Can phyto feast be cultured?

[ThePurple12]

My phytoplankton culture crashed, so I bought a bottle of Phyto Feast. It hasn't expired yet.

I've tried culturing it twice now and the water turned clear within a day both times. I'm using a soda bottle, LED light, Miracle Gro, and water at 1.019. Is it something I'm doing wrong, or can Phyto Feast not be cultured?

 

[ThePurple12]

Also, I'm aware that nannochloropsis would probably become dominant.

 

[andrewkw]

Is it the live version? I believe there is a sterile version and a live. I haven't tried to culture from the live, but I don't see any reason why you wouldn't be able to. As you say Nannochloropsis would become dominant.

 

[ThePurple12]

Yes, it's the live kind. I guess I'll try adding more Phyto Feast to the culture.

 

[ThePurple12]

@Reef Nutrition

 

[ichthyogeek]

Don’t forget about the synechococcus! That’s also likely to become dominant as well.

How much miracle grow are you using?

 

[Reef Nutrition]

My phytoplankton culture crashed, so I bought a bottle of Phyto Feast. It hasn't expired yet.

I've tried culturing it twice now and the water turned clear within a day both times. I'm using a soda bottle, LED light, Miracle Gro, and water at 1.019. Is it something I'm doing wrong, or can Phyto Feast not be cultured?

The problem with trying to start a culture with Phyto-Feast Live is that there are 6 species of phytoplankton. Nannochloropsis and/or Synechococcus typically win out. I would advise you start with single species cultures. Carolina Biological sells clean starters. If you find it to be too much to handle, our Phyto-Feast is an adequate food for many filter feeders and is incredibly dense.

Thanks for tagging me.
Chad

 

[ThePurple12]

Don’t forget about the synechococcus! That’s also likely to become dominant as well.

How much miracle grow are you using?

5 ml

The problem with trying to start a culture with Phyto-Feast Live is that there are 6 species of phytoplankton. Nannochloropsis and/or Synechococcus typically win out. I would advise you start with single species cultures. Carolina Biological sells clean starters. If you find it to be too much to handle, our Phyto-Feast is an adequate food for many filter feeders and is incredibly dense.

Thanks for tagging me.
Chad

So it’s definitely viable?

 

[Reef Nutrition]

5 ml



So it’s definitely viable?

If it's Phyto-Feast Live that you have and it's under 3 months old, yes, it's viable.

 

[Bear Claw]

@Reef Nutrition
I am starting the culture right now and I was going to use the reef nutrition 6 oz bottle of phyto. I am making a 2 L culture. I went ahead and did it and it is super dark green, almost black. Should I remove some and add salt water until it is a lighter shade of green? Or start over with a single species, more diluted starter culture?

 

[Reef Nutrition]

@Reef Nutrition
I am starting the culture right now and I was going to use the reef nutrition 6 oz bottle of phyto. I am making a 2 L culture. I went ahead and did it and it is super dark green, almost black. Should I remove some and add salt water until it is a lighter shade of green? Or start over with a single species, more diluted starter culture?

Hello,

Thanks for tagging us. Our Phyto-Feast Live is not meant to be a starter culture. There are 6 different species in the bottle which means that, due to competition, one or 2 will win out: usually Nannochloropsis and Synechococcus. It is best to start a culture from a clean, single species phytoplankton product, which we do not carry.

The people that buy our algae don't want to culture it and find that there is more biomass and diversity in just 1 - 6oz. bottle than anything they can culture for the same price. It costs way more than $16 (cost of a 6 oz. Phyto-Feast Live) to culture 6 species of algae while trying to achieve the same biomass.

I recommend figuring out which species of phytoplankton you want to work with and buy that from a reputable source.

Hope this helps. If you have any more questions, don't hesitate to reach out.

Best,
Chad

 

[Js.Aqua.Project]

I think as Chad keeps saying there is a can vs should question here.

Can you start your culture from PhytoFeast Live or any other blended phyto product? Yes.

Should you? Probably not as you're not going to be able to sustain all the species in your culture. When you try to culture this way usually only one species is going to win out, sometimes two if you're lucky.

What the blends are doing is taking the 6 independent cultures, concentrating them, then combining them into the same bottle.

If you can, and you don't want to purchase a clean starter from somewhere like Carolina or FAF, I would try reaching out to any of your local universities science departments and see if they have any active cultures and ask if they'd be willing to share a starter with you.