These animals do quite well together and can be fed a ½” cube of chicken liver 2-3 times a week. The culture was started with pond water in a 15gallon long tank and is topped off weekly with dechlorinated tap water. As mentioned in some of the other maintenance pages, I don’t use any chemicals to speed this process. Rather, I leave tap water out for 24 hours to get rid of chlorine.
No power filtration or aeration is required, but I use Lemna (duckweed) to help filter the water. Submerged plants such as Elodea, watermilfoil, and various species of pondweed can be kept happily in this tank as well if it is positioned near a window or if overhead lighting is available.
The water quality will remain good for long periods of time and water changes are rarely required. I siphon some of the waste material from the bottom of the tank about once or twice a year so that no anaerobic pockets develop. You will have to scrape the algae off the tank walls and skim off some of the Lemna at least once every week or two.
One note: if room temperatures run cool, it may be helpful to add a submersible heater set to 70ºF. I always suggest submersible heaters because hanging heaters will crack if the water is not maintained at a particular level.