Frustrated at Darwins!

Ok folks, maybe we can help sort this out together. 
 
So been having a major issue with Darwin ocellaris dying on the third day. Complete wipe out within hours.
 
I just posted a vlog about this latest hatch and what i did here. Easier than typing it all out. 
http://youtu.be/hgrtyarvLJQ?hd=1 
 
So today is day 3 and i just checked, approx 7 pm and the entire batch is dead. At 3 pm i checked on them and there were tons of larvae swimming. The only that was added was 3 mil. of Roti green omega. I'm starting to think this is the culprit of a lot of our problems. I was looking through our notes and when i was using straight Nanno in the beginning for my green water i never had any of these complete die offs. It's certainly getting frustrating. What are your thoughts?  Also it seems that i have a much bigger issue with the Darwins than the reg orange ocellaris. 
 
 

Mike Meadows
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/thecoralshoppe
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheCoralShoppe?feature=mhee
 

I've been using RGreen Omega since it was first released with no problems. Darwins are a bit more challenging than regular A. ocellaris, IME.

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

Seems like i am getting a surface film when i use the RG omgea. You may be able to see it at the end part of the vlog i posted. I'm curious if that's what did them in. I mean there was probably a good 50 plus i could easily see at 3 pm. And by 7pm they are all dead. I had the water on a 1 sec drip for the last two days, slowly filling up the BRT. 

Mike Meadows
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/thecoralshoppe
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheCoralShoppe?feature=mhee
 

Not sure how much water you are adding that to, but 3mL seems like a lot.  I dose 1mL of RotiGreen Omega every 12hrs per 25gal.

Jonathan Foster

FishEye Aquaculture

 
Really?  Wow, I use about 6 mL per day in 2 gallons spread over 3 feedings in the beginning, and they clear this quite fast.  My rotifer population is dense in the beginning.  After a few days I start sieving out rotifers and cut back on feeding accordingly.  By 2 weeks I'm not adding RotiGreen anymore.  I was under the impression that for the first 5 days or so the water should be quite dark.  Not so?
 
I also use RotiGreen Omega, and I am also having a similar trouble with my Darwins.  I'm not getting complete die off and I'm getting the die off on a predictable day.  I'm getting 60% sudden die off anywhere from day 3 to day 9.  I have been wondering the cause and have been thinking that it is because of too dense rotifer population, so my plan is to try sieving them out earlier, and keep the population lower.
 
Maybe the product is not the problem, maybe we are overfeeding RG Omega and overstocking rotifers??

Don't let fear and common sense stop you! =]

I have used the roti green omega also and have not had these problems.  I start with 5g of water and add 1ml twice a day as I am adding water to the tank.  I increase the dosage as I increase the water volume but at my peak I am adding 2ml of RG twice a day in 10g of larval water.  3ml of RG does seem like a lot to me.

My water volume at the start was 12 gallons. By the third day it's about 13-14 gallons. 
 
@hyperboy, that would mean i'd need to be dosing about .5 mil every 12 hours. With the amount of water i'm dealing with. The issue i have had with that is A) the rotifers clear it too quickly. B) it doesn't seem to keep it dark enough to keep the larvae off the walls. 
 
I too have had the issue with overproduction of rotifers and suspected it to be a problem. This time around though i as very conservative on adding rotifers, being aware that they may take off production wise. 
 
I'll try cutting way back on the RG omega next batch. 

Mike Meadows
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/thecoralshoppe
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheCoralShoppe?feature=mhee
 

With a starting volume of 12g, I don't think 3ml is excessive.
I'd be worried about having enough rotifers in that volume of water.  When I see larvae die en mass, at the third day, I think starvation.  Since you say you are getting a surface film when adding the RG Omega, try mixing the RotiGreen with som of the larval tank water in a small container then add that to the larval tank.  I'd also make sure your rotifer density is pretty high.
 
I use about 2ml twice a day of RotiGrow+ to six gallons.  I sieve 4 one half gallon containers of rotifers when I first add it to the tank so that's about one full gallon of rotifers in 6 gallons of larval water.
 
Good luck

I suspect that too many rotifers is an issue as well.  I only add enough rotifers so that they need to be added to the larvae tank frequently.  Also, I am raising my fish in BRT that are not painted on the bottom.  I am sure that helps with the low amount of RG Omega that needs to be added.  This works for me here.  Give it a shot, it may or may not work for you.  

Jonathan Foster

FishEye Aquaculture

Hyperboy, i appreciate the info. I too am using BRT's in the 17 gallon range. Solid black. No painted bottom. I believe some of the losses in the past have been too high of density of rotifers, as sometimes by day three the BRT is just thick with them.  I checked and rotifer density was about 50% of what i've normally seen on day three. I still think it had something to do with the RG Omega. I'll have to try small amounts next time. Working up the amount of each dosage until i know they are going to stay off the walls.  Keeping the rotifer density down is the other issue. I've never been able to keep it LOW. I really need to get a microscope so i can start checking the densities. 

Mike Meadows
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/thecoralshoppe
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheCoralShoppe?feature=mhee
 

Ok, so i have another nest that will be ready to pull on the 5th. Going to try the following this time.
1. Sterilize the water/system per the protocals i got from Kathy.
2. Start out with 1ml of RG omega and a minimal amount of rotifers to start. I am convinced that the huge rotifers blooms i have had by day 3 are part of the issue. Gotta devolop a procedure for flushing these out if it happens.
3. Lower the stand pipe height and try the Andy (umm,fish) method of straining the tank, and being able to flush out the rotifers, should they get too high in numbers.
 
We shall see. I will try ot make a short video and post it to our youtube channel so you can see how i'm doing it. And what the results are.  

Mike Meadows
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/thecoralshoppe
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheCoralShoppe?feature=mhee