Home brew spirulina

[Red_Beard]

Late night curiosity got the better of me. I am just getting started culturing some phyto (tetraselmis) and was looking at some of the other strains and their nutritional values and that got me wondering. It is pretty common to hear about the value and benefits of spirulina, so much so that spirulina power is commonly added to and advised in fish food, supplements etc. But, looking to see if other hobbyists are growing it doesn’t seem to yeild many home growers.
Do any of you grow it? Have you tried? Is there even any value in doing so versus an easier strain such as nannochloropsis?

 

[Red_Beard]

Nobody? I guess since it is a freshwater species there is no value in growing it live vs getting some power as it will all be dead anyways and only good for fish food.

 

[Fish Think Pink]

Nobody? I guess since it is a freshwater species there is no value in growing it live vs getting some power as it will all be dead anyways and only good for fish food.

If it makes you feel better, I've been wacthing your thread since you posted it... lol

 

[Red_Beard]

Thank you, totally does make me feel better!

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Nobody? I guess since it is a freshwater species there is no value in growing it live vs getting some power as it will all be dead anyways and only good for fish food.

I’ve never grown it myself, but apparently it can be cultured in fresh, brackish, and marine conditions (I actually only learned this when I first saw your thread here a few days ago - I also thought it could only be cultured in freshwater). It does best in freshwater conditions, though, producing about twice as much biomass by dry weight in freshwater as in brackish or marine waters - so that may be why people don’t try it often for saltwater tanks.

As far as benefits when compared to other phytos, the only real benefit I can think of is the known color altering (enhancing) effect of spirulina. Other than that, unless you’re culturing phyto for a specific purpose (like larval rearing or meeting the nutritional needs of a specific creature), it should be about the same as any other phyto (to my knowledge).

 

[Red_Beard]

I’ve never grown it myself, but apparently it can be cultured in fresh, brackish, and marine conditions (I actually only learned this when I first saw your thread here a few days ago - I also thought it could only be cultured in freshwater). It does best in freshwater conditions, though, producing about twice as much biomass by dry weight in freshwater as in brackish or marine waters - so that may be why people don’t try it often for saltwater tanks.

As far as benefits when compared to other phytos, the only real benefit I can think of is the known color altering (enhancing) effect of spirulina. Other than that, unless you’re culturing phyto for a specific purpose (like larval rearing or meeting the nutritional needs of a specific creature), it should be about the same as any other phyto (to my knowledge).

Yep, that is kinda where I got to also. The color/ immuno-benefits were intriguing. I was mostly going to culture for live food for filter feeders and get some tig/tisby pods going for live nutrition for the tank. I lost a fish due to negligence in feeding(once a day wasn’t enough) and am probably overcompensating because I don’t want that to happen again. I will probably stick with tetra and nanno until I am good and consistent then maybe if I get a wild hair maybe try spirulina down the road for giggles.