Culture Journal, Species: Brachionus plicatilis

General
Species:  Brachionus plicatilis
Species description:  "L" type marine species
Culture source (link if possible):  KBB0118 (local breeder)
If algae, CCMP # (Optional): 
http://ccmp.bigelow.edu/
Culture Establishment Date:  10/31/2011
Continuation Date:  4/12/2012

Culturing Vessel Details
Salinity:  1.020
Temperature:  Ambient, 72 
pH:  8.1

Vessel description:  5 gallon bucket
Lighting description:  single fluorescent tube overhead.  Lighting is mainly incidental, its not directly under lights. 
Lighting cycle:  14 hours on
Aeration description: moderate bubbling with air stone.

Methodologies
Split methodology:   Split off 1/3 daily through 12/13 and replace with fresh saltwater.  Planning to start doing water changes monthly.  Stir it before splitting.

Culture medium description:  Add either Nanno 3600 or live nanno culture twice daily, 12 hours apart (morning and evening), additions dependent on previous addition being consumed.

Cell count:  Unknown


Reference links:  

Additional Information
(No Pictures or Videos in the Section Please)
Notes:  Use rotifer floss, clean that once a week or so, when it looks gunky.



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Picture:
 

P1010176 by patentfish, on Flickr

Continuation update, still going though I've had to filter it and change the water from time to time.
 

rotcontinuation.jpg by patentfish, on Flickr

Uploaded 2 new pics:
 

rots culture2 by patentfish, on Flickr
 

rots culture by patentfish, on Flickr

Still going.  Couple changes, have a 2nd 5 gal culture going.  Am using rotogrow + as the algae, along with home grown nanno, depending on the day.

Way to go!

I now have 2 5g buckets of rots, and have considered doing a third.  I had one more under the light than the other, and the one with lighting seemed to do a little better, but that's anecdotal as I don't have a real method of measuring the # of rots.
 
I also found that using chlormax increased the #of rots (again, anecdotal at best).
 
Otherwise, everything is still going.  I've managed to get brine shrimp in there a couple times and had to filter them out at my regular culture reboots.  Every couple months I'll run the culture through a brine shrimp sieve, into a 52 micron sieve, and then dump the water.  I take whatever's caught on the 52 micron sieve and start the new culture after cleaning out the bucket with freshwater and bleach, and rinsing it.

Culture is still going.  I've tried to kill it, but they seem tough.  I'm currently doing what I will call rotifer worst practices.  I have 2 4g buckets (chopped the top off 2 5g buckets so they would fit on a shelf), each with an airstone and rotifer floss.
 
I often go a week or more without any water changes.  I typically feed once per day, at night.  I often miss a daily feeding entirely.  I haven't used chloramx for some time.  More than once the bubbler has turned off (gfci tripped) and I haven't noticed as its the only thing on this outlet, so they've been without air for some time.
 
I'm assuming I've killed the culture a couple times as it winds up stinky and polluted for one or more of the above reasons.  I do a water change and it all seems to come back.  Rotifers still show up under the microscope.