Will Rotifers survive in a reef tank?

[PeterLL]

I want to build the diversity in my tank from the ground up.
I have added Tigriopus pods and see baby pods on the glass. I am looking to add more species. Now I'm wondering if rotifers added to the tank will survive in the tank and breed on their own? If so, are there different species of rotifers I can add to the tank?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Brachionus rotifers are brackish water, so won’t do well at reef tank salinity. There are full SW rotifers, but any free-floating ones would get stripped out by filtration. There are sessile rotifers, they are probably already in our tanks, but are almost microscopic, so hard to see.
Jay

 

[PeterLL]

Brachionus rotifers are brackish water, so won’t do well at reef tank salinity. There are full SW rotifers, but any free-floating ones would get stripped out by filtration. There are sessile rotifers, they are probably already in our tanks, but are almost microscopic, so hard to see.
Jay

Thank you, so the standard ones wont, but if I can find specific species they would be able to colonise the tank. Do you know what species those would be?

Started with dry rock so unsure I have much biodiversity I'd like

 

[Reef Nutrition]

Brachionus rotifers are brackish water, so won’t do well at reef tank salinity. There are full SW rotifers, but any free-floating ones would get stripped out by filtration. There are sessile rotifers, they are probably already in our tanks, but are almost microscopic, so hard to see.
Jay

We raise Brachionus plicatilis and Brachionus rotundiformis at reef tank salinity. Many of the people in aquaculture that buy these rotifers from us also run their cultures at, or around, 35 ppt. It's true that this genus can live in brackish water, but they are very much euryhaline and can tolerate reef tank salinity. We have domesticated them to these parameters.

 

[Reef Nutrition]

I want to build the diversity in my tank from the ground up.
I have added Tigriopus pods and see baby pods on the glass. I am looking to add more species. Now I'm wondering if rotifers added to the tank will survive in the tank and breed on their own? If so, are there different species of rotifers I can add to the tank?

If you have a refugium, rotifers may be able to colonize. Rotifers have a foot which helps them attach to surfaces. They actually excrete a sticky substance that helps them stay attached. The problem with adding rotifers in the hopes that they colonize is that they are hard to detect. You would need to agitate the rocks or substrate in your refugium in hopes of getting them to detach. Then you need to screen them out and look under the microscope. They aren't as easy to see with the naked eye as copepods.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

We raise Brachionus plicatilis and Brachionus rotundiformis at reef tank salinity. Many of the people in aquaculture that buy these rotifers from us also run their cultures at, or around, 35 ppt. It's true that this genus can live in brackish water, but they are very much euryhaline and can tolerate reef tank salinity. We have domesticated them to these parameters.

Euryhaline yes, but Hoff and Snell say reproduction only takes place below 35 ppt, and best growth occurs between 10-20 ppt. They do say higher salinity reduces males and cyst production. There are different strains, and some may have been selected for different attributes, but none can be cultured in any real density in a reef as the OP asked.
Jay

 

[Reef Nutrition]

Euryhaline yes, but Hoff and Snell say reproduction only takes place below 35 ppt, and best growth occurs between 10-20 ppt. They do say higher salinity reduces males and cyst production. There are different strains, and some may have been selected for different attributes, but none can be cultured in any real density in a reef as the OP asked.
Jay

I completely agree that you can't possibly culture rotifers at significant density in a reef. Hoff and Snell did great work back then, but we've since developed a strain that can be cultured at densities of 2,000 to 3,000 per ml at 35 ppt and lower.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I completely agree that you can't possibly culture rotifers at significant density in a reef. Hoff and Snell did great work back then, but we've since developed a strain that can be cultured at densities of 2,000 to 3,000 per ml at 35 ppt and lower.

Sounds good. I started culturing rotifers in 1985, but haven’t worked with any since 2008 or so (grin). Things change!

Jay