Rotifer culture contaminate

[Isernhagen]

I have had a rotifer culture for about 4 months. Lately it doesn't seem to get in the fast growth phase with greenwater changes every 2 or 3 days. Today, I noticed that there are white spinning rotifers about a third or half a millimeter in length in the water and moving on the side glass in small numbers, but the side glass and the bottom detritus is covered everywhere with a reddish brown elongated organism one fifth to one tenth millimeter in length (much smaller than the rotifers) which moves around on the glass. I don't know if they are baby rotifers or are a ciliate or some contaminant. I don't have a microscope but do have 12 x magnification available if you can help me to ID the organism. Any suggestions. Rick

 

[Maivortex]

I would try to start it over. Inoculate some new cultures using ur old ones. Try to avoid the contaminants

 

[landlord]

I would get those from time to time when I cultured in glass aquariums. To me they appeared to look like tee tiny worms. I thought they were ciliates as well.

In any case since culturing in buckets I have not seen them. To be honest I really don't even look for them. I still get lots of rotifers so it doesn't really bother me anymore.

As far as your cultures go. My adivce would be to strain out your current batch into a clean / disinfected / sterilized new culture container. 100% new water and start anew. You could always toss a heater into the culture tank to kick start the bloom, this seems to get the cultures producing more rapidly, at least for me.

Not much to answer your original question, I know, but it's the best advice I got for you.

KY breeders united!

Take Care Kurt

 

[JHemdal]

That's why I like to use the 2-liter bottle method, minimal risk of contamination, and if it does happen, you can easily take the affected bottle out of production.

Basically, you just grow up algae in 2 liter soda bottles, and then on schedule, add rotifers to the matured algae cultures. When the rotifer population peaks, you harvest, feed it out, then set up the bottle as an algae culture again. We've kept rotifers in culture for many years like that....

Jay