Culture Journal, Species: Brachionus plicatilis

General
Species:  Brachionus plicatilis
Species description:  L or S strain of marine rotifer
Culture source (link if possible):  TCMAS club member screen name patent
If algae, CCMP # (Optional): 
http://ccmp.bigelow.edu/
Culture Establishment Date:  12/9/2011 restarted 12/31/11: restarted again on 1/17/13
Continuation Date:  ~ 3/9/2012  (new continuation date: ~ 4/17/13)

Culturing Vessel Details
Salinity:  ~1.020
Temperature:    ambient room temp (65 - 72 degrees F)
pH:  not observed ~ 7.8 - 8.2

Vessel description:  black polyethylene 5 gallon bucket
Lighting description:  ambient from south window about 10 - 15 feet away
Lighting cycle:  ambient
Aeration description:  ridget air tube fastened to a piece of live rock at a rate of 2-3 bubbles/sec

Methodologies
Split methodology: syphon off 1/4 of bucket volume through a 53 um sieve and return water to bucket. 

Culture medium description:  salt water at approx 1.020 with RG+ supplimented with live green nanochloropsis enough to make it so that the bottom of the bucket cannot be seen.

Cell count: unknown
 (if known)

Reference links:  

Additional Information
(No Pictures or Videos in the Section Please)
Notes: 



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LOL, you started your culture report before I started my thread.  Hope they keep going well for you.
 
FWIW, I believe these are L, at least that's what Kate's thread says hers are and that was my source.

Brachionus plicatilis are "L"... "S" are a different species.

 
 
 

My understanding is that L and S are strains of the same species and that SS is a different species.  At least that's what I've read, I beleive in Hoff.  Can get the referrence if you would like it.

Here are the pictures of my culture set up in black 5 gallon buckets.
 

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Here are some close up pictures where some of the rotifers are visable.

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Well this is now the second time I crashed my roti culture.  I must not be adding enough food or thinning them out soon enough for as many as I should.  The water certainly does not smell or seem fowled.  I'm just not sure what I am doing wrong, but I am going to keep at it.  It took me three tries to get the tigger pods going.

Started a new culture today .  This time I'm going to split the culture when thick, so I have a backup or two

Okay, this time I think I have it down.  I am using RG complete between 1 ml and 2 ml twice a day, depending upon the color of the water.  It is almost a week since I started this culture, and I have already divided it into two cultures and both are thriving....lots of little rotifers.  Last time I way over fed the rotifers, and didn't harvest every day like I am now.  This time I am also using a lower salintity around 1.014 to 1.017 which also seems to be helping.  If the culture water starts to look a little too green, I just cut back the next feeding in half, and keep it there until the water clears again. 

Can't believe how easy growing rotifers has been this time around.  Using RG+ mixed 50:50 with 1 gram/10 ml ClorAm-X and harvesting every day 25 - 33%.  Using 2 ml of this stock solution/ 4 gal of rotifer culture.  Only lost on of the buckets once so far, because I didn't change out the water (1 gal) in time.  Culture water is running about 50% of seawater salinity.  Never imagined it could be this easy.  Now I'm ready for some larvae to try it out on.

Congratulations on your success!

One more month to go, and I will be at my culture continuation date!!!!  It feels like riding a bicycle now, and so long as I don't overthink it, all should go well.  It sure has helped to have the rotifers going because they sure came in handy for feeding the clownfish larvae.   And thank to whoever told me how easy it was to co-culture tigger pods with rotifers.  For the first time those have been going great guns too.  The rotifer polyculture is out performing the stand alone cultures being fed phytofeast.

Here is the lastest pictures of my continuation of rotifers.  Still doing great after 3+ months.  The larger red things are T. califoricus pods.
 

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Nice thread...congrats on hitting the continuation mark!