Now that you are all caught up on what pods are and why they're so beneficial for our tank. Let's dive deeper into the world of plankton and explore what rotifers are and the many advantages of having them in your tank. Wait..."Aren't rotifers the same as pods?" is what you may be asking yourself. The answer is yes and no. Let's take a look below to see how plankton is divided. We have zooplankton where pods and rotifers will reside as they are considered tiny little animals and the other spectrum you will have phytoplankton which are photosynthesized from the sun; hence the word "phyto". Today we will be focusing on what rotifers are and how they can keep your reef tank thriving.

•        WHAT ARE ROTIFERS? These little guys are often overlooked in the reefing world and all the great things they can do for our tank. They are multi-celled organisms that live in our vast oceans and make up a large population of plankton. Rotifers are consumed by a variety of sea creatures ranging from fish species to coral. Rotifers pack a large punch of nutrients despite their minute size.

•        HOW ARE THEY BENEFICIAL? Now that we understand what rotifers are let's take a closer look at how what the advantages are to having them in our tank. Rotifers aren't easily seen such as pods are and that is the first advantage to our reef tanks, size. Their size makes it a lot easier for our beautiful corals [even fish larvae for fish breeders] to digest. We can think of them as mighty mini lunch bags loaded full of nutrients. Due to the high nutrient content that rotifers attain, this provides healthier and more vibrant corals and tank inhabitants. Adding rotifers to your tank establishes a good base and variety of food sources for your system which is always a huge advantage to keeping a healthy reef tank. Lastly, rotifers reproduce and colonize very rapidly which makes it a lot easier for even new reefers to keep with success.

•        POD YOUR REEF ROTIFERS & YOUR TANK. At Pod Your Reef, we breed and provide only the best quality rotifers for our customers, Brachionus plicatilis [L-type] which is the most suitable for reef tanks. We recommend dosing your tank

We hope you have learned more about what rotifers are and how they can greatly add to your reef tank's success. Be sure to check out our variety of plankton options.