Rotifer diet suggestions.

[gar732]

So it's been 2 years or more since last I ordered rotigrow+ which is what I planed on using again except that the price has gone up and shipping is now almost as much as the RG. It was a little pricey before but worth the time it saved me but at $125 shipped it just seems a little too much. So now I find myself looking at alternatives that might be more cost effective. If anyone has any suggestions I'd love to hear about it, thanks.

 

[ThRoewer]

Not necessarily ideal, but baker's yeast had worked for me in the past.
Though if you want to use them for breeding fish I would recommend to load them up with Rotigrow before feeding them to the larva.

 

[D-Nak]

I use Rotigrow OneStep and Rotigreen Omega. What you use really just depends on how big your operation will be. If you're planning to raise babies from multiple pairs, then Rotigrow+Rotigreen makes sense. If you're only raising a few clutches then RGComplete is a lot cheaper since you can buy it in smaller quantities, yet is a lot more expensive per ounce.

IME using Rotigrow typically results in a cleaner rotifer culture. I have yet to see if it produces nicer fish since they are still in grow out.

Also, if your LFS orders directly from Reed, they can order Reed products for you, and you'll just need to pick it up.

 

[gar732]

Thanks for the responses. Good to know I can use yeast to keep my culture going if I ever get stuck. I ended up picking up some RG complete locally and you make a good point about just having them order the rotigrow+ with their next order. I'll end up paying more for it but I'll save a ton on shipping so that will put me ahead. I'm just getting back into breeding clowns but I've never had more than 2-3 clutches going at the same time. I don't think I'll do much more than that. I've never used anything other than the + so I have nothing to compare it to so thanks for the feed back.

 

[ThRoewer]

For clownfish you can even get away without rotifers. I've bred thousands of ocellaris and percula without even having a rotifer culture. All I fed them was freshly hatched brine shrimp and after about 4 days frozen Cyclops.
The trick is to keep the parents at a lower salinity (~1.020) and letting the freshly hatched larvae go hungry for a few hours. A kreisel tank also helps.

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[CoralsAddiction]

I ended up picking up some RG complete locally

RG Complete is pretty good for what you're trying to do. If you end up ordering from Reed Mariculture in the future, I suggest ordering the biggest or second biggest bottle of RG Complete. Since they charge $20 for shipping it's not worth buying the smallest bottle if you plan on raising 2-3 clutches. You will run out quickly.

 

[swissgaurd]

has anyone ever experienced an issue when RG complete is close to or has expired
twice now ive had issues
ive lost a couple batches within 8 hours of hatching.
i use rotigrow to feed the rotifiers and RG complete to tint water for larva

 

[ThRoewer]

Not with RG directly, but another similar product.
It caused my rotifer culture to crash.
With the larvae I would only use living algae.

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[CoralsAddiction]

has anyone ever experienced an issue when RG complete is close to or has expired
twice now ive had issues
ive lost a couple batches within 8 hours of hatching.
i use rotigrow to feed the rotifiers and RG complete to tint water for larva

I bought a small bottle and a large bottle recently. Both have a 6 month expiration date. How much RG Complete are you using to tint the water? Reed Mariculture recommends 3 drops per gallon in the hatching tank.

 

[CoralsAddiction]

has anyone ever experienced an issue when RG complete is close to or has expired
twice now ive had issues
ive lost a couple batches within 8 hours of hatching.
i use rotigrow to feed the rotifiers and RG complete to tint water for larva

Now that I read this again it looks like I misunderstood the post. My initial understanding was that Reed was sending you expired products but you are saying that you've lost larvae with an expired product. I still recommend just a couple of drops per gallon to reduce mortality.

 

[swissgaurd]

yes using about 10 drops in 4 gallons.reed not selling expired product i just had bottles to long.you can actually notice the RG getting darker and if over 6 months it gets stringy.
im now trying to get fresh batch.its good stuff but the shipping costs 70 bux for a bottle

 

[reefstew]

You can also buy a lot more then you think you will need & just freeze it.

 

[swissgaurd]

I didn't think you could freeze it

 

[gar732]

You can also buy a lot more then you think you will need & just freeze it.

I froze the rotigrow+ without issue but I couldn't find anyone who has frozen the RG complete. I didn't want to try freezeing it only to ruin it or kill my culture.

 

[reefstew]

I froze the rotigrow+ without issue but I couldn't find anyone who has frozen the RG complete. I didn't want to try freezeing it only to ruin it or kill my culture.

You can do it. I talked to Reed & they said it is OK

 

[swissgaurd]

by freezing RG complete will this change the expiry date