A personal study of Daphnia pulex - from a hobbyist standpoint by Colin McCourt
Brief Overview
Daphnia or Water fleas are a large collection of micro crustacean species from the
Order of Cladocera.
Daphnia live for around 40-56 days depending upon the species and environmental
conditions. Each female brood consists of anywhere between 2-10 eggs which if
conditions are right turn into embryos and are released into the water column within
a few days. Juvenile daphnia reach sexual maturity within 6-10 days. A good
healthy population of daphnia will almost certainly contain mostly females which
have been produced asexually.