Rotifer Cultures

I have a quick question about culturing rotifers, can they tolerate changes in temp or does it need to be a constant temp all the time like would i have to use a heater in the culture container?

The reason i ask is because my phytoplankton culture is outside and i read online that when culturing rotifers if your using live phyto you should keep it near a light source so that the phyto can live in the container.

Right now its june and its not terribly cold outside at night but if i were to keep the rotifers outside next to the phyto would they overheat in the day or freeze during the night?

 

I don't think so joyce wilkerson keepers her cultures out side

in the summer that is

 

Its pretty much summer here already, thanks for reminding me i have that book and she talks about rotifer cultures in there lol

 

The closer you keep rotifers to the phyto source, the more likely you will get transference from the rots container to the phyto, wiping out the phyto culture very fast.
Outdoors I would think it would be exacerbated by the winds that would increase the chances of transference over larger distances.

 

Kept them outside, she passed away a few years ago.

Keeping your rotifers at a constant temp results in a higher yield. Letting the temp cruise around will stress them and may turn them male (non egg producing males) and cysts (not eggs).


www.rotifer.com
Rotifer Solutions - A Resource for Rotifer Production and Marine Larval Nutrition Solutions

 

Didn't know that, I was going to see if I could see her set up one day since she lived close to me.
She will live on through her work.

 

Thats true about the contamination, but it could easily be solved with part of a plastic bag wrapped around the top of the cap to keep the rots from jumping over to the phyto conainers.

 

FWIW, I didn't cover the rots containers but I covered the nannochloropsis containers with Saran wrap. The only opening was the minute hole that the 3/16" rigid air line tube poked through to aerate and keep the culture in motion.
They would still get infested with rots.
A Toronto area commercial setup has rots in a completely different building to avoid cross over to phyto.

 

I dont see how the rots could infest the phyto though, do they jump across or something?

 

Don't know how, I just know it happens.
To me and a lot of others including commercial enterprises.