Synechococcus as feed for copepods?

[fryman]

I've been growing copepods (tisbe and tigriopus) using live phytoplankton as feed (tetraselmis, nannochloropsis, and isochrysis). I've noticed that the phyto I use has a big impact on copepod yield.

I'm hoping someone, maybe @Reef Nutrition, @AlgaeBarn, or really just anyone with more expertise can advise me before I make a change. I'm not an expert at this.

My best copepod yields thus far have been using all three types of phyto as feed. Unfortunately, isochrysis is a %$#@ing pita for me and crashes sometimes. When this happens I just feed nannochloropsis and tetraselmis but my copepod yield is much lower.

Recently my nannochloropsis culture was taken over by some type of cyanobacteria. I think it's synechococcus. It has happened to me before (several times actually) but this time I just fed it to my copepods anyway, along with the usual isochrysis and tetraselmis. To my surprise copepod yields seem about the same. The cyanobacteria got in as a contaminant and grows faster and denser than nanno. I don't know if it's as good for the copepods but it doesn't seem to hurt them.

I've tried feeding the copepods just nannochloropsis alone and just tetraselmis alone and my yields were not as good. So it seems to me isochrysis is the key. I have not tried isochrysis by itself.

I've also tried to grow a couple other types of phyto including rhodomonas and porphyridium but they are even more finicky than isochrysis and harder to find. I have had success growing the diatoms thalassiosira and chaetoceros gracilis, but not so much in a bio-reactor. I used erlenmeyer flasks instead which works but it's slower and I don't get near as much of it so I think at best this would just be a supplement to the phyto.

So, should I:

1) toss the cyanobacteria and restart nannochloropsis
2) continue using the cyanobacteria in place of nanno
3) stop using nanno/cyano and just grow more isochrysis
4) try something else?

I have 4 bioreactor setups for growing phyto and don't really want to make more. I devote two for isochrysis now because it seems to be the best, and when one crashes I have a backup.

I really wish tetraselmis worked better as copepod feed because it's much more reliable to culture than anything else for me.

My copepods:



TYVM in advance for any advice.

 

[Tankkeepers]

I feed my pods reef roids they go completely crazy and breed like wildfire

Don't know if this helps but it's the best food iv found for them other may have other ideas tho

I used to feed back in the day homemade cultures of spiralina

The spiralina was feed with a general purple house plant fertilizer

I used home depot 15w 6500k cfls

If looking for something else these might work

Idk about the cyno honestly may cause a problem in your tank I really don't know tho

 

[Tankkeepers]

nannochloropsis has a hard wall which is why your not getting good yields with it somthing easier to digest would be better also its not that nutritius

 

[Tankkeepers]

Nanno is very nutritious. However, it also has a very hard outer membrane and is hard for some zooplankton to digest.

Becouse of this some of the nutrition is lost

 

[Tankkeepers]

The other you are using idk know about

But the fact you have a mix is very good as no one food has enoff of everything you need variety

Spiralina can be grown in brackish water up to almost full marine altho ime yields decres from 1.10 up to 1.018 when they stop

I also kept a volcano shrimp culture as a food source for my old system

This may also be a live food option for you

They do well at 1.014 to 1.016 ime

Other then that I hope someone else may be able to help more

 

[sixty_reefer]

A container with lots of air algae and algae wafers to feed the population has been the best way to breed this little guys.

 

[Jay'sReefBugs]

Restart the Nanno just incase . But after that I would just keep doing what you're doing and blend the 3 together as a feed source. It hits all DHA and EPA point's that are needed .

 

[chema]

Synechococcus is a great source of nutrients for rotifers and I have used it successfully to grow them. However, I'm not so sure about the copepods you mention.

 

[fryman]

Restart the Nanno just incase . But after that I would just keep doing what you're doing and blend the 3 together as a feed source. It hits all DHA and EPA point's that are needed .

I've re-started my fridge backup but it's from 02/12 and in my experience starting nanno that old is not a sure thing. But it looks ok right now.

I guess I will see if it starts. If not I kinda don't want to buy another starter culture. Just paid my taxes and money is tight.

TY

 

[fryman]

Spiralina can be grown in brackish water up to almost full marine altho ime yields decres from 1.10 up to 1.018 when they stop

I also kept a volcano shrimp culture as a food source for my old system

What's a volcano shrimp? I tried google search but just got a bunch of chinese food.

I've used spirulina for brine shrimp and it works pretty well. I'm not so sure about nutrition tho so I give them selcon about an hour before feeding to my fish. Most fish go crazy for live brine shrimp.

 

[Tankkeepers]

What's a volcano shrimp? I tried google search but just got a bunch of chinese food.

I've used spirulina for brine shrimp and it works pretty well. I'm not so sure about nutrition tho so I give them selcon about an hour before feeding to my fish. Most fish go crazy for live brine shrimp.

Halocaridina rubra, the Hawaiian red shrimp or volcano shrimp is a small red shrimp of the family Atyidae, with the common Hawaiian name ʻōpaeʻula

The pretty much only eat spiralina they will breed very easily in brackish also no auto top off they like a rather large salinity swing I did 1.014 to 1.018 was the range I kept them in adding this much fresh simulates rain where they live in the wild

All you need is a sponge filter and a small tank and there's a moss you can put in there or just some rock rubble is fine get 10 to 20 to start and in 6 months if done right you'll have more then you can use

If you know what neocardina shrimpbfreshwater are they breed as fast as them and are just as easy

And becouse of their tolerance for salinity swings they last a good time in a reef

They make a good paste to feed sps and whole they feed lps and fish good

 

[Dinkins Aquatic Gardens]

I wouldn't change whatever is working. Iso is an excellent food source for pods, but if it ain't broken, I say don't fix it!

 

[fryman]

I've actually switched back to tisochrysis, tetraselmis, and nannochloropsis. The synechoccus can substitute for nanno in a pinch but I don't think it's as good.