Hello all,
Ok here's the issue. I have a single Scarlet Badis (Dario dario) that is extremely picky about what he eats. So far hes rejected X-treme flake, X-treme nano, Vibra-Bites, Bug Bites color enhancing flakes, and frozen cyclops. He does however love Baby Brine Shrimp (BBS) so i hatch very very small batches (1/32nd of a tsp) continually. Hes fed for 2-3 days then fasts during the 36 hours a new batch hatch, however hes alone in a planted tank and seems to always be finding little critters to munch on and seems perfectly healthy. If you aren't familiar with them they he is less than 3/4" long and has a truly small mouth.
My problem is its very hard to keep BBS alive for the several days it takes for him to consume all of them even though i hatch very small batches. not only that but hes just so small that he cant consume the .5ml of BBS I usually feed. so they end up dying off and hopefully eaten by my Amano and not sucked into the sponge filter.
So here are my questions:
Does any one have any tricks to getting Darios on frozen or prepared foods?
Is there a freshwater alternative to BBS that i can feed and leave for him to hunt as he gets hungry and wont die in a matter of hours like BBS?
Can Daphnia be hatched from eggs and fed like BBS? (I know Daphnia cultures can be maintained, gut loaded and fed but i understand them to be difficult to maintain and almost certainly need a large amount of water, sun, and green water to succeed and even then they can easily crash.)
Is there a worm or small crustacean or anything like that I can culture in freshwater for him?
I know this is oddly specific but maybe others are also having the issue and I figured this group would be a great shot at getting some guidance.
Thanks in advance!