Breeding fish - Marine Rotifers

[Alfredo De La Fe]

I ordered a large supply of marine rotifers from a wholesale supplier. According to the stats it should have between 1-1.5 million rotifers and I also bought the concentrated microalgae to get the culture going.

Anyone here breeding clownfish or other marine fish? I just started breeding dwarf seahorses for my daughters. I am trying to decide whether I want to get a culture running. If any local reefers are interested I would be willing to split the costs and keep a culture running so that we have plenty of fresh, live food for fish fry. Certainly better and cheaper than copepods. The would also be gut loaded...

Alfred

 

[Reef Reaper]

It is not bad idea to keep a culture going but it is time consuming. I still have mine going

 

[Alfredo De La Fe]

The seahorse tank is small (5 gallons) but I will be setting up a 20 long. Both will be very well planted, so hopefully I can keep a culture going in the tanks themselves. I also plan on getting a small hangon refugium. But for breeding I need to supplement feeding to keep them fat and happy.

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[Reef Reaper]

to keep the rotifers alive in the 20 gallon, you should feed them phytoplankton directly into the tank. Make the water a little green.

 

[Alfredo De La Fe]

Yeah, I ordered phytoplankton as well. So far four of the sea horses have given birth. Copepods purchased retail are EXPENSIVE and it seems as if only a few hundred come in each bottle. So the rotifers are going to come in handy!

I will probably get a large pickle jar or 5 gallon bucket to keep a culture running.

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[Reef Reaper]

Good Luck!!

 

[Alfredo De La Fe]

Expecting the rotifers by FedEx today... Got my air pump and air stone. Now I need to find the tubing...

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[andylee]

I thought the dwarf seahorses could go directly to baby brine shrimp.
Might be easier?

 

[Alfredo De La Fe]

Not nutritious enough and a pain to deal with. Rotifers can be gut loaded and the tank can be restocked with them periodically. They will thrive in a well planted tank... A rotifer and copepod culture are easy to maintain. I am even considering the possibility of producing them in large quantities for resale after having to jump through serious hoops to buy them. ;-)

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[andylee]

Good luck. If you are successful in breeding the dwarves, and want to sell them, I'm interested. They don't advertise them in the back of comic books like they did when I was a kid.

 

[Alfredo De La Fe]

I have a good supplier for them. But I prefer captive bred, which is why I plan on setting up a 20 dedicated just to breeding these guys.

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[Alfredo De La Fe]

I have a decent culture going. Roughly 2/3 of a gallon. This morning it was doing well. I have to use half of it each day to keep the culture "healthy".

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[zeeGGee]

what do you feed the rotifers? Can I use Kent phytoplex/phytomax?


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[Alfredo De La Fe]

I use:

RGComplete by Reef Nutrition. Not sure which local shop carries it, I ordered mine when I ordered the rotifer culture from Reed Mariculture. (They sell cultures for about $25 plus the shipping and produce all of the products and sell them under the brand name Reef Nutrition including the "Tiger Pods".)

Not sure how Kent phytoplex/phytomax compares.

I feed the culture twice a day. A few drops each time is all that it takes.

 

[zeeGGee]

I use:

RGComplete by Reef Nutrition. Not sure which local shop carries it, I ordered mine when I ordered the rotifer culture from Reed Mariculture. (They sell cultures for about $25 plus the shipping and produce all of the products and sell them under the brand name Reef Nutrition including the "Tiger Pods".)

Not sure how Kent phytoplex/phytomax compares.

I feed the culture twice a day. A few drops each time is all that it takes.

Thanks! I checked RG complete but the shipping will cost me $44..


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[Alfredo De La Fe]

I am sure that there is a shop near you that carries it. Any shop that sells "Tiger Pods" by Reef Nutrition should have it or should be able to get it for you.

You are replying through Reefs.com (I originally posted via ManhattanReefs.com, I think) so you are not local to me, otherwise I would have offered to let you piggyback on my next order.

 

[zeeGGee]

I am sure that there is a shop near you that carries it. Any shop that sells "Tiger Pods" by Reef Nutrition should have it or should be able to get it for you.

You are replying through Reefs.com (I originally posted via ManhattanReefs.com, I think) so you are not local to me, otherwise I would have offered to let you piggyback on my next order.

Thanks for the help..I appreciate it. I'll try to look for a LFS that carries it.


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[Paul B]

Actually new born brine shrimp are about the most nutritious creature you can feed.
I have raised seahorses many times on these alone. I find rotifers to small for seahorses, But if it works for you.

 

[Alfredo De La Fe]

Brine shrimp naupali have to be gut loaded. So do rotifers.

I am looking into getting a culture running of copepods, but I would also have to start a culture of phyto and not sure that a) I want to add so much work to my day and b) my wife won't kill me.

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[Paul B]

New Born brine shrimp can't be gut loaded because they do not yet have a gut. They are mostly yolk sack which makes them much better of a food source than adult rotifers. New Born brine can not eat.
I spawn pipefish, mandarins, ruby red dragonettes and clown gobies on them.