Green vegetables ready for Infusoria culture

How To Culture Infusoria - a great tiny fry food!

To culture Infusoria follow these steps:

  1. Prepare a glass jar
  2. Prepare vegetables
  3. Add vegetable matter to the jar
  4. Pour boiling water over the vegetables
  5. Let the water cool!
  6. Add aquarium water
  7. Place the jar in a sunny location
  8. Watch the culture, the water will become cloudy as a bacterial bloom occurs
  9. Swirl the jar occasionally
  10. Watch the water clear as the Infusoria colony grows
  11. Infusoria can now be fed to you fry or small fish

See below for more information on Infusoria and details on each step to starting your own Infusoria culture.

What is Infusoria?

Infusoria is a collective term for microscopic aquatic organisms that exist in freshwater ponds.

Infusoria are smaller than Microworms or brine shrimp nauplii making them an ideal food for even the smallest fish fry.

Benefits Of Culturing Infusoria?

How To Culture Infusoria

Things you will need:

Making the Infusoria culture:

  1. Prepare a glass jar

    Ensure your glass jar is thoroughly cleaned and rinsed well before starting.

  2. Prepare vegetables

    One or a combination of the following are popular choices: lettuce, broccoli, green beans, green peas.

    The vegetables should be cut into small portions not bigger than an inch (2.5cm) square for lettuce or an inch inch (2.5cm) long for green beans.

    If using green beans they should be split open and if using green peas split open from their skins

    3. Green vegetables ready for Infusoria culture
    Green vegetables ready for Infusoria culture

  3. Add vegetable matter to the jar

    Add vegetables to the jar. The should only occupy a small portion of the jar, ie 1/5 of the jar or less.

  4. Pour boiling water over the vegetables

    Pour boiling water over the vegetables.

    CAUTION: To avoid cracking the jar make sure the jar is not cold and pour the boiling water in gently!

    5. Making infusoria culture, green vegetables and water added
    Making infusoria culture, green vegetables and water added

  5. Let the water cool

    Let the water cool. This is important, if you don't let the water cool infusoria within the aquarium water which you add in the next step will die if the water is too warm.

  6. Add aquarium water

    Fill the remainder of the jar with aquarium water.

    Existing aquarium water already contains Infusoria. If you like you can also add a small piece of java moss from you aquarium to the jar - java moss is usually also a great source of Infusoria.

  7. Place the jar in a sunny location

    Place the jar in a sunny location such as on a windowsill.

  8. Watch the culture, the water will become cloudy as a bacterial bloom occurs

    Over the next 3 to 4 days the water will turn cloudy as the plant matter decays and the bacterial population blooms.

    9. Infusoria culture with a bacterial bloom after 5 days
    Infusoria culture with a bacterial bloom after 5 days

  9. Swirl the jar occasionally

    Swirl the jar occasionally in order to breakup any surface film and ensure sufficient oxygen exchange.

  10. Watch the water clear as the Infusoria colony grows

    Over the next 3 to 4 days the water will start to clear. This occurs as the Infusoria population grows and feeds on the bacteria in the water.

  11. Infusoria can now be fed to you fry or small fish

    With the water now close to clear and a booming Infusoria culture you can now feed infusoria to you fry or small fish.

Harvesting Infusoria

A turkey baster can be used to harvest and feed the Infusoria. In fact a pipette of any kind will work.

When sucking up the Infusoria with the turkey baster be careful not to suck up any of the surface film from the top or any decaying vegetable matter from the bottom of the jar.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How long does it take to make a Infusoria culture?

It take about 10 days from the time you start the culture to the time the Infusoria are ready to be harvested and fed to your fish fry. Time can vary a little bit depending on temperature.

What is the preferred temperature for culturing Infusoria

Room temperatures or a little warmer (somewhere between 21 - 26°C) works best for culturing Infusoria.

How long does the Infusoria culture last?

Once the water clears and the Infusoria population has peaked the Infusoria culture will usually last about 7 days.