Rotifers are bacterial eating machines and therefore are one of the work horses for food composting. Bacteria are great at breaking down food waste, and rotifers continue the process by eating the bacteria. They can eat over 10,000 bacteria per day.

Rotifers are multicellular animals that are able to extend, retract, and bend. They are also referred to as wheel animals because they have two sets of hairs that seem to rotate like wheels to funnel food into their mouths. They usually have some type of hooked or spiked tail that they use to attach to objects while feeding. Some are also very good swimmers. Rotifers eat bacteria and decaying plant matter. They are beneficial soil organisms because they cycle nutrients when they excrete nutrient rich waste that plant roots can absorb. Rotifers are commonly found in compost and living soil and are an important component of the soil food web.

This rotifer is one of the typical microorganisms I find in the compost liquid I make with my AeromatiCo composter. The AeromatiCo composter works by continuously aerating the compost with an industrial air pump that delivers 60 liters of air per minute. Rotifers are one of many beneficial organisms that populate the organic matter and break it down into liquid compost. I drench my garden beds and potted plants with the liquid compost which inoculates the living soil with a diverse set of microbes creating a thriving soil food web.

video details
microscope: Olympus CX23
camera: Olympus LC30
objective: 40x (400x total magnification)

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#rotifer
#foodcomposter