I started my rotifer cultures. I ordered the starter culture kit from reed mariculture. I feed them with rg complete. I feed enough to green the water. But I don't know whether I'm supposed to do a daily percentage of water changes on them or wait until the culture has grown to higher rotifer population. I spilt the package of 1 million rotifers in 3 five gallon buckets. I can't see waiting the water if it's still green. I feel like I'd be waisting the rg complete. Am I supposed to do water changes every day? If so how much? I know you need to thin them out but the cultures aren't dense enough for that year. Should I just wait until the population rotifers is higher before changing water or do it daily? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Do you change water in rotifer cultures?
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arichard
New Member
All depends whether you are wanting to run a continuous culture (removing a percentage of rotifers or volume of water every day) or run multiple batch cultures (grow the rotifers in the bucket until day 3-4 of the culture and completely harvest the bucket). They are two different styles, each with their benefits and drawbacks.
arichard
New Member
Continuous can be tricky. It's all about finding a sweet spot in your rotifer population and removing the same portion everyday and having the rotifers reproduce what you are taking out (or more) by the next day.
In the past I've ran a batch culture for 4 days then on the 4th day I started harvesting 10-15% (volume). You can gradually increase your harvest up to 30% (over time). After you harvest you just top the bucket off with fresh seawater and repeat the next day. If you do a count of the rotifers and roughly 20%+ have eggs you are usually in good shape. If that level drops you might want to check you water quality. Usually I run my ALK around 120-250 and TAN 1.0 mg/L to 10 mg/L. The test strips work well for this. The rotifers will start to swim real slow if the water quality is messed up and they'll stop eating. Use an ammonia reducer like Chloram-X to keep the ammonia in check and sodium bicarbonate to increase the ALK. A little of both goes a long way.
In the past I've ran a batch culture for 4 days then on the 4th day I started harvesting 10-15% (volume). You can gradually increase your harvest up to 30% (over time). After you harvest you just top the bucket off with fresh seawater and repeat the next day. If you do a count of the rotifers and roughly 20%+ have eggs you are usually in good shape. If that level drops you might want to check you water quality. Usually I run my ALK around 120-250 and TAN 1.0 mg/L to 10 mg/L. The test strips work well for this. The rotifers will start to swim real slow if the water quality is messed up and they'll stop eating. Use an ammonia reducer like Chloram-X to keep the ammonia in check and sodium bicarbonate to increase the ALK. A little of both goes a long way.
I wouldn't add them to the fry tank. Turn off your air line and let the detritus settle to the bottom and use the water from the top so you don't get alot of it I. Your sieve or whatever filter your using for harvesting the rotifers. If you have a bunch of floating gunk, you might have to much air flow or if your using an air stone, I'd recommend getting it out of there as air stones seems to send very small bubbles and It can act as a Skimmer sending detritus to the top.
Reef Nutrition
We Feed Your Reef
The best way to culture rotifers is continuously. Harvesting 20-30% daily is recommended. You definitely want to have a dense culture before you start harvesting. Also, multiple feedings, daily, are recommended. You always want to feed small amounts at least 2 times a day so that the algae doesn't get wasted and pollute the system (auto-dosers are the best!). The main thing with this strategy is consistency. Harvesting daily ensures that the rotifer population consists of young, vigorous females that are reproducing asexually (they are parthenogenic). The younger animals reproduce much better than an older ones. Waste export is also more easily managed with daily harvests; especially if you are using filter floss to trap the organics. One of the main reasons rotifer cultures crash is waste build up: what goes in, must come out. Rotifers can handle poor water quality, but it slows their reproduction, which in turn means that the rotifer population is aging and not producing new progeny. If a culture goes too long and has a gradual decline in water quality and diet, then the rotifers switch over to sexual reproduction producing a resting egg. It's great that you are counting your rotifers!
BTW, the large, green clumps are bacteria and algae stuck together. They can be harmful to a larval rearing tank because it is decaying organics which will cause ammonia issues.
Chad
Chad knows what he is talking about - he recently helped me solidify my rotifer culture protocol.
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