For sale are 100+ Moina eggs, an excellent way to produce nutritious live food for fry and aquarium fish. Moina are closely related to Daphnia and look very similar but are considerably smaller.
Newly hatched Moina are only slightly larger than newly hatched brine shrimp making them an excellent live food for the fry of many fish species. Even as adults, Moina reach only about twice the length of newly hatched brine shrimp so they remain an ideal size for older fry and small species of fish.
Moina are extremely prolific and once established can provide a continuous supply of live food. They can be cultured using essentially the same methods as Daphnia.
Culturing Instructions
Add the eggs to a jar of green water and stir gently. Keep the jar in a well lit area and provide gentle aeration. Some of the eggs should begin to hatch within a few days.
It is normal for only a small percentage of the eggs to hatch initially. The remaining unhatched eggs can be collected and stored in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks before trying again. Subsequent hatching attempts can produce additional baby Moina. This staggered hatching is a natural survival strategy that helps Moina populations persist in temporary ponds and puddles that may dry up between periods of rainfall.
For best results, feed Moina with rice bran, green water or algae paste. Rice bran, available here, is our preferred food because it is convenient, easy to use and provides a nutritious gut load for your fish.
To prepare rice bran, place a small amount in a piece of cloth and wrap securely. Submerge it in a small container of aquarium water and squeeze repeatedly until the water becomes milky. Add this suspension sparingly to the Moina culture, aiming to maintain only a very light haze in the water. For best results, feed the culture every 1–2 days, adjusting the amount as needed.
Pro Tips
#1 In our experience, a rapid increase in water temperature is the most effective stimulant for hatching Moina eggs. Place the eggs in the hatching container and add room temperature water. Then float the container in a heated aquarium to quickly raise and maintain the temperature at approximately 30°C (86°F). After hatching, the culture can be returned to room temperature or kept warmer to encourage faster reproduction.
#2 If you plan to culture Moina outdoors, consider co-culturing them with Daphnia. Moina typically dominate during the warm summer months while Daphnia populations thrive during the cooler spring and fall seasons. Daphnia may even continue reproducing well into winter provided sufficient food remains available.
#3 For large scale Moina production we recommend feeding rice bran. Producing enough green water to support large cultures is often impractical while rice bran removes this production bottleneck. In our experience it also supports significantly denser Moina populations. For those feeding with green water it is also a good idea to have some rice bran on hand in case your green water culture crashes.
