does anybody know where to get food for rotifers

[Cole Harlow]

i recently started a rotifer culture (about a month ago) and im running low on food i dont really want to buy food from reed mariculture because i thought it would be easier to find someone who sells food locally. im using the rotifers to raise my clownfish fry which is going grreat i have about 40 clownfish fry in all and they are all doing good. some of the older fry are orange and are starting to develop white stripes on there head and they swim like clownfish

[lazylivin]

Wow that sounds like a really cool project. Would love to see a thread with pictures and the process if you get a chance.

[cyberwollf]

Dont rotifers just eat phyto? Like DTs?

[micki]

Wow that sounds like a really cool project. Would love to see a thread with pictures and the process if you get a chance.

+1!!!  I would love to see that process!

[micki]

Dont rotifers just eat phyto? Like DTs?

I thought the same thing?

[DarinSchmidt]

Yes, rotifers eat phyto, you can either buy it in dry powder form or culture your own. Culturing your own requires a little bit of work but you'll never run out, and i mean never, stuff grows like crazy and you can put it in the fridge for up to a month as long as you shake it every other day. The dry stuff is still pretty cheap, and def easier to keep but i'm not sure how "healthy" it is compared to culturing your own.

[cyberwollf]

I'd still go with DTs for max nutrition if you are growing fry.  I dont know how much it matters but growing your own is never as nutritious.  I have grown it and it is easy, but DTs grows theirs at a lower temperature which makes them more nutritious and DTs is a blend of 3 strains, where you'd only be able to grow a single strain at home.

I was really wanting to grow out clownfish fry a few years ago and did all the research (but my clowns took forever to lay) i decided I'd just buy a bottle of DTs every few month for better results than growing my own.

[DarinSchmidt]

I'd still go with DTs for max nutrition if you are growing fry.  I dont know how much it matters but growing your own is never as nutritious.  I have grown it and it is easy, but DTs grows theirs at a lower temperature which makes them more nutritious and DTs is a blend of 3 strains, where you'd only be able to grow a single strain at home.

I was really wanting to grow out clownfish fry a few years ago and did all the research (but my clowns took forever to lay) i decided I'd just buy a bottle of DTs every few month for better results than growing my own.

can only grow a single strain? and grow at a lower temp? Phyto only grows within a certain temp range and i grew 3 strains at home. Nano, Iso, and Tetra (the 3 best kinds you can). You feed it fertilizer (F/2 blend) which has been proven to make them very healthy. Not sure what else they would do to it to make it better.

[cyberwollf]

can only grow a single strain? and grow at a lower temp? Phyto only grows within a certain temp range and i grew 3 strains at home. Nano, Iso, and Tetra (the 3 best kinds you can). You feed it fertilizer (F/2 blend) which has been proven to make them very healthy. Not sure what else they would do to it to make it better.

I dont remember where i read the study, but DTs somehow grows them lower than room temp and it increases nutritional value.  I meant you can only grow one strain in a culture.  Thats awesome that you grew all 3 popular strains separately.  Depending on how much you are using, You'd just have to judge whether its worth it.

Not saying it cant be done, but saying its alot of work

[DarinSchmidt]

yeah, i had problems with ISO G, but once i actually got it started, it took off pretty well and then 2 months later i ended up having to stop making my phyto because of the tank build.... But i plan on getting back into it over the winter because i want to grow my own rotifers and ccopes and clams and what not, so i might setup a small factory of stuff in my house as automated as i possibly can. I was def producing way more than i used, so a lot of it got thrown in my garden, but i always wanted to make sure i had enough.

I'll ahve to find out about the cooler temps. I know that with ISO G, if you didnt have the temp just right, it wouldnt grow, even though it was within the range that advances aquarist had posted.

[ohioreef]

Darrin,

If you start growing phyto again I'll take some off your hands.

[DarinSchmidt]

Ill make a post the next time I do. It may be a while with everything I have going on.