in one of my plastic buckets turned red, why?Community AnswerThere are many types of algae, blue, green, and the most primitive type are red. I am assuming that somehow red algae spores got into your greenwater culture, and took over.
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QuestionI had fish poop from another aquarium I wanted to use for watering the plants, but the water turned green in a few days. Is that green water safe for feeding?Community AnswerYes, it is. You'll get an added benefits from the algae and other microorganisms that are in the green water.
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Tips
- Use smooth, thin leaves so they will easily blend in a kitchen blender. Avoid adding hard and thick leaves because they will not emulsify well.Thanks
- You will notice quite a lot of algae on the surface of the water- this is phytoplankton. At this time, you may add daphnia culture (water fleas) to the phytoplankton. Your local pet store is a good source of Daphnia. The adult stage of the Daphnia are a great live food for the aquarium.Thanks
- Microwave the leaves to kill the plant cells faster.Thanks
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Warnings
- Do not feed the fresh blended greenwater straight to your fry! Let it sit under the light so the phytoplankton will grow and all of the cells in the leaves died first. Some cells in the leaves are the defense system of the plant and this can kill your fry.Thanks
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References
- ↑ https://www.w9xt.com/page_live_foods_green_water.html
- ↑ https://www.farmersweekly.co.za/animals/aquaculture/green-water-fish-culture-perfect-alternative/
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaAFQlFC7fI
- https://www.melevsreef.com/articles/culture-your-own-phytoplankton
- http://www.saltwateraquariumblog.com/home-cultures-phyto-rotifers-copepods/phytoplankton-culture/
About This Article
Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 130,537 times.
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