Rotifers... [Archive] - Reef Central Online Community Archives

polymorphus

03/30/2004, 03:07 AM

Anyone here culturing rotifers? and if so what are you using to enrich them? Thought I would ask my fellow AZ reefers before hitting up the internet for a solution...

- g

mx_tang

03/30/2004, 07:57 AM

I culture rotifers along with several other PROP farmers and local hobbyists. At the moment, I'm only feeding my tank the L-strain Brachionus plicatilis. Currently, I culture rotifers with Instant-Algaes' Nannochloropsis (primary feed) and Omega Boost(fortifying enrichment). If you want detailed information about rotifers, then you should pick up The Plankton Culture Manual 5th edition by Hoff & Snell.

polymorphus

03/30/2004, 01:10 PM

Yes, I have the manual, I simply wanted to see what others used in the valley and if there was anything available locally...

thanks for the help,

- g

mx_tang

03/30/2004, 03:32 PM

I have plenty of rotifers if you need a starter culture, but the 1oz bottles of instant-algae won't last too long with millions of rotifers consuming about 100,000-250,000 cells per day. Did you want a starter culture this weekend?

polymorphus

03/30/2004, 03:33 PM

Sure PM me the details....

- g

mx_tang

03/31/2004, 01:48 PM

Well, I can actually give you the details of my setup in this post.

1.) 3 x 3g polycarbonate refrigerator jugs w/spigot.

2.) filtration/circulation = 2 x Hydro Sponge II filters in each 3g jug (helps keep water quality clean and nitrification)

3.) 2 outlet Whisper Airpump per jug

4.) Temp = 75°F (room temp)

5.) Lighting = none

6.) Food = Nannochloropsis sp @ 1-10mL/g

7.) Salinity = 1.012 SG or 16ppt @ 75°F

8.) Daily Maintenance = sieve ¾ water and replenish with saltwater (either put the water you sieved out or add freshly mixed saltwater)

9.) Weekly Maintenance = clean Hydro-Sponge Filters and check airpump.

10.) Monthly Maintenance = Tear down, clean, and restart jugs (stagger each jug cleaning to every few days or weeks, so you don't restart all of your jugs simultaneously).

Speedy3kgt

04/02/2004, 11:23 AM

Ok, so let me ask you a questions mx_tang. In the culture of the nanochloropsis, other algaes (Tetraselmis is my other interest due to it's antibiotical and immune system boost effects), and the Rotifer culture, do they reproduce in the bottles or do you have to replace to algae discs and rotifer eggs when you do the clean out.

Confusing I know. Let me illustrate. Lets say I start my Nanochloropsis culture, I got all the hardware set up, steady bubble count, lighting. I apply the algae discs, and fertilizer, let it sit. The bottles go green. Let's say I dose half of the 2 liter bottle to a rotifer culture. Do I then fill it the missing half up with clean saltwater?

At the end of the month when I clean the bottles, do I siphon some live algae from the other bottles into the cleaned one and add saltwater to both bottles or do I have to get another algae disc?

Just a question. Wondering. I'd hate to be able to do this and be buying algae disc or rotifer eggs to restart my cultures every end of month. Thanks in advanced.

mx_tang

04/06/2004, 05:57 AM

I don't actually culture Nannochloropsis sp, Isochrysis Galbana (Tahiti strain), or Tetraselmis sp anymore, but you can do a quick search about it here:

phyto wows. Nano keeps crashing! (http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=184219&highlight=phyto)

phytoplankton outline (http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=184746&highlight=phyto)

Phyto and f/2 (http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=178474&highlight=phyto)

phyto experiences to date (http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=172511&highlight=phyto)

rotifer experiences to date (http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=174542&highlight=phyto)

If you want the short version, here I go:

1.) take a disk of algae, put it in a container, and grow it out under optimal conditions (light, aeration, fertilizer, etc)

2.) once the phyto is ready to be cultured, take 90% out and feed the rotifers. Use the remaining 10% as an inoculant for future phyto.
Top off bottles with fresh saltwater with fertilizer, light it, aerate it, then wait 7-14 days and repeat this step.

3.) if you keep the phyto and rotifers under optimal conditions, they will continue to reproduce giving you a renewable resource everyday
for rotifers and every 7-14 days for phytoplankton.

The algae disks and rotifer eggs are a one time inoculant. There's absolutely no need to use algae disks or rotifer eggs on a regular basis
once you have your cultures started. However, it's never a bad idea to keep one on hand in case of an impending crash or total wipeout.
Also, your phytoplankton may become contaminated over time, so it's a good idea to restart your cultures at least 1-2 times per year.

The method about cleaning out rotifer cultures monthly is universal: Rotifers are dirty animals and detritus will buildup past the acceptable
point of normal siphoning. If you use live phytoplankton with densities no higher than 20 million, then you will need to siphon water on a
daily basis, if not twice/day, to feed your hungry rotifers. Here's a system I once used:

<center>
<table border><tr><th>Species</th><th>Sunday</th><th>Monday</th><th> 
Tuesday</th><th>Wednesday</th><th>Thursday</th><th> 
Friday</th><th>Saturday</th><th> Sunday</th>
<tr><td>Nanno 1</td> <td>start/end culture</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing </td> <td>growing </td> <td>start/end culture</td></tr>
<tr><td>Nanno 2</td> <td>start/end culture</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>start/end culture</td></tr>
<tr><td>Nanno 3</td> <td>growing</td> <td>start/end culture</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td></tr>
<tr><td>Nanno 4</td> <td>growing</td> <td>start/end culture</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td></tr>
<tr><td>Nanno 5</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>start/end culture</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td></tr>
<tr><td>Nanno 6</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>start/end culture</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td></tr>
<tr><td>Nanno 7</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>start/end culture</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td></tr>
<tr><td>Nanno 8</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>start/end culture</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td></tr>
<tr><td>Nanno 9</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>start/end culture</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td></tr>
<tr><td>Nanno 10</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>start/end culture</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td></tr>
<tr><td>Nanno 11</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>start/end culture</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td></tr>
<tr><td>Nanno 12</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>start/end culture</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td></tr>
<tr><td>Nanno 13</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>start/end culture</td> <td>growing</td></tr>
<tr><td>Nanno 14</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>start/end culture </td> <td>growing</td></tr>
<tr><td>Nanno spare A</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>start/end culture</td></tr>
<tr><td>Nanno spare B</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>start/end culture</td></tr>

<tr><td>T-iso 1</td> <td>start/end culture</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>start/end culture</td></tr>
<tr><td>T-iso 2</td> <td>start/end culture</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>start/end culture</td></tr>
<tr><td>T-iso 3</td> <td>growing</td> <td>start/end culture</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td></tr>
<tr><td>T-iso 4</td> <td>growing</td> <td>start/end culture</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td></tr>
<tr><td>T-iso 5</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>start/end culture</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td></tr>
<tr><td>T-iso 6</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>start/end culture</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td></tr>
<tr><td>T-iso 7</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>start/end culture</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td></tr>
<tr><td>T-iso 8</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>start/end culture</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td></tr>
<tr><td>T-iso 9</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>start/end culture</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td></tr>
<tr><td>T-iso 10</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>start/end culture</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td></tr>
<tr><td>T-iso 11</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>start/end culture</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td></tr>
<tr><td>T-iso 12</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>start/end culture</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td></tr>
<tr><td>T-iso 13</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>start/end culture</td> <td>growing</td></tr>
<tr><td>T-iso 14</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>start/end culture</td> <td>growing</td></tr>
<tr><td>T-iso spare A</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>start/end culture</td></tr>
<tr><td>T-io spare B</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>start/end culture</td></tr>

<tr><td>Tetra 1</td> <td>start/end culture</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>start/end culture</td></tr>
<tr><td>Tetra 2</td> <td>start/end culture</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>start/end culture</td></tr>
<tr><td>Tetra 3</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>start/end culture</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td></tr>
<tr><td>Tetra 4</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>start/end culture</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td></tr>
<tr><td>Tetra 5</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>start/end culture</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td></tr>
<tr><td>Tetra 6</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>start/end culture</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td></tr>
<tr><td>Tetra spare A</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>start/end culture</td> <td>growing</td></tr>
<tr><td>Tetra spare B</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>growing</td> <td>start/end culture</td> <td>growing</td></tr>

<tr><td>Rotifer 1</td> <td>Feed Nanno & T-iso (bottle 1,2)</td> <td>Feed Nanno & T-iso (bottle 3,4)</td> <td>Feed Nanno & T-iso (bottle 5,6)</td> <td>Feed Nanno & T-iso (bottle 7,8)</td> <td>Feed Nanno & T-iso (bottle 9,10)</td> <td>Feed Nanno & T-iso (bottle 11,12 ) </td> <td>Feed Nanno & T-iso (bottle 13,14) </td> <td>Feed Nanno & T-iso (bottle 1,2 )</td></tr>
<tr><td>Rotifer 2</td> <td>Feed Nanno & T-iso (bottle 1,2)</td> <td>Feed Nanno & T-iso (bottle 3,4)</td> <td>Feed Nanno & T-iso (bottle 5,6)</td> <td>Feed Nanno & T-iso (bottle7,8 )</td> <td>Feed Nanno & T-iso (bottle 9,10)</td> <td>Feed Nanno & T-iso (bottle 11,12) </td> <td>Feed Nanno & T-iso (bottle 13,14) </td> <td>Feed Nanno & T-iso (bottle 1,2)</td></tr>
<tr><td>Rotifer 3</td> <td>Feed Nanno & T-iso (bottle 1,2)</td> <td>Feed Nanno & T-iso (bottle 3,4)</td> <td>Feed Nanno & T-iso (bottle 5,6)</td> <td>Feed Nanno & T-iso (bottle 7,8)</td> <td>Feed Nanno & T-iso (bottle 9,10)</td> <td>Feed Nanno & T-iso (bottle 11,12) </td> <td>Feed Nanno & T-iso (bottle 13,14)</td> <td>Feed Nanno & T-iso (bottle 1,2) </td></tr>
</table></center>

As you can see, running 40 bottles of phyto and 3 bottles of rotifers gets to be a lot of work, IMHO. That's why I went with Instant-Algae
and reduced the amount of bottles from 43 x 1g containers to 3 x 3g containers. I don't need to worry about cleaning the bottles,
adding fertilizer to grow phyto, having phyto crashes, or the amount of saltwater and extra electricity (light and airpumps) dedicated
to the phytoplankton closet.

Speedy3kgt

04/06/2004, 11:35 AM

Awesome! Thank you very much.

mx_tang

04/06/2004, 05:27 PM

You're welcome Speedy3kgt,

Let us know if you need anymore help. Also, if you have specific questions about phyto or zooplankton, Frank Marini in the Breeders Forum can always give you great advice. He actually has a collection of useful articles to help you get started.

Good Luck!