Ciliates- useful or get rid?

[User]

Hi all

a week ago I was getting rid of a last 1/2 gallon of unused nanno, but I’m out of bleach. So I left it sitting for a week.

Finally got to it to sanitize it and dump it and noticed it’s full of ciliates.
Thousands of these guys all over the container walls-

Not the greatest pic.

I did find an OLD article about maybe using ciliates as food for fry, but it was scant on real info.

what’s the current thought on these guys? Useful additions to a display, like pods and phyto, or should I bleach and dump?

 

[taricha]

I like ciliates. They are mostly bacteriavores, but they do consume some small phyto. They are one of the in-betweens in the food chain between bacteria and copepods/zooplankton. If these grew up in an old culture of nanno, they likely have some nutritional value to move up the food chain.

 

[User]

I like ciliates. They are mostly bacteriavores, but they do consume some small phyto. They are one of the in-betweens in the food chain between bacteria and copepods/zooplankton. If these grew up in an old culture of nanno, they likely have some nutritional value to move up the food chain.

They are definitely gut loaded with nanno.

should I just keep refreshing the media with more nanno to sustain the population? Get a culture going?

ihave 2 phyto and 2 pods, as well as white and grindal worms currently- This would add another vessel.

 

[taricha]

I wouldn't keep a vessel just to grow them. some will be found in most any phyto culture.

 

[User]

I might harvest what’s there and put them in sump- unless you think that’s a screw up in the making

thanks Taricha