Are my Live Rotifers alive?

seaplane · Jul 6, 2017

I bought a bottle of CoralReefing Live Rotifers for the first time yesterday, Should I see activity/ movement like live copepods do? These just settle on the bottom of the bottle.

beaslbob · Jul 6, 2017

not an expert but I think not all rotifers are free swimming. Hopefully you also got some eggs/cysts also that will grow up.

my .02

Reef Nutrition · Jul 6, 2017

Use a flashlight to examine them. They should be free swimming, but may be cold from shipping. Are you going to try to culture these? Or just feed them out?

Chad

Reef Nutrition · Jul 6, 2017

seaplane said:
I bought a bottle of CoralReefing Live Rotifers for the first time yesterday, Should I see activity/ movement like live copepods do? These just settle on the bottom of the bottle.

Have you notified Coral Reefing? They are a sponsor on Reef2Reef. @Coral Reefing Products

Chad

seaplane · Jul 6, 2017

Reef Nutrition said:
Use a flashlight to examine them. They should be free swimming, but may be cold from shipping. Are you going to try to culture these? Or just feed them out?

Chad

Thanks for your reply. They definitely weren't free swimming. The LFS where I got them kept them in the refrigerator . I didn't notice until I got home that the label said to keep at room temp. I returned them today. No intentions of culturing them, I'll leave that up to you pros, lol.
@Reef Nutrition , I have a question about your Oyster Feast. Someone gave me an unopened bottle that has a best use by date of 4/21/17. Should I toss it or is it still safe/beneficial to use?

Reef Nutrition · Jul 6, 2017

seaplane said:
Thanks for your reply. They definitely weren't free swimming. The LFS where I got them kept them in the refrigerator . I didn't notice until I got home that the label said to keep at room temp. I returned them today. No intentions of culturing them, I'll leave that up to you pros, lol.
@Reef Nutrition , I have a question about your Oyster Feast. Someone gave me an unopened bottle that has a best use by date of 4/21/17. Should I toss it or is it still safe/beneficial to use?

Awe shucks! What a waste of a good product. You should throw it away. Since we don't use preservatives and it's so far past expiration, you shouldn't even risk it. We are conservative with our shelf life estimates, but that bottle is way past expiration.

Thanks for asking!
Chad

beaslbob · Jul 6, 2017

FWIW culturing Rotifers isn't that much of a problem.

my .02

Reef Nutrition · Jul 6, 2017

beaslbob said:
FWIW culturing Rotifers isn't that much of a problem.

my .02

Agreed! With the right technique and food, you can achieve high density cultures. We run our cultures at 2,000 per ml.

Chad

seaplane · Jul 6, 2017

Reef Nutrition said:
Agreed! With the right technique and food, you can achieve high density cultures. We run our cultures at 2,000 per ml.

Chad

Now you've convinced me NOT to culture anything. It's the feeding part. With a husband, 2 dogs, 6 fish, and 12 parrots, I can't bare the idea of having one more mouth to feed, as minuscule as they are, they still require food. LOL.