rotifer culture with semi unexpected artemia

Discussion in 'Fish Food' started by Swisswiss, Sep 5, 2013.

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  1. Swisswiss

    Swisswiss Caribbean Reef Squid

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    and hello again!

    so iv been culturing rotifers shorty after my clowns spawned, sadly the food came a little late for the larva, but i have opted to try and test my handling on culturing rotifers.

    as a noob i seem to have made a mistake already..... i provisionally stocked the live rotifers in my jbl artemia system. now the issue is that the vessel in which i placed the liquid containing the rotifers was not 100% clean. it had some artemia eggs who i thought were sterile as they did not hatch back in the days.....

    clearly i was wrong...... after having transferred the rotifers+ involuntarily the eggs to a 10l tank the eggs have hatched and i now have several artemia swimming around in my rotifer culture.

    now... a) what are the actual risks of raising both artemia and rotifers together?

    b) in terms of feeding, i keep a light green tint with a Nannochloropsis & Tetraselmis Phytoplanktonin mix. the water becomes almost transparent under 24h, i see the rotifers in the water column (i dont have microscope eyes but i do see alot of little white dots with little white dots under them....dont laugh...im assuming these are the rotifers with their egg pouch?)
    my question is, is it the rotifers consuming the plankton or the artemia hatchlings?


    thx for the tips
     
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  3. Swisswiss

    Swisswiss Caribbean Reef Squid

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    Some pics....

    Is the lighting enough you think?
    ImageUploadedByTapatalk1378399204.605935.jpg

    Artemia swimming around
    ImageUploadedByTapatalk1378399238.441562.jpg

    A crappy picture....
    ImageUploadedByTapatalk1378399266.485662.jpg
     
  4. Rhameolution

    Rhameolution Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    Let me preface this post with a note: I am no biologist, but I have taken a few biology classes (was a biology major before I switched to electrical engineering - a lot less messy!)

    Firstly, and I know this is now "water under the bridge" but if you have a previously used artemia system you plan on using for rotifers you should definitely sterilize it before adding the rotifer cysts. Artemia cysts can lay dormant for literally years (dry) and all of a sudden decide to hatch when exposed to saltwater again.

    Answer A) To the best of my knowledge (like I said, not an expert!) I don't think there is much of a risk. The Artemia Salina will continue to consume food from their energy reserves in the cyst, once hatched they will feed off the algae, just as your rotifers will.

    B) The rotifers very well could be snacking on the artemia cysts, or at least on their energy reserves. Once the artemia are free swimming I seriously doubt the rotifers could do anything to harm them. In contrast, I don't think the artemia could do anything to your rotifers either. Remember that both species feed primarily off of phytoplanktonic food sources, so feeding the rotifers will also feed the artemia.

    As for the "egg pouches" hypothesis you described, what you're describing could just be the cuticle of the rotifers, developing a harder shell around it's trunk. Depending on which species you are raising, they can be box-like or worm-like.\

    I hope this information helps, I don't know how one would go about seperating your now coexisting critters. I know artemia makes great fish food also, is that what you're planning on doing here? I'd love to hear your method of freezing and if you add anything.
     
  5. Swisswiss

    Swisswiss Caribbean Reef Squid

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    i appreciate the input, the idea behinde this whole project was to feed my newly hatched clown larva, seeing as the food came a little late i decide to venture into this because it would at least provide live food for my tank.

    i dont plan to freeze my culture but rather have an on going one. im reassured you say that rotifers and artemia wont compete for food or eat each other. every week i change about 2 litres of water from the cultivation tank. should i boost this seeing at the artemia will develop and change shells?
     
  6. Swisswiss

    Swisswiss Caribbean Reef Squid

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    p.s. the rotifers are Brachionus plicatilis
     
  7. Greg@LionfishLair

    Greg@LionfishLair 3reef Sponsor

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    As mentioned, the Artemia will indeed compete for food...they will feed on the phytoplankton.

    If you DO want to separate the brine shrimp out, you can do it with a light and a brine shrimp net. Shine a penlight or small flashlight into the culture tank (darken the room), and the nauplii will congregate at the light, then you can sift them out with the net.

    We used to raise SH, so we hatched out Artemia twice a day, but we needed a way to get the "old" brine shrimp out of the fry tanks...this worked well.
     
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  9. Swisswiss

    Swisswiss Caribbean Reef Squid

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    sorry i miss phrased that when i said "compete for food", i have the plankton a side as a food source which i add regularly, so both these organisms are free to much on them.

    with this being said i guess i could filter them out but......what if i co-grew them for now? as coral/fish food.

    when and if my clowns spawn again i guess i could use the filter nets that came with the jbl growing vessel to filter the artemia out right?
     
  10. Swisswiss

    Swisswiss Caribbean Reef Squid

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    and by the way my green chromis goes insane! when i add a cup of this stuff to the morning feedings
     
  11. Gresham

    Gresham Great Blue Whale

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    The only "risk" is artemia are horribly dirty animals and will consume your rotifer feed. The need for them in culturing fish is minimal, *if* you use them, you'll be using only the first few instar phases.
     
  12. Swisswiss

    Swisswiss Caribbean Reef Squid

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    so gresham you're saying in the long run the artemia will starve my rotifers?