well i think i have discovered why i can't keep my maroon clownfish fry alive. i have had 5 clutches now and all have died. i could not figure out why this was happening. i was doing everything that Wilkersons book said and all the advise i have recieved on RC. i think i have found out my problem. its a product called Roti-Rich. From what i was told this Roti-Rich is all i need to feed rotifers. no live phto needed. so naturally it seemed easier to use. over the last month i have been feeding my rotifers this Roti-Rich with great success. well last night i had a clutch ready to hatch. so before the lights went out i removed the clay pot to the fry tank. well this morning i woke up to see about 300 little fry swimming around in the fry tank. i was excited because this was the first time i woke up to ANY still alive. the previous times the eggs would hatch but all the fry would be dead when i checked them in the morning. so when i saw the fry this morning i immediatly added some rotifers. this was at about 8AM. at about 11AM i checked on the fry and things were looking great. i only counted 2 dead. so i decied i would co-culture the tank with the fry and rotifers. so i added a half of a cap of Roti-Rich to the fry tank (maybe a half an once or so). i waited a few minutes and checked back to see how green my water was. well it wasn't even a tint of green. i was just about to add some more RR when i got a phone call. i was on the phone for about 5 minutes. i came back to add the RR and ALL the fry were dead....ALL of them. i was shocked. after cooling down and playing some halo 2 live, i thought about what might of happened. thats when i relized my problem. its co-culturing useing the Roti-Rich. i think the reason it does not work is because the RR is dead not live like phyto. so i think it "dirties" up the water making bad conditions. i was just shocked how fast the fry died. so i thought about my other attempts to raise the fry. thats when i relized that each night when i placed the clay pot in the fry tank, i also added rotifers and Rot-Rich at the same time. meaning the RR probably was the culpret during the night. now i am not knocking RR. it has been good to the rotifers. i just don't think it works for co-culturing. whats your thoughts. i am sorry for the long read.
Roti-Rich... a no-no
- Thread starter gopens
- Start date
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10725028#post10725028 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by billsreef
I'm a proponent of co culturing with live phyto. It not only keeps the rotifers gut loaded, but helps with water quality. Dead foods can not help water quality
i agree 100%. i am going to start useing live phyto.
manuel ferrer
New member
Here all we used liophiliced phito (live plankton culture are history)
in powder. quality and chemical properties are guaranteed by laboratory.Single you must calculate the rotifer consumes to avoid the contamination of the water,the rest is everything but infinitely simple.
if somebody wants the Link I can put it
Manuel
in powder. quality and chemical properties are guaranteed by laboratory.Single you must calculate the rotifer consumes to avoid the contamination of the water,the rest is everything but infinitely simple.
if somebody wants the Link I can put it
Manuel
Coraldynamics
In Memoriam
Co culturing with phyto is great, but what your larvae DONT need are the fertilizers used to grow phyto. I have a much better yield on larvae success using Rotifer Diet from Reed Mariculture than I ever did with live phyto cultures. Rotifer Diet is a HIGHLY concetrated nanno with most of the liquid removed so there is very little of fertilizer products left in the bottle.
Plus my rotifer culture is in super shape too.
Just food for thought.
YMMV
Plus my rotifer culture is in super shape too.
Just food for thought.
YMMV
kerusso316
New member
I use live to start the baby tank.I can use alot and not worry about fouling.I use IA to feed my rotifer culture.Less problems to deal with.
one more question. is it a must to add "greenwater" to the fry tank. if not i can just feed the rotifers in there tank and then transfer the rotifers to the fry tank without feeding in the fry tank. if i did this i would just need to keep adding rotifers keeping a heavy population in the fry. i just wasn't sure if there was another plus to adding rotifer food to the fry tank. i might just add rotifers next time and no food.
Last edited:
kerusso316
New member
To feed rotifers properly one needs to feed them heavely[very green].This is not a good idea in the rotifer culture due to fouling.I feed the culture the same amount of IA every time,every day.Tinge green.There are people that use nothing but IA in the larvial tank.This is not for beginners because it is a dead food.If you feed a little too much....game over.Live phyto is MUCH more forgiving.
Rotifers burn up their food rapidly and unless constantly fed they will have no nutritional value in short time. Keeping rotifer food in the fry tank will keep nutritional value of the rotifers constantly good. Some of the most accomplished breeders I know use "greenwater" in the fry tanks, and they wouldn't bother if it didn't actually help
kerusso316
New member
To raise nano.Clean a 2 liter pop bottle.Fill it with New salt water at 1.012-1.016.Put the cap on.Microwave for 7 minutes.Let cool overnight.Ask around for a Starter culture.Pour starter in bottel.Use a liqued fertilizer [Florida aqua farms] Pump air bubbles to mix.Place next to a fluorescent light.Use a timer to turn light off two hours a night. Easy
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10734921#post10734921 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by billsreef
Some of the most accomplished breeders I know use "greenwater" in the fry tanks, and they wouldn't bother if it didn't actually help
Some poeple like <shudder> to grow phyto (see: banging head on wall for fun). A major portion of the Norwegian codfish hatcheries (multi billion dollar industry) have switched over to IA. Many with millions tied up in their culture rooms have switched over. In extensive and costly testing, they've found no use for live
That's not to mention I do not know a single Major US MO hatchery that doesn't use IA.
I've never found growing phyto to be so difficult as to equate it to banging ones head on a wall
There also are a few differences between large commercial operations and hobby endeavors, as well as experimental ones. I'm not saying using something like IA doesn't work, but using live phyto in the rearing tank does have benefits that can help a beginning breeder.
Atticus
New member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10736418#post10736418 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GreshamH
Some poeple like <shudder> to grow phyto (see: banging head on wall for fun). A major portion of the Norwegian codfish hatcheries (multi billion dollar industry) have switched over to IA. Many with millions tied up in their culture rooms have switched over. In extensive and costly testing, they've found no use for live
I agree with this statement to an extent... The extent being that this is a hobbiest site and most do not have the money to invest that a major breeder would.
My personal approach was IA for the rots (because you always need it and if your live culture crashes you are screwed/ or feeding garbage to your rots... Roti Rich and V8...)
I did always use LIVE Phyto culture in my growout. This made the growout tank dummy proof. Water quality is better, rotifers are perfect all the time, and the light was diffused so the fry were happy.
You can use IA in a growout but you lose the improved water quality and actually increase need for water changes. I like the minimalistic approach. I was always gone most of the day and with LIVE I could get fry through meta without a water change (Do not try this unless you can afford to lose the hatch as I have years of practice and my husbandry may be different than yours. Always do what you find works best for you!!!)
As for Roti Rich as I believe that was where this thread started...
It is a yeast type product, nothing related to phyto involved. Your rotifers will survive and multiply on it, but they will not carry the nutrients you will get from IA or phyto. Hell V8 is more nutritious... I suggest getting IA or at minimum use Live Phyto from a reputable dealer. I think there is even some on eBay of all places... I know I saw IA there awhile back. Just make surer you get your phyto from someone that knows what they are doing because many home cultures are actually a green bacterial culture and not even phytoplankton.
kerusso316
New member
instant algae........reed macroculture.I use nano. and pavlovia.4 parts nano 1 part pav.This gives me a fairly good HUFA profile.You should read up on HUFA befor buying IA.There are several profiles to use depending on what you are raising.
Gresham -your point is well made
however, iask you to look at the scale in which your talking. Most hobbyists are trying to raise 1 batch of clownfish. If the hobbyist is advanced then they may have 20 tanks in their growout system, but they do not rival th efood fish industry
The norwegin codfish industry is not some backroom fish breeder, in their case its more economical to NOT put time/money/effort into producing their own phyto. I certainly won't debate w/ you the merits of producing your own phyto in time/effort/money vs purchasing the prepared stuff, but on a dollar/doughnut readout to the little guy producing their own 2L of phyto every 3 days is more cost effective. Hopefully, your giving the norwegins a price break
Let face it- I think IA phyto products are worth it (cost effective), but to the beginner hobbyist, I'd would be remis if i didn't suggest they try to produce their own phyto
however, iask you to look at the scale in which your talking. Most hobbyists are trying to raise 1 batch of clownfish. If the hobbyist is advanced then they may have 20 tanks in their growout system, but they do not rival th efood fish industry
The norwegin codfish industry is not some backroom fish breeder, in their case its more economical to NOT put time/money/effort into producing their own phyto. I certainly won't debate w/ you the merits of producing your own phyto in time/effort/money vs purchasing the prepared stuff, but on a dollar/doughnut readout to the little guy producing their own 2L of phyto every 3 days is more cost effective. Hopefully, your giving the norwegins a price break
Let face it- I think IA phyto products are worth it (cost effective), but to the beginner hobbyist, I'd would be remis if i didn't suggest they try to produce their own phyto
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