Live food
The most nutritious and stimulating of the natural diets. It is also the one most likely to introduce parasites.
Most commonly used:
| Food | For | Growing at Home |
|---|---|---|
| Artemia (nauplii) | Fry, shrimp | ✅ Easy (egg incubator) |
| Daphnia | All | ✅ Possible (outdoor tub) |
| Tubifex | Carnivores | ⚠️ High risk of parasites |
| Grindal worm | Small fish | ✅ Easy (coconut fiber tray) |
| Microworm | Juveniles | ✅ Very easy (oats + yeast) |
| Flour worm | Big Fish | ✅ Easy (bran box) |
| Fruit fly (Drosophila) | Killifish, surface-dwelling fish | ✅ Possible |
| Copepods | Nano fish, marine mandarin | ✅ Possible, but slow |
| Ghost shrimp (adult) | Big Fish | ✅ Easy to raise |
Cultivation of Artemia nauplii (most common):
- Mix 25–35 ppt of sea salt into water
- Add brine shrimp eggs (cysts)
- Keep at 28°C with strong aeration and light
- They hatch in 24–36 hours
- Use a flashlight to separate the nauplii from the shell (the nauplii are attracted to the light)
- Rinse before feeding (excessive saltwater is toxic)