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Care library / Food
Live daphnia
Live foods

Live daphnia

Daphnia (water fleas) are small freshwater cladoceran crustaceans up to about 3 mm (some to 4-6 mm). Moina is a smaller cladoceran (adults 0.7-1 mm). Protein is usually about 50% of dry weight; adult fat about 20-27%, juveniles 4-6%; value depends on what they were fed.

For: Small fish and fry. Adult Daphnia are too big for the tiniest fry; young Moina (under 400 µm) are small enough for many first-feeding fry.

Careful: Do not add adult Cyclops (cyclopoid copepods) to tanks of tiny fry: they prey on fish larvae. Copepods can also be intermediate hosts of fish parasites, and wild-collected cultures can bring in hydra and insect larvae that eat fry, so prefer clean cultured stock. Frozen daphnia leach nutrients quickly once thawed.

Examples you may see in shops: Live Daphnia, Moina (a cladoceran like Daphnia). Not endorsements.

Facts checked against sources on 16 Oct 2026. See sources

Who eats it

0 species

Sources

4 facts checked with sources

  • What it iscorrectedANGFA (Tappin 2011): Daphnia · Aquarium Co-Op: How to Raise Daphnia as a Live Fish Food
  • Who it's forANGFA (Tappin 2011): Daphnia · ANGFA (Tappin 2011): Feeding Larvae
  • ProductscorrectedANGFA (Tappin 2011): Daphnia · Piasecki et al. (2004) Importance of Copepoda in Freshwater Aquaculture. Zoological Studies 43(2): 193-205 · Aquarium Co-Op: How to Raise Daphnia as a Live Fish Food
  • SafetycorrectedPiasecki et al. (2004) Importance of Copepoda in Freshwater Aquaculture. Zoological Studies 43(2): 193-205 · ANGFA (Tappin 2011): Daphnia