Culture experiments of the rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus for use in freshwater aquaculture

Abstract

"In vitro" culture experiments of the freshwater rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus were carried out to obtain a simplified methodology of production, aiming its utilization as food for fish larvae. It was tested a culture medium for the development of the rotifers, which were fed with the unicellular algae Chlorella homosphaera. The relation between the optical density and the number of cells by unity of volume is represented by the equation: Î" log₂ A+10 = 1.1925 Î" ln+1.0083 (r = 0.9954). The daily production was higher around the 18th day of cuIture and ranged between 0.3x10⁴ and 11.0x10⁴ rotifers/day.