Who makes and feeds phytoplankton

[bios]

Really don't know in USA but I tink @mdbannister could help you
As he knows everybody here
At last a fertilizer is a guillard solution modified to the best result of the phyto growth every one have a formula But you will have the best result with the one used in your starter

 

[Daniel@R2R]

I'm not really sure on the fertilizer question. This thread may be helpful though: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/culture-your-own-phytoplankton.187719/

I'll keep looking for info on fertilizer. it seems a lot of people use something called F2.

 

[FirstContact]

Reef Nutrition makes great products. I've used plenty of their products and phytoplankton in the past along with DTs. Learning to culture my own phytoplankton and rotifers is a long term goal for me, but I haven't gotten there yet.

 

[mcarroll]

@Armydogracing and @Justin Nguyen
SRAC 5004: Phytoplankton Culture for Aquaculture Feed

I think that has answers to all the questions I've seen so far, including the fertilizer.

 

[sde1500]

Thanks so much Bios. Where i can find a good fertilizer to buy. I saw someone use part a and part b put in there. What is that?

http://florida-aqua-farms.com/shop/micro-algae-grow/ some of the best stuff you can get.

 

[Justin Nguyen]

@Armydogracing and @Justin Nguyen
SRAC 5004: Phytoplankton Culture for Aquaculture Feed

I think that has answers to all the questions I've seen so far, including the fertilizer.

Thanks sir. I will try again to grow it.

 

[Dr Blue Thumb]

Here is my old phyto station, it is cat proof so things do nt spill:






I will be setting it up in the next few months again

 

[Dr Blue Thumb]

Keep this thread going micro is the new maco. I will be setting up in the next months and can help with anyones questions.

Some day we will have a ultra high food tank vs a ultra low food tank and see if the light can be lowered on corals as long as we feed them more??Coral have clade algae in them, so one type is dominant. but they have several kinds of clade algae and can reshuffle them.. once reshuffled a low light dominant algae clade may be present. this is called adaptation.

 

[mcarroll]

Some day we will have a ultra high food tank vs a ultra low food tank and see if the light can be lowered on corals as long as we feed them more?

It'll be a great experiment to see, but it's not really hypothetical. Generally speaking, corals can definitely satisfy their needs through heterotrophy if the conditions allow it. (We should be able to emulate this with brine shrimp nauplii, roe, or any number of feeds available these days.

FWIW I grow quite a bit of stony corals from the surface down to the sand bed of a 19" deep tank that only gets a peak of about 14,000 lux at the surface. Someday I'll take bottom measurements, but it's gotta be at least bordering on mesophotic conditions down there. (Just a datapoint...not the same as your proposed experiment.)

You may have already seen this, I dunno (from my blog):
Novel Adaptive Photosynthetic Characteristics of Mesophotic Symbiotic Microalgae within the Reef-Building Coral, Stylophora pistillata

Click through and the whole PDF is available.

 

[Dr Blue Thumb]

It'll be a great experiment to see, but it's not really hypothetical. Generally speaking, corals can definitely satisfy their needs through heterotrophy if the conditions allow it. (We should be able to emulate this with brine shrimp nauplii, roe, or any number of feeds available these days.

FWIW I grow quite a bit of stony corals from the surface down to the sand bed of a 19" deep tank that only gets a peak of about 14,000 lux at the surface. Someday I'll take bottom measurements, but it's gotta be at least bordering on mesophotic conditions down there. (Just a datapoint...not the same as your proposed experiment.)

You may have already seen this, I dunno (from my blog):
Novel Adaptive Photosynthetic Characteristics of Mesophotic Symbiotic Microalgae within the Reef-Building Coral, Stylophora pistillata

Click through and the whole PDF is available.

will read thanks, have you heard about tiny hair like apendages called cilia I think that are able to influence the flow of water off the body of the coral which may allow corals to feed off a particle that lands on their body and not just arond their mouth?

 

[mcarroll]

Got one on that too....mind blowing:
Extracoelenteric zooplankton feeding is a key mechanism of nutrient acquisition for the scleractinian coral Galaxea fascicularis

(Not sure about the cillia, but definitely on the larger concept – the whole body. Maybe you're thinking of mesenterial feeding tentacles? Definitely on those too!!)

 

[Dr Blue Thumb]

I heard that little is known from 200m plus and that more is known about deep sea through subs and shallow water through diving, is this true?

I heard that sps can be found at 50 plus M?

This is lower light? higher nutrients imo? if it can happen in nature then why not in our tank?

 

[mcarroll]

You got it right! Holler back after you get reading time! Love you hear your feedback on those two articles!

I've been known to repeat that corals are natively deepwater predators that have only recently adapted to surface/light conditions by way of a wicked dinoflagellate infection.

All we're talking about here is appealing to their inner predator! Takes some of the pressure off that dino infection I bet!

Another goodie if you have time:
Is the coral-algae symbiosis really ‘mutually beneficial’ for the partners?

In fact, if you click around the Coral, Light or Nutrients section for any length of time you should be able to find a bunch of goodies.

 

[Dr Blue Thumb]

https://phys.org/news/2014-09-coral-minuscule-appendages-environment-eddies.html

https://phys.org/news/2014-06-coral-transplant-survival.html#nRlv

https://phys.org/news/2014-02-scientists-highlight-importance-nutrients-coral.html#nRlv

 

[Dr Blue Thumb]

You got it right! Holler back after you get reading time! Love you hear your feedback on those two articles!

I've been known to repeat that corals are natively deepwater predators that have only recently adapted to surface/light conditions by way of a wicked dinoflagellate infection.

All we're talking about here is appealing to their inner predator! Takes some of the pressure off that dino infection I bet!

Another goodie if you have time:
Is the coral-algae symbiosis really ‘mutually beneficial’ for the partners?

In fact, if you click around the Coral, Light or Nutrients section for any length of time you should be able to find a bunch of goodies.

right on, I will look them over, I love talking about adaptation and microevolution. it's not like if coral where only found under 250 watt MH equivelent or higher.

Corals are animals and predators. and in my opinion are oportunistic predators. they are next to the perfect organism that adapt to many conditions.

 

[Dr Blue Thumb]

The main thing I think is that over s stripping of organics can be corrected a few times a week by feeding copepods and phyto while leaving the skimmer off. then turn it on. it sounds like a pain, but if you want better color and more growth this will do it imo.

 

[Dr Blue Thumb]

If you are relying on fishpoo for nutrition. Then instaed the phyto should be going through the pod, the fish then the coral. instead you should go pod to coral. or better yet phyto to coral.

 

[mcarroll]

Corals are animals and predators. and in my opinion are oportunistic predators. they are next to the perfect organism that adapt to many conditions.

I think I would say it abut the same way. Definitely spend some time in that nutrient section if you can. I tried to put some decent comments on my posts to give an idea of what's in the article for us. It seems like, in general, corals can utilize almost evert form and vector of nutriment there is. Sun like an autotroph, dissolved nutrients almost like a bacteria, eating particles of food like an animal, etc.

(Gonna check out those links you posted! Thanks!)

 

[sde1500]

Interesting conversation going on here. Not gonna like, I'm not clicking those links, half the time they make my head swim lol. OK, maybe I'll go back later and take a peek. My phyto culture had a near total crash a few weeks ago, but having kept a sealed bottle of both types to the side, managed to save them. Back up and running, getting pretty dark now about about to split back up to about where I was before. After that, I think I want to get some rotifers to feed the corals with. I'm thinking when I split the cultures, mix the two types, nanno and Tet, into a gallon jug, and add the rotifers. Let them chow until the water is clear and start adding them to the tank. Save a little bit the rotifer bottle, so I can refill the next jug with when I split the phyto again.

 

[Dr Blue Thumb]

@sde1500, how huch nanno do you feed your tank?