The impact of food on the growth of clones of Lecane inermis, a potential bulking control agent

Excessive growth of filamentous bacteria, inducing activated sludge bulking, presents a serious problem in many wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The idea of using Lecane inermis rotifers as a tool for controlling the filamentous bacteria density in activated sludge requires developing a method of culturing rotifers at high concentrations. The objective of this work was to determine the effect of two culture media on the growth of three Lecane inermis strains. The growth of rotifers from a single individual (parthenogenetic female) fed the tested culture media was observed for 10 days. The rotifers showed different individual growth, depending on the strain and type of culture medium. The results of the studies suggest that by using the tested culture media, it may be possible to select a Lecane inermis strain with the highest culturing capacity at high density of rotifers in order to inoculate activated sludge with these organisms in wastewater treatment plants.