Zooplankton

Microalgae is the natural food for rotifers and other zooplankton. It's the food that zooplankton naturally feed on, containing all the protein, carbohydrates, lipids, vitamins, and minerals necessary for healthy fish.

Rotifers are the primary zooplankton used in most hatcheries because they are relatively easy to grow, and can be produced in large numbers. Rotifers themselves have very little nutritional value, but instead act as "containers" for other feeds so the nutritional profile of the rotifer depends directly on what it's eating. Rotifers will actually feed on a variety of foods including cheap feeds like yeast - however a yeast fed rotifer is pretty nutritionally worthless to your larval fish.

The key to rotifer success in hatcheries is:

• Producing large quantities (a larval cod will eat 2,500 / day)
• Consistent production / Risk (a culture crash can mean starvation for your larvae)
• Minimal manpower
• Maximum nutritional profile
• Minimal cost

Instant Algae^® meets all of theses needs for the hatchery manager:

• Quantity - Rotifers grown on powder products or live algae seldom achieve density higher than 1,000 / ml. Rotifers cultures grown on Instant Algae^® can exceed 17,000 / ml.
• Production - Powder products will rapidly foul rotifer cultures and cause them to crash. Instant Algae^® rotifer cultures stay clean and can be maintained for several weeks.
• Manpower - Instant Algae^® is very easy to use and since it does not foul the culture it significantly decreases the amount of time needed to maintain the culture.
• Nutritional Profile - Instant Algae^® products have excellent nutritional and fatty acid profiles - typically much better than live algae, and are better consumed than powdered products.
• Increased Production - A typical hatchery will use up to 40% of their space for growing algae. This space can be reclaimed to increase larval production without significant capital costs.
• Lower Costs - Instant Algae^® is very cost effective compared to powders and live algae when you take into consideration the lowered risk, improved nutritional profile, and decreased hatchery costs.

Growing Rotifers

For more information about growing rotifers please CLICK HERE.

Greenwater Technique

Greenwater technique is a process for improving survival rates by adding microalgae to the larval tanks. For more information about Greenwater CLICK HERE.