Rotifers

[agsansoo]

Romulox234, You can also culture them in rubbermaid 1/2 gallon or 1 gallon containers. This way if one culture crashes, you have three more !

Old photo:

 

[Romulox234]

That would probably be a better idea than having one 5gal bucket i think ill go with that thanks

 

[WmTasker]

Does anyone have any thoughts about a small scale rotifers breeding? I am thinking about setting up a 2 1/2 gallon for rotifers. Do I have to grow phyto, or can i use a more simple method of food?

Thanks
Billy

 

[billsreef]

There are cryo preserved phytoplanktons available from Reed Mariculture that will work for culturing rots without use of live phyto cultures. However, greater care must be taken with feeding and ammonia control than is needed with live phyto.

 

[GreshamH]

We no longer sell what we used to call "cryo preserved" Bill. Brine Shrimp Direct is the only place to get our algae mixed with glycerin aka cryo-preserved.

tackling ammonia is easy as dumping in a little bit of Cloramx It may get even easier if the current tests prove effective

 

[Zooid]

I am using RotiGrow Plus now and haven't had any problem at all with ammonia. I haven't used any neutralizer on the rotifer culture at all. I harvest about half the culture per day and replace with fresh saltwater. I also clean the tank once a week. RotiGrow plus seems to be much cleaner than Reed's previous products. It's so clean that I'm using it as greenwater for my clownfish larvae. The only difference there is that I do put some ammonia neutralizer in with the larvae.

 

[GreshamH]

I personally haven't used it yet, but from looking at our cultures and talking with Tim Reed I definitely have to concur on this being the cleanest product yet.

 

[billsreef]

We no longer sell what we used to call "cryo preserved" Bill. Brine Shrimp Direct is the only place to get our algae mixed with glycerin aka cryo-preserved.

tackling ammonia is easy as dumping in a little bit of Cloramx It may get even easier if the current tests prove effective

Last time I got some, it was from Brine Shrimp Direct

 

[Sig45]

RotiRich from Florida Aqua Farms comes in bulk dry and premixed liquid. Concentrated and lasts along time.

 

[reefstew]

I switched over to roto grow + & the results were at least 5 times better. All the people at Reed were very helpfull in sharing all the info needed.

 

[Zooid]

The only time I've ever had rotifers crash was from RotiRich. It's tough to tell how much to add.

 

[CA1]

Hi, does anyone know if DTs phytoplankton is a good food for raising rotifers?

Does it contain the correct algae?

Thanks

 

[billsreef]

DT's should work fine.

 

[rkelman]

It will work. Its not cost effective though.

 

[CA1]

Ok, I think I will order some Rotifer diet from Reed Mariculture. I do not feel like culturing my own phytoplankton, seems like alot of work.

 

[Zooid]

I suggest using RotiGrow Plus....it's a lot cleaner than Rotifer Diet.

 

[Sig45]

RotiRich is concentrated. FAF has quality products and I got my original seed cultures from them.
Dosing is trial & error unfortunately. In previous years when I cultured phyto I had rotifer cultures that could consume 1 L of phyto per day in a 5 gal vessel. It required 1-2d harvesting at that density. After straining there very so many rotifers you could visibly see a layer of them on the screen.
Concentrates should be slowly increased and watch water quality closely.

 

[CA1]

I am actually using some RotiRich now, is this stuff as good as Rotifier diet or is it the same?

Thanks

 

[Sig45]

Sorry I haven't used Rot diet.

 

[Zooid]

I like Rotifer Diet better than RotiRich because it's tough to tell if you are feeding too much RotiRich until it crashes the rotifers. Rotifer Diet is fairly dense. I used it before they came out with RotiGrow Plus. I was really impressed with RotiGrow Plus. It's very clean and extremely dense. I tried it as greenwater for my batch of black and white ocellaris and they didn't have any problems with it at all.