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.