A WAY TO RAISE RANCHU ● FOOD

Ranchu are omnivores and prefer a wide variety of foods. To insure health and reduce obesity, their diet has to be balanced with proteins, carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins.

Foods high in protein:

• live or frozen brine shrimp
• daphnia
• bloodworm
• pellets

Foods high in vitamins and minerals:

• algae
• duckweed
• chlorella and phytoplankton
• spirulina
• pumpkin
• spinach
• wolffia

Food Types And Digestion Times

Food with less moisture content takes longer to digest. A safe interval between feedings can be placed at 2 hours, however digestion time will change depending on the amount of food given. Approximate digestion times:

• daphnia, brine shrimp, wolffia, duckweed - 1 hr
• bloodworm - 1 ½ hr
• pellets - 2 hrs. 

Daphnia

One of the foods that is central to ranchu development. Easily digestible and highly absorbent, daphnia is high in nutrients and contributes to a maximum fry growth potentials.

Bloodworm

Another food that is very important to ranchu. It has superior digestion and absorption rate. High in protein, it promotes head-growth and overall development.

Brine Shrimp

With excellent absorption rate and nutritional value it is a good alternative to daphnia. Newly hatched brine shrimp is excellent for feeding fry.

Vegetables

Low in fat and protein, vegetables are rich in vitamins, minerals and organic pigments, and are very important supplement. They promote colors and overall health, especially at young stages. Most used vegetables are: phytoplankton, green algae, chlorerlla, spirulina, duckweed, pumpkin, wolffia and spinach among others.

Commercial Pellets

Due to low moisture content, digestion rate is the slowest, up to 2 hrs and more. Best if pellets are alternated with easily digestible foods, e.g. bloodworm. Due to high nutritional value and longer digestion times, feeding only with pellets may cause obesity and requires carful observation. There are many brands that offer ranchu pellets. However, not all of them are equal in quality and value. My own preference is Azayaka Brand ranchu pellets. Here is my article on different brands of pellets, their comparison and analyzes.

Pigments

Organic pigments or carotenoids like luteins (for yellows) and astaxanthin (for reds) are very important for developing fish coloration. Incorporating spinach, pumpkin, duckweed, wolffia and color enhancing pellets is beneficial.

Wolffia

Wolffia is the world’s smallest flowering plant that belongs to a group of duckweeds. It is easily digestible, contributes to color development (especially yellow) and overall health of a young fish. It also helps to maintain a slim belly. Wolffia can be easily substituted with duckweed.

Benefits of Wolffia or Duckweed:

• promotes head-growth development
• promotes slim belly and good physical shape
• easily digestible
• rich in vitamins and minerals
• high in protein
• positively effects color development
• shades the water and helps to lower water temperature
• removes access of oxygen and supplies carbon dioxide
• utilizes ammonia 

Cultivating Wolffia or Duckweed:

• requires a lot of sunlight
• tap water can be used
• provide light aeration
• will propagate very rapidly in 86 F (30°C)
• keep water temperature under 97 F (36°C)
• in winter, if temperatures are low, will go dormant and will sink to the bottom

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Links to published chapters:

● INTRODUCTION
● WATER
● NOTES ON GREEN WATER & WATER CHANGE
● WATER TEMPERATURE
● AERATION
● SUNLIGHT AND SHADE
● CONTAINERS FOR RAISING RANCHU
● FOOD
● FEEDING REGIMENT
● BREEDING & SPAWNING
● RAISING & GROOMING FRY
● GROOMING KUROKO AND TOSAI
● CULLING
● SELECTION METHODS
● CULLING ROUND - I
● CULLING ROUND - II
● CULLING ROUND - III
● CULLING ROUND - IV
● CULLING ROUND - V
● FORSEEING RANCHU CHANGES IN THE FUTURE

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WOLFFIA - SUPER PLANT, SUPER FOOD

Commonly known as water-meal, the genus Wolffia is comprised of a dozen of species of flowering plants belonging to a group of duckweeds from the Arum family (Araceae). Wolffia plants are free floating and unlike other duckweeds do not develop any root system.

Everything about this plant is different and unique. First of all the size. It is the smallest known flowering plant, barely reaching 1 mm in size. Second - it's appearance. Unlike in most plants it has no roots, branches or leaves, instead it possesses a body of undifferentiated vegetative tissue or thallus. The only differentiated part in this plant is a flower that seldom forms in depression on the top of the plant's body. Third - Wolffia's nutritional value. Protein content of this plant can be as high as 45%, placing it in the same league as soybeans.

Wolffia arrhiza, side view

Another Wolffia's "talent" is the ability to propagate with incredible speed. In warm water and under bright light each plant can double its size every 2 days, rapidly taking over any surface of water. Easy cultivation, high yield and nutritional value made Wolffia an important food source for people of South-east Asia, where it is harvested and eaten. Some say it taste like sweet cabbage.

Intervals between the toothpick bristles are less than 1 mm

I have read about Wolffia that it has been cultivated by ranchu breeders in Japan and valued as dietary supplement for ranchu. It is considered easily digestible and contributes to development of head-growth and color (especially yellow). It helps to maintain slim belly, preventing obesity. Adding Wolffia as a food supplement to my ranchu diet sounded like a great idea, especially since I won't be able to raise ranchu in "green water" at least for now.

Wolffia is usually found in lakes and ditches with standing or slow moving freshwater throughout temperate, sub - and tropical areas of the world and usually grows together with other duckweeds like Lemna and Spirodela.

I ordered it online. Wolffia arrhiza was the species that I received. Now I have to be patient, as I can't feed Wolffia to my ranchu quite yet. Since the plants were collected from the outdoor pond, it is necessary to sterilize them and start a "clean" culture with the same microflora as it is in the pond with my ranchu. To sterilize Wolffia I used 2.5% Clorox bleach solution, in which I kept the plants for ≈ 30 sec. Sterilized plants were rinsed in freshwater and transferred into their growing container with water from my ranchu pond. 

These plants need to be fertilized to keep them rapidly growing, but my options were limited. Plant fertilizers won't work, as Wolffia will absorb and retain high concentrations of N and P along with other elements that can harm ranchu if eaten. I wouldn't risk using aquatic plants fertilizers either. My fellow ranchu breeder from Singapore, Wee Yap ( goldfishartquatics.blogspot ) suggested using goldfish dry pellets as fertilizer, and so I did. Nitrates present in my municipal water at 20-40 ppm will provide some additional resource for Wolffia.