I recently set up a cyclops (freshwater copepod) culture and it seems to be doing well. I decided to write how I did it just in case anyone else feels like they want to create their own culture.
Step 1: Collection
Go to any permanent body of water with a brine shrimp net (I used the white TopFin ones from petsmart). It doesn't matter if you don't see anything swimming in the water, I didn't know that the creek behind my house had anything. Make several passes about 1" above the bottom of your water source. If you look in your net, you will probably see some generic bottom "gunk". If there are any large sticks or leaves, remove them now. Dump the leftover net material into a clear plastic container and let all the debris settle out of the water.
Step 2: Finding a female
Once everything has settled to the bottom, put a flashlight up to the side of the container and look around for any kind of swimming "things". You will often see a large number of different organisms that you would never have guessed were in the water. If you don't find a female, don't panic. Leave the container in a place that gets indirect sunlight and look at it again in a week.
Step 3: The breeding container
This step should actually be set up before you go out collecting. You need a small container that is very high in cyclops food material. This means plenty of paramecium and green water. For the container I used a betta cup with about 2" of water. The mixture in the container should be about 60% spring water, 20% paramecium culture, and around 10% green water. The mixture should be a pale green color. When this is set up, you add a SINGLE female into the container. What you are doing is providing a competition free environment where the female can lay eggs. If you want to, you can set-up several of these little containers to increase your likelihood of success. Now you set the container(s) in a place that gets indirect sunlight for 2 weeks.
Step 4: The culture container
While you are waiting for your cyclops to lay eggs, it would be a good idea to set up the culture container. This is a much larger container (1.5-10 gallons) where you will have a large population of cyclops. You want this container to be similar to a large version of the breeding container, so the mixture (spring water, paramecium, green water) should stay the same. I found it easier to set up a paramecium culture in the large container, partially drain it, and then add the algae and spring water. For the culture container it is also a good idea to add some aeration. No airstones though, the bubbles they produce can get stuck in the cyclops's shell. Keep just enough aeration to keep the water moving, but not enough to knock around the cyclops.
Step 5: Add the cyclops!
Ok, after 2 weeks you should notice that your breeding containers are full of cyclops. By now they are probably done with their food supply so you want to add them into your culture container. Simply pour them in and you're done! As for feeding the culture, this is the part that is the most variable. I regularly shine a flashlight through the water and look to see if there is a lot of paramecium or not, the will appear as tiny dots that swim in a smooth manner (baby cyclops look similar but swim in jerks). If the population seems low, add some more paramecium. If you see that the green water is disappearing, simply add more.
Well there you have it! That is what I used to set up my culture, and so far it seems to be doing well. I'll try to add some pics soon.
Step 1: Collection
Go to any permanent body of water with a brine shrimp net (I used the white TopFin ones from petsmart). It doesn't matter if you don't see anything swimming in the water, I didn't know that the creek behind my house had anything. Make several passes about 1" above the bottom of your water source. If you look in your net, you will probably see some generic bottom "gunk". If there are any large sticks or leaves, remove them now. Dump the leftover net material into a clear plastic container and let all the debris settle out of the water.
Step 2: Finding a female
Once everything has settled to the bottom, put a flashlight up to the side of the container and look around for any kind of swimming "things". You will often see a large number of different organisms that you would never have guessed were in the water. If you don't find a female, don't panic. Leave the container in a place that gets indirect sunlight and look at it again in a week.
Step 3: The breeding container
This step should actually be set up before you go out collecting. You need a small container that is very high in cyclops food material. This means plenty of paramecium and green water. For the container I used a betta cup with about 2" of water. The mixture in the container should be about 60% spring water, 20% paramecium culture, and around 10% green water. The mixture should be a pale green color. When this is set up, you add a SINGLE female into the container. What you are doing is providing a competition free environment where the female can lay eggs. If you want to, you can set-up several of these little containers to increase your likelihood of success. Now you set the container(s) in a place that gets indirect sunlight for 2 weeks.
Step 4: The culture container
While you are waiting for your cyclops to lay eggs, it would be a good idea to set up the culture container. This is a much larger container (1.5-10 gallons) where you will have a large population of cyclops. You want this container to be similar to a large version of the breeding container, so the mixture (spring water, paramecium, green water) should stay the same. I found it easier to set up a paramecium culture in the large container, partially drain it, and then add the algae and spring water. For the culture container it is also a good idea to add some aeration. No airstones though, the bubbles they produce can get stuck in the cyclops's shell. Keep just enough aeration to keep the water moving, but not enough to knock around the cyclops.
Step 5: Add the cyclops!
Ok, after 2 weeks you should notice that your breeding containers are full of cyclops. By now they are probably done with their food supply so you want to add them into your culture container. Simply pour them in and you're done! As for feeding the culture, this is the part that is the most variable. I regularly shine a flashlight through the water and look to see if there is a lot of paramecium or not, the will appear as tiny dots that swim in a smooth manner (baby cyclops look similar but swim in jerks). If the population seems low, add some more paramecium. If you see that the green water is disappearing, simply add more.
Well there you have it! That is what I used to set up my culture, and so far it seems to be doing well. I'll try to add some pics soon.
