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
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All animals benefit from some useful
algal presence.
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New Print and
eBook on Amazon
Marine Aquarium Algae Control
by Robert (Bob) Fenner
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Lateral Line Erosion Claim 12/14/11
http://ipsf.com/tangheaven.html
ISPF claims their "tang heaven red", which looks like
Gracilaria,
<Is of this genus>
can "combat, prevent and cure head and lateral line erosion
disease." I have a hippo tang who is otherwise healthy despite
some lateral line erosion in his youth that never healed. He's
missing coloration on his face and throughout his body as well as some
parts of his dorsal and caudal fins. Will feeding him this tang heaven
red have any chance of curing, or should I say, reversing that level of
damage?
<Don't know... but the owner of IPSF, Gerald Heslinga is
"the real thing"... a bonafide scientist. Do read here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/HLLESWCure.htm
re probable causes, known cures. Mostly vitamins, HUFAs on the positive
side (perhaps provided by this Ogo), and metabolite build-up, carbon...
on the negative. Bob Fenner>
Regards,
Jeff Shain
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>
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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 >>
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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>
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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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New Print and
eBook on Amazon
Marine Aquarium Algae Control
by Robert (Bob) Fenner
|
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