Rotifers, alternatives and clowns

Maximitsurugi · Apr 29, 2020

Hey guys. A few friends are trying to raise clownfish. We have a hatching pair but the issue is we cant get rotifers live where we are. We did find a site that sells rotifer cysts but they havent responded to emails yet.

I'd like to know if anyone out there has raised a batch successfully without live rotifers. Also I want to know if anyone has used these cysts and what is the shelf life.

Any help would be awesome.

lapin · May 1, 2020

No alternatives
RESTING ROTIFER CULTURES
Rotifers, like Artemia, produce resting eggs or cysts. Yet, rotifers are uniquely different since they reproduce asexually (without sex) and only one rotifer becomes millions in a matter of days. Florida Aqua Farms pioneered this process and offer vials of lab cultured rotifer cysts. Cysts stored in a freezer can last over two years. Remove cysts from the vial, place in 1/2″ of water, cover, place in continuous low light. Hatching and feeding commences within 24 to 36 hours and reproduction about 18 hours after hatch. Resting eggs of the saltwater rotifer Brachionus plicatilis (specified by S) and the freshwater rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus (specified by F) are now available. We offer only the “L” strain which are 130-340 µm long compared to new hatched Artemia which are 450-500 µm long. Smaller strains can be cultured by consistently sieving normal cultures for smaller individuals and culturing them. To determine what size inoculant would best suit your needs we offer a theoretical calculation of inoculant size and the approximate days for a population to reach 1 billion. Results vary depending on water quality, food and temperature.

How to Raise Clownfish Fry: The Ultimate Grow-Out Guide

Learn to successfully raise clownfish fry from the larvae to adults. Discover essential feeding schedules, fry tank setups, & water quality tips.

www.ocellarisclownfish.com

Maximitsurugi · May 1, 2020

Awesome. Is it shipped like livestock or can it be shipped as a normal item? We want to ship it to ourselves to the Caribbean with our Florida mail forwarding and freight service. We want to know if it will handle the trip. It may take a week from you sending to us receiving. The only issue is that if it looks like livestock or packaged as such, it will be discarded by customs.

If it were a bottled item like an Amink acid or other type of reef item then it would be fine getting here. Any ideas? Thanks for your response.

lapin · May 1, 2020

Resting Rotifer Cultures – Florida Aqua Farms

floridaaquafarms.com

gioNVA · May 1, 2020

There are a few breeders that have successfully used baby brine shrimp instead of rotifers. Might work for bigger clownfish but for perculas, rotifers would be best.

Maximitsurugi · May 1, 2020

What about the shipping concern? Do you have any insight? Does it need refrigeration?

gioNVA · May 2, 2020

Not sure about shipping but you can check if brine shrimp eggs are allowed.

rhdoug · May 2, 2020

I raised a few batches of gold bar maroons several years ago. In one batch I ran out of rotifers a few days in and I successfully used “Golden Pearls“. I’m not sure if they even make that stuff anymore but it’s a fine powder.

Uncle99 · May 2, 2020

Rotifers, gut loaded with phyto and Selcon, 3-4 hours before adding to the fry tank.
Years ago now My Rotifers (the seed) came in a small 1/2 round 1” tall vial, received regular mail, in a padded envelope. The vendor was in Florida and I only used them once because I store some each batch in a water bottle in a dark place. When I start a new batch I use this seed to start.
Rotifers are the only food that are:
1-easy to maintain and store.
2-the right size.
3-whose body is soft enough for new fry mouths.
4-alive, so as to trigger a hunting response.

You can start to transition at about day 7-10 onto pulverized flake mixed with Rotifers, then finish up the Rotifer by day 1-17.