rotifer & brine shrimp question

[gmneil]

so apparently a couple of bbs got into my rotifer bucket. will this be an issue? the brine shrimp that did about 5-10 of them are getting big, im assuming from the rotifer diet i feed the bucket daily.

any issues or concerns?

 

[NirvanaFan]

nope. No concerns. You can net the brine shrimp out before they start reproducing. Or, you can let them grow and have a co-culture of them to feed your adult fish.

 

[gmneil]

ok thanks, so is this common for people to co culture them together?

 

[NirvanaFan]

usually, only by accident. The brine shrimp will eventually eat the rotifers, but I never noticed any dent in the rotifer population because of the shrimp.

 

[jlymner]

how did you set up your rotifer bucket?

 

[NirvanaFan]

rigid airline tubing clipped to one side. Bubbling at a good rate, from the bottom. That's pretty much it. I usually have a couple 5 gallon buckets going.

 

[jlymner]

that sounds easy.. what do you feed them and where did you get the starter ones?

Thanks!

 

[NirvanaFan]

You can get rotifer cysts (like brine shrimp), that hatch and reproduce. You feed them either live (culture your own) or frozen phytoplankton.

 

[gmneil]

I got my rotifers from a locaol fis store they also had some rg complete rotifer diet i bought and that has been working great.

 

[jlymner]

Thanks!

 

[bigbear4x43]

I got my rotifers from a locaol fis store they also had some rg complete rotifer diet i bought and that has been working great.

hi I was wondering I have 5 gallon orange bucket with heater air stone and also like you rg complete how much rg complete do you use to keep water green tint what temp and salinity and air also if you take rots out before adding new water do you need to heat water before putting back into rot bucket

 

[NirvanaFan]

Punctuation...

Just enough RotiGrow to tint the water. Don't add too much because it can spoil the water (spiking ammonia). Pretty much any temp is fine. The warmer it is (up to the mid 80s), the faster the rotifers will reproduce. You will have to feed more often as well.

I always ran my rotifers at 1.019 salinity. Use just enough air to keep the phytoplankton moving. You don't want it to be violently bubbling. The rotifers can swim on their own, so don't go crazy with the air bubbles.

If there is a large difference in temperature between new and old water, you should either match the temperatures, or slowly add in the new water a few drops at a time.

 

[gmneil]

hi I was wondering I have 5 gallon orange bucket with heater air stone and also like you rg complete how much rg complete do you use to keep water green tint what temp and salinity and air also if you take rots out before adding new water do you need to heat water before putting back into rot bucket

i don't use a heater in my rot bucket at all, and i just add a squirt or 2 until i see a color i feel is good. seems to have been working for me. as for new water i mix it up to 1.020 and i let the salt mix for at least 10 hours so i just use it then at room temp.