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FAQs on Algae as Food: Products, Manufacturers
Related Articles: Algae as Food,
Foods/Feeding/Nutrition, Culturing
Food Organisms,
Culturing Macro-Algae; Red Algae in
General, Marine Algae,
Algae Can Be Your Friend, Related
FAQs: Algae Foods 1,
Algae Foods 2,
Algae Foods 3, & FAQs on Algae Food:
Rationale/Use, Sources,
Culture, Feeding Methods,
Troubleshooting/Fixes, &
Foods/Feeding/Nutrition 1, Phytoplankton,
Marine Algae, Coral Feeding, Brine
Shrimp, Vitamins, Nutritional
Disease, Frozen Foods,
Coral Feeding, Growing Reef Corals, Culturing
Food Organisms, Red Algae, See
also the individual groups of organisms feeding FAQs files | /Periclimenes/Copy%20of%20Periclimenes%20brevicarpalis%20IZOO%2008%20(14).JPG)
All animals benefit from some useful algal presence.
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Macroalgae for Tang Food! 9/11/08
What are some good
species of algae to feed marine herbivores?
<I'd try the macroalgae
Gracilaria. It's a wonderful red algae that is eagerly consumed by many
herbivorous fishes>
I have been looking at various dried ones and
wondering what is good.
Alaria, Dulse, Digitata, Kelp, Laver, Nori
are some types I have access to.
What are the most nutritious?
<As above, look for fresh Gracilaria (aka "Ogo"). It's one of the best,
IMO! Regards, Scott F.>
Phytoplankton feeding - Perspectives on Rob Toonen's articles
<Henry... thank you kindly for you efforts and research shared. We
will post this promptly (below) for daily FAQ readers. I must add
though that Dr Toonen hasn't actually been misquoted. Part of the
incongruity is that Dr Toonen's work has evolved in the many(!)
months (more than a year) since writing the article and presenting
the work 18 months ago at MACNA Baltimore 2001. My shared
opinion/advice was not only from communication with Rob, but
actually more from several other researchers and biologists that
have spent years culturing phytoplankton in various applications.
The bottom line is that no dead, semi-live or bottled live product
can come close to the useful longevity of fresh refrigerated live
cultures (regarding particle size in particular)... and since fresh
live cultures kept refrigerated degrade markedly on a daily basis
(clumping/clotting) until around 6 months (at best), we cannot
expect these older, less fresh, commercially processed products to
fair much better no matter how much money in marketing the
manufacturers spend. And for the sake of the argument, even if I/we
admit that any real or wishful claims on viability are correct about
bottled phyto... it doesn't change the fact that it has a very
limited application in aquariums. Very few corals do or can eat
phyto (Gorgonids and some Nephtheids... extremely limited on
Alcyoniids). It honestly does more harm than good in my opinion for
many tanks. Healthy tanks usually just sustain the hit on nutrients
from added liquid phyto and skim it out. Most of our corals are
overwhelmingly zooplankton feeders! The argument by phyto mfgs that
the dissolved dead phyto is still useful is about as accurate as a
dissolved hamburger is useful (both actually are in some ways...
increasing microbial populations/nanoplankton... but at what cost?).
And the additional proposal that supplemental phyto is needed for
copepods is bunk IMO... there is more than enough epiphytic matter
shed from the shear surface are of the aquarium interior (scraped
and shed algae from glass and rocks, refugium with macros/plants,
etc). Experienced and responsible aquarists may very well benefit
from it (I suspect that you fall into that category)... but most of
the folks we have are new and in need of more fundamental
information. And it would be irresponsible for us to agree with
anyone that tells a novice to pour liquid phyto in by the gallon
when they do not even have a mature established aquarium and
protocol yet. Whew! That said... I truly appreciate your input.
Quite grateful and non-combative at all. I just witness so many
people getting misguided by advertising claims and most liquid
supplements which are mostly high-profit "pollution in a bottle".
Let as all keep learning, challenging and growing. For every day, a
better way... Kind regards, Anthony>
>I once asked about DT's
Phytoplankton and even a couple of days ago I saw another question
concerning the use of live phytoplankton. The response was something
about having to liquefy the solution before feeding and too large
particle sizes. Anthony Calfo mentions Rob Toonen for his work in
this area.
>This is actually a misquote and after looking around
the net for a while I finally found Rob Toonen's article where he
talks about this. Finding it wasn't as easy as I thought and I
actually ran across it looking for other things. It would have been
helpful to me to read the actual article directly so perhaps you
could add a link to it in your standard answers and FAQ's and let
people know when they ask about phytoplankton. The link is:
>http://www.reefs.org/library/talklog/r_toonen_102500.html.
>The article is very informative, and provides an overview of the
various products on the market, along with their benefits and
drawbacks. It also briefly discusses if phytoplankton is good or
not: "But, is phytoplankton feeding right for your aquarium? If your
answer to my question about your goals in keeping a reef aquarium
was along the lines of maximizing diversity or recreating a
particular reef habitat type, then there are volumes of research
showing that phytoplankton plays an important role in supporting
natural reef ecosystems. If your answer was more along the lines of
minimizing potential problems with nutrient export and maximizing
growth of Acropora, however, you're unlikely to see much visible
benefit (and potentially cause yourself more problems) by adding
phytoplankton to your aquarium."
>The concern about particle
sizes is NOT for all phytoplankton products.
>Actually most
products, in particular DT's and other live phytoplankton, are OK.
To quote the article: "Live phytoplankton is obviously the best
option in terms of nutritional value and low risk of over-feeding.
Live cultures are the standard by which all other products are
judged, and the others can be "as good as live" but no one has ever
discovered a phytoplankton supplement that performs better than
live." However, live phytoplankton is perhaps the most expensive
option to provide phytoplankton to a tank and "Storage in the
refrigerator may or may not lead to problems in the home (such as
the complaining spouse syndrome, or house-guests thinking it's Wheat
grass or some other nasty 'health food' concoction and guzzling some
)... " :)
>Dr. Toonen only mentions the inappropriate particle
size with respect to spray dried marine phytoplankton (SDMP) with
ESV as the primary choice.
>There he does say: "the major
drawbacks with this product are that it does not generally provide
particles of the size range of the majority of phytoplankton, and
that it requires mixing in a blender prior to feeding in order to
get any particles of the correct size range. ", even though the
nutrition profile of the product is actually very good.
>I
recommend the article to anyone interested in feeding phytoplankton
to their marine tank. I thought your readers might benefit from this
information as much as I did.
>Henry Muyshondt
Phytoplankton feeding - Rob Toonen's articles
Thank you very
much for your reply, Anthony.
<a pleasure my friend>
I
appreciate the effort you and the whole crew put forth for the
benefit of us all and the hobby.
<and it is such thanks and
fellowship that fuels and inspires us in kind>
I can see how
putting phytoplankton into the tank could be a source of problems,
particularly if done indiscriminately, in large quantities, and
without careful observation of the bioload on the tank, with the
phytoplankton contributing as lot to the bioload if not consumed (by
causing bacteria growth as it decays). Like everything else in this
hobby, it must be used wisely. It is not a miracle food that can
make your tank water sparkle and
all its inhabitants thrive just
by pouring it in and it is definitely not a case of "a little being
good and more is even better".
<that is a fantastically lucid and
accurate assessment! Exactly our perspective and basis for such
recommendations. Our advice at times is rather like triage- serves
the bulk of hobbyists in a fashion for the greater good while the
rest can pursue, disseminate and discover the subtleties or flaws in
the gross categorizations>
I do not take your comments to be
adversarial. Any progress has to be accompanied by a healthy
discourse on the subject matter and you certainly have a lot of
knowledge we can all learn from.
<thank you... I'm quite sure you
do too and am especially appreciative that you've shared. It has
allowed us to publish this discussion and details for the betterment
of our many fellow readers that will browse the dailies and archives
later. Very productive.>
I value your experience and insights
about the hobby. Although I don't think phytoplankton should be
summarily dismissed, it is very easy to misuse it, as you point out.
<agreed when you get me to discuss it at length. In fact, I can
honestly say that as an aquarist with experience and some kind of
honed good habits for marine keeping, I would certainly use DTs
without hesitation if the call arises. My previous advice was merely
a brief and generic reply (triage again <G>) directed at the mostly
novice reader>
I do not observe any clumping in refrigerated DT's
over the few months that a bottle lasts me,
<we're talking
microscopic here, yes? Nano-sized for tiny phyto feeding polyps?>
but I can see that using it more than a couple of times a week does
result in the same symptoms as any other type of overfeeding.
<indeed... a case of too much of a good thing. You'll notice that
most/much ends up in the skimmer. Easily skimmed>
My previous
e-mail was just intended to add another information reference to the
great body of knowledge in WetWebMedia, I appreciate the time you
took to balance the views expressed in the article. Henry
<excellent, Henry! And thanks again for prompting this exchange
which will be added to that very section in the archives and serve
curious minds with a broader perspective of the merits of
supplemental Phyto use. Best regards, Anthony> |
DT's... not delirious tremens
Dude, you are so cool! Thank you!!
<Hee hee. Now I can't get scenes from "The Big Lebowski" out of my
mind!>
P.S. My buddy here at Cordis just told me your thoughts on
DT's. I always thought they were great for clams, gorgs, etc. but I
guess not huh? Waste of $$$$$$?????
Dude
<Mmm, actually, am quite
a "fan" of this product (the nanophytoplankton mix eh?)... Useful as a
food and more. Bob Fenner> Phyto and macro-algae
Hello
WWM crew, <Steve Allen again tonight>
First thanks to Steve Allen
for your quick and informative response. <My pleasure.> I had another
question though. I have seen a popular trend in the hobby to use these
liquid live phytoplankton solutions (like DT's) for feeding corals,
clams, and other inverts. Should I start using this stuff before I start
getting into inverts to try to get a population of these little guys
growing? <I doubt that these products are likely to lead to a
reproducing population in a display tank.> If not when would be
appropriate? <These are usually used for target-feeding, as is another
excellent product, frozen Cyclop-eeze. Read more in the FAQs.> I have no
inverts that I have added to my tank just the huge population of
critters that have grown from the live rock and sand. <These are very
beneficial and make great live food.>
I feel soon that I will be
ready to jump into the coral and clam realm and I am SUPER excited but
want to make sure that I provide as good of a habitat as I can. <Study,
plan and be patient. These are key to success.> I have set up my
refugium in the manner you suggested and it is looking great.
<Excellent> I am sending out for a macroalgae kit from Indo-Pacific Sea
Farms to add to my refugium. <Worked great for me.> I am hoping that
will help my refugium really take off. <It should.> Thanks again for all
your help. <Happy to be of service. Looking forward to hearing of your
success.> You have many loyal and grateful friends out here on the web.
Take care <you too> Robby Phelps Phosphate and phytoplankton
Hello Adam C:
<< Adam C is out right now, so I'm jumping in. >>
Thank you for the help. I have added both Rowa-Phos and a Poly Filter
to the sump. In addition, I will continue to do the 10% water changes
every third day until the phosphates become undetectable again and then
I will remove the Rowa-Phos and Poly Filter. In your response, you
stated one "live" phytoplankton brand has good quality control to remove
phosphates and nitrates, is this DTs phytoplankton?
<< I don't know
whom he was referring to, but I think Mountain Corals and Phycopure are
both great as well as DTs. >>
DTs was the brand I was using with no
elevation in phosphates. The brand which caused my phosphates to become
elevated was Instant Algae manufactured by Reed Mariculture in
California.
Please let me know what you think.
<< I also like
Reed Mariculture and Florida Aqua Farms and I love Brine Shrimp Direct's
Tahitian Blend Algae. >>
Thanks again for your insight.
Joe
<< Blundell >>
PhycoPure for Dendronephthya
Bob,
<< Blundell today >>
Greetings. I noticed a discussion on WetWeb regarding Dendros. I
am fairly new to this hobby but am not new to microalgae. I have
been culturing it for academia to biotech to aquaculture for about
20 years now. I have started my own company over the past years
producing microalgae products and a friend (scientist) mentioned
that he would like to see a quality phyto blend on the market as he
was not happy with the processed products available.
<< Yes, I'm
familiar with these ideas. >>
I spent 1 year formulating blends
and giving them to different aquarists to try-adding species that I
have seen be very effective in aquaculture settings. These tend to
be the more finicky to culture but hi-nutritious species. The
result is a product called PhycoPure that has 7 species plus
zooxanthellae clade A or clade B depending on culture status.
<< I'm also familiar with your products, and am thankful Rhyne
talked you into making it. >>
The particle size ranges from 2 or
3 um to 25um. I am in the process of evaluating an even smaller
size highly abundant reef spp. to be added if all looks good. I
produce it weekly in batch so it does not inventory, I get it out to
stores within the week it is produced (plus or minus a few days). I
recommend stores buying what will move in a month or less and that
way it is in the consumer's hands and used within a month. This
keeps things fresh and the quality higher. The blend stays live for
months in my lab but the species composition/profile changes from
what I advertise over time.-truthfully conditions in a bottle or bag
are well below optimal for anything living. << Indeed. >> The water
used is Atlantic that has been uv'd, charcoaled, ozonated, and
tested for specific pathogenic Vibriosis.
The litmus test has
been an effort to raise the Dendronephthya, Scleronephthya. I have
read everything by Fabricius and agree with the concept of organics
being important. I can say that one spp of Dendros I have reacts to
the phytoplankton and remains open a good part of the day. I use
hi-flow, low light and feed copious amounts of the PhycoPure blend.
<< Definitely what we recommend for such corals. >>
It seems
that orientation is not much of an issue but that still needs
further scrutiny. I have had some since May but the twin hurricanes
that hit us in Florida took care of that. I am beginning to feel
that acclimation is the largest issue regarding success with these
critters.
<< Possibly, but I think it is feeding. >>
Other
observations include 1) spp coming in thick and then elongating and
branching profusely...current? It is somewhere in the realm of 3-4
inches per second. << Possibly. >>
2) a commensal shrimp often
accompanies many of the Dendros I have rec'd-pure white except for
the eyes and gut tract
3) I feed some gorgonians Cyclop-Eeze and
even though.. it appears. that the Dendros do not take the
individual Cyclops in (like the Diodogorgia gorgonian) they react by
opening and going erect-it could be the algae I mix the freeze dried
Cyclops with or the "juice"-organics/lipids/phosphates. whatever.
<< Yes the "juice" has that affect, and even though the coral
doesn't appear to eat Cyclops I think there is good reason to
believe they are eating the "juice". >>
Any comments, thoughts
would be appreciated
<< Tell Andy that Blundell says hi. And that
we appreciate him sending us your product. I think your product is
great. I think you could also sell a lot of it if you also offered
each species separately and not just a mix. I know people where I
live would order them. Also I wouldn't focus on Dendros. While it
is true they need this, not enough people have Dendros. But
everyone and their dogs have SPS corals. So that is a better
marketing area. >>
regards,
Erik S Stenn
President
AlgaGen LLC
PO Box 1734
Vero Beach, FL
www.algagen.com
772-978-1395
<< Blundell >> Re: PhycoPure
Blundell,
<< Erik. >>
Greetings. I was surprised that you
had heard of PhycoPure and very pleased that you like it. I passed
the greeting on to Andy who sends same back.
<< A great guy
indeed. >>
I appreciate the marketing ideas. I do offer
individual strains but never thought to open that up to the
hobby. Typically I have aquaculture and biotech companies buying
them. I am in the process of updating the website and they will be
listed. << I know I have a group of hobbyists waiting to place an
order, so be sure and update me when those strains are available. >>
SPS....I would love to take them on. I am not set up for it at the
moment. I have had people tell me that they noticed better polyp
extension on their Acros but I would imaging that the blend would be
great for all the zooplankton feeding the SPS corals ? What is your
take?
<< I think so to because certain species have different
preferences, and that would be the best bet to feed them all. >>
Both storms hit me really hard but I am back up and am beginning to
move outside of Florida with the product...if you could recommend
any stores or distributors in your area I will contact them and see
if they are interested in carrying it. << I'm not sure if Andy got
you the contact info for Corals & Clams, but that is probably the
best distributor for our local area. I think some big etailers
would be a great way to go. Also, I can't help but plug our site
and suggest you write an email to Cesnales (just email us here)
about the cost of marketing on this site. >>
Thanks for the
feedback-much appreciated << Hope I help, let me know what else I
can do. >>
regards
Erik
<< Blundell >> |
Feeding herbivores in a treatment tank
Hey Guys,
Thanks for
the quick response! Just a quick follow up... I got a larger hospital
tank for housing my ich-ridden fish, filled it with water from my
display tank and have it up and running. My fish seem to be much happier
now. The question is what should I feed my lawnmower blenny while he is
in the hospital as there is certainly no algae growth for him to munch
on. Thanks again for all the help and terrific work!
Jason
<Not
likely this fish will take prepared food, but I would try greens of all
sorts... algae from the "oriental food store" mostly. Bob Fenner>
Coral Feeding - DT's phytoplankton 2/3/05
Dear Bob & Staff,
<howdy!>
I have a 90 gallon reef tank with all soft corals. I
had just recently set up a refugium. Do you think the tank would
benefit from using DT's Phytoplankton to feed my animals. Thanks
<in amounts as per mfg recommendation of this fine product it would
be helpful indeed for many desirable reef organisms (I love that its
responsibly dated, shipped refrigerated, high quality/labeling, etc.
versus so many inferior like products on the market warm, undated
and frankly of dubious value). Best regards, Anthony>
Phyto source? 1/30/05
Sorry to be a bother- I just sent a
message but forgot to ask one more question. I have been using DT's
Phytoplankton but my source has become unreliable. I can obtain
other versions and I want to know if they are just as good as DT's?
<DT's is the industry standard and they have a new and improved
version of the mix with additional species to increases options for
particle/prey size/type>
Industry Standard is one brand.
Tridacna Reef Farms is a brand that has Nanochloropsis, Tetraselmis,
Isochrysis, all under 10 microns. The last brand is TexasCorals Live
and it is Nanochloropsis, and Tetraselmis. Are any of these good and
worth a try? Thanks, Mark
<I have not tried any of the others
you've mentioned... and if they do not date their product or ship it
refrigerated at all times, I would not likely bother to use them.
Why not go to the DT's website and simply seek an alternate supplier
for you? Anthony> |
Rob
Toonen's Article
Hi, I'm interested in reading the article by Rob
Toonen comparing bottled phyto plankton and have searched WWM and the
web and I cannot find it. Can you please direct me to it? Thanks,
Larry.
<Larry, it is on the Wet Web Media. I'll post it here.
PhytoFAQs - Phytoplankton feeding - Perspectives on Rob Toonen's
articles ... Dr. Rob Toonen did perform a study on bottled Phytoplankton
products.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/phytofaqs.htm Enjoy the read. James
(Salty Dog)> <Editor's addendum: Following link is archived
discussion -
http://reefcentral.com/library/phytoplankton.php >
Live vs. frozen phyto 07/01/05
Bob
Are frozen Phytoplankton
products currently in the market as effective as DT's live
Phytoplankton?
Perry
<Not... nutritionally, palatability wise
frozen are inferior. Bob Fenner>
Weaning Fish To Prepared
Food- The Macroalgae Solution! - 03/05/06
Thanks for the
reply....
<You're quite welcome!>
Real quick follow up. How do
you feel about "roasted" Nori from the store than "Baked" Nori. Is there
a difference and is it ok to use. Also, what other "greens" do you
recommend for tangs (broccoli, lettuce, squash) let me know please!!
Jeromy
<Well, Jeromy- I actually prefer the "fresh" Nori, myself.
Well, to be quite honest, I prefer live macroalgae, such as Gracilaria,
to even the prepared Nori. Look for it from places like Indo Pacific Sea
Farms, Florida Pets, Inland Aquatics, etc. I'm not a big fan of
"terrestrial" greens for marine fish. Do try the live macroalgae as a
nice alternative! Regards, Scott F.>
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