Culture of
Cladocerans
DR WAN NURUL NADIAH WAN RASDI
antenna
1
compound eye
2
enzyme gland
3
esophagus
4
heart
5
nauplius eye
6
antennula
7
phyllopods
8
ovar
9
furca claws
10
postabdomen
11
brood
12
carapax shell
13
rudder bristle
14
spina
Daphnia spp. or ‘water fleas’ are easily
recognizable cladocerans among the
zooplankton.
Ceriodaphnia spp. are important
cladocerans
found in culture ponds.
Cladocerans in fish pond
Cladocerans are desirable fish prey since they have
high energetic caloric value, assuming that they can
be consumed by fry.
However, cladoceran populations usually decline
rapidly when subjected to predation by larval fish in
culture ponds (Geiger 1983b; Geiger et al. 1985).
Egg-to-egg generation times:(7-8 days) at20oC
Life span: life spans approximately 50 days
The total young produced per adult lifespan is 400-600
Cladocerans have the highest filtering rates, followed
by copepods and then by rotifers (Allan 1976).
Fertilization for fish pond
To maintain the live feeds in the
• pond
Inorganic fertilizer
• Organic fertilizer
• nutrient-phytozoofish
Nitrogen fertilizer:
– Manures (e.g., cattle, poultry,
– Urea swine)
– Calcium nitrate – Hays (e.g., alfalfa, grass)
– Sodium nitrate – Meals (e.g., cottonseed,
soybean, bone, blood)
– Ammonium nitrate
• Phosporus fertilizer:
– Superphospate
– Triple superphospate
– Phosporic acid
Daphnia and Moina
Different genus
Brood pouch - completely close - Daphnia
Brood pouch – open – Moina
Moina are approximately half the maximum length of
Daphnia
Adult Moina (700-1,000 µm), Young Moina (less than
400 µm),
Culture of Moina
Moina
Moina are resistant to extremes in temperature - (5-
31° C)
their optimum temperature is 24-31° C
Food requirement : bacteria, yeast, phytoplankton
and detritus
grow most rapidly in the presence of adequate
amounts of bacterial and yeast cells as well as
phytoplankton
Life Cycles of Moina
4-22 broods per
Under normal female (asexual
condition – reproduction)
population consists of
all females Broods are produced
every 1.5-2.0 days
Under adverse
Reproduce at 4-7days environmental
of age conditions, males are
produced
Sexual reproduction
occurs – resting eggs
(ephippia)
Population density in culture
Daphnia - High population densities will result in
decrease in reproduction
Maximum sustained density – 500/L
Moina – 5000/L
When fed with yeast and ammonium nitrate:
Moina – average daily production - 106-110 g/m3
Daphnia - 25-40 g/m3
Nutritional Value of Moina
depending on their age and the type of food they are
receiving
the protein content of Moina usually averages 50% of
the dry weight
Adults normally have a higher fat content than
juveniles
The total amount of fat per dry weight is 20-27% for
adult females and 4-6% for juveniles
Procedure for Moina Culture
Moina can be produced either in
Batch culture combination with their food or as separate
cultures. Combined culture is the simplest,
but production from separate cultures has
Semi-continuous cultures been reported to be approximately higher
Batch culture
a new culture is started daily in a separate container
Useful to maintain pure culture - less chance of the
cultures becoming contaminated with competitors
Applicable when a specific quantity of Moina is
needed each day because daily production
Semi-continuous culture
can be maintained for
two months or more by daily partial harvests
water changes and regular feeding
When culture fail to respond to additional fertilization -
evident that they are not reproducing well, the Moina
should be completely harvested and a new culture
started.
Moina can be produced either in
combination with their food or as
separate cultures.
production from separate cultures
has been reported to be
approximately 1/3 higher than
combined culture
Tank arrangement for the separate culture
of Moina and its food.
Container
Hobbyist : 10-gallon or (38-L) aquaria
For larger scale and commercial operations: tanks or
vats (concrete, stainless steel, plastic or fiberglass) and
earthen ponds can be used
Water depth should be no greater than 3 feet (0.9 m)
– optimum: 16–20 inches (0.4–0.5 m)
shallow water depth allows good light penetration
and oxygen diffusion
Tanks can be disinfected with a 30% solution of
muriatic acid or by drying in sunlight. Earthen ponds
should be drained and sun dried.
Water
Moina are extremely sensitive to pesticides, metals (e.g., copper and
zinc, which may be prevalent in municipal or well water),detergents,
bleaches and other toxic materials in the water supply
Well water should be aerated for at least two hours.
Municipal water should be aerated for at least two days to neutralize
the chlorine
The optimum water temperature for Moina is 24–31° C
low temperatures reduce production
Gentle aeration
A small trickle of fresh water into the culture container
may also improve production
Shading
Light diffusion over 1/3 of water surface
Green house + cloth shade (50-80% light reduction)
For outdoor culture: use screen and roofing to avoid
rain water
