Rotifers are not attracted to light as rotifers thrive better in dark conditions and any excessive light can actually hinder the rotifers reproduction and growth by promoting conditions that are less desirable for their culture.
Although rotifers can tolerate ambient light, maintaining a dark environment is actually beneficial for a healthier rotifer culture.
Rotifers can survive without water by entering a dormant state called "anhydrobiosis" or desiccation, in which the rotifers dry out and form durable cysts.
When the rotifers enter the dormant state of "anhydrobiosis" they can survive without water for extended periods.
Rotifers do not sleep like humans and other complex animals sleep.
Although instead of sleeping the rotifers enter a state of dormancy which is called "anhydrobiosis" or "encystment" when conditions are not favorable.
The dormant state that rotifers enter allows the rotifers to survive extreme cold, starvation, dryness and other harsh environments for extended periods and even sometimes as long as thousands of years until the conditions improve enough for the rotifers to resume their normal reproduction and feeding.
Rotifers do not have a heart nor do rotifers have a circulatory system.
Although the beating structure of rotifers is sometimes mistaken for a heart which is actually the mastax.
The mastax in a rotifer is a specialized pharynx with jaw like trophi that is used to grind food.
And because the rotifers are so small, they don't need complex systems like hearts and isntead can exchange gases directly through the surface of their body.
Rotifers have a simple brain and also a more complex nervous system than what their microscopic size suggests.
The complex nervous system of rotifers also features nerves that extend throughout their bodies which control functions like locomotion, feeding and even sensory input from structures like their eyes and antennae.
The rotifers nervous system, while being relatively simple, also includes a dedicated cerebral ganglion or brain that is located in their head region.
Rotifers can only live for a short time which ranges from as little as a few days to as long as a few weeks or around 12 days at room temperature.
The lifespan of a rotifer also is heavily dependent on environmental factors like water temperature, availability of food and oxygen levels.
Lower temperatures often result in an increase in a rotifers lifespan and diet, specific chemcial treatments or even low oxygen can extend the life of rotifers.
What you can feed rotifers are microalgae, like Isochrysis and Nannochloropsis, which provide the rotifers with essential nutrients such as lipids and proteins.
You can also feed rotifers protozoa, bacterial detritus or even feeds like RG Complete and Rotifer Diet that ensures the rotifers are well nourished and healthy.
Rotifers do eat green algae including Nannochloropsis, Scenedesmus and Chlorella Vulgaris.
Rotifers benefit from eating these algae for both the nutrients and energy as well as in controlling the algal blooms which can impact the aquatic environments negatively.
Rotifers can go without food for a few days to as long as two weeks or longer, depending on the age and species of the rotifer.
Some species of rotifers enter a state of dormancy to survive longer periods of time without food and younger rotifers or rotifers that did not reproduce before food deprivation might survive longer by suppressing their reproduction.
And older rotifers and reproductive rotifers have reduced survival times without food.
Many rotifers are indeed free swimming and use a crown of cilia called the corona to propel themselves through the water and capture their food.
Although some species of rotifers are not free swimming as they instead crawl along substrates using their feet and their adhesive glands and even live attached to submerged plants or even reside in secreted tubes.
Rotifers indicate low toxicity, sufficient oxygen levels, stable conditions and appropriate sludge ages.
The rotifers role in consuming of bacteria and algae also makes them important for nutrient cycling and as a food source for other aquatic organisms, and directly reflecting the overall food web health.
Rotifers also serve as very important bioindicators of freshwater ecosystem health and wastewater treatment quality.
The reason why rotifers are important to humans is because rotifers are very valuable model organisms that serve as a food source in aquaculture and are also used as bioindicators to monitor water quality.
Rotifers are also important to humans for studying of aging and genetics as a result of their shared genes with humans.
Rotifers also offer insights into developing new human medications, including antibiotic medications, through their unique ability of acquiring and utilizing foreign DNA.
Rotifers have a short lifespan and transparent bodies, which makes rotifers ideal for studying of biological processes of aging, including genetic mechanisms and the effects of caloric restriction.
Rotifers also share many genes with us humans, which allows for scientists to investigate the novel genetic mechanisms that are related to human healthspan and human lifespan.
And rotifers have also been observed to produce compounds which can lead to development of new antibiotics or treatments for parasitic diseases by using acquired genes from microbes and other bacteria.
Rotifers are also a main food source for larval fish in aquaculture, which provides the fish with essential fatty acids, proteins and also micronutrients for the healthy development of fish.
Rotifers are an important part of the freshwater zooplankton and are a major food source and with many species also contributing to the decomposition of soil
Rotifers also eat particulate organic detritus, algae, dead bacteria and protozoans and they eat particles up to 10 micrometers in size.
And like crustaceans, rotifers also contribute to nutrient recycling and so they are used in fish tanks to help keep fish tanks water clean and prevent clouds of waste matter
Rotifers also affect the species composition of algae in ecosystems through their choice in grazing and they may even compete with caldocera and copepods for planktonic food source.