frozen Phytoplankton

[sharynmarie]

I am rather new to the hobby and have been lurking here for over a month now. but finally have a Question I haven't found the answer for. I ordered Phytoplankton and it semi froze in shipment.. its kinda like a mostly melted slushy in the bag. Is it good for anything or garbage?

[sharynmarie]

er.. yeah.. I did mean bottle not bag LMAO

[bertoni]

[welcome]

I would pitch it. The freezing process will break apart the cells and make the food useful for most filter feeders, although bacteria will be happy with it.

[McTeague]

The phytoplankton I use is always "frozen" sorta... It is a gel that is stored in the freezer. LiquidLife BioPlankton... Great stuff but a bit pricey. All it takes is a drop to feed my tank though so it lasts quite a while. Check it out...

[1628mna]

sorry to hitch in on this thread but mc teauge were do you get this liquid life at?

[McTeague]

I got it at the LFS.

You can order it online also:
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_AquariumPage~PageAlias~additives_liquid_life_bioplankton_coralplankton_marineplankton.html

[sharynmarie]

So pitch it. ok. Yeah this was suppose to then the liquid kind not the froze. I just hate wasting money that could go to corals >.>

[Aquarist007]

curious why you are buying the phytoplankton. Unless you have a dense population of sps corals then it is not needed---rather buy the frozen cyclopeeze.
In general lps corals eat cyclopeeze, copopods and inverts eat phytoplankton--so it is useful in a refugium

[sharynmarie]

Have a big container of that too :) I plan on putting a lot of coral in my tank.

[Mavrk]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11736097#post11736097 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by capn_hylinur
curious why you are buying the phytoplankton. Unless you have a dense population of sps corals then it is not needed---rather buy the frozen cyclopeeze.
In general lps corals eat cyclopeeze, copopods and inverts eat phytoplankton--so it is useful in a refugium

Like you say, phytoplankton is good for increasing the pod population and therefore indirectly feeding the stoney corals. Plus it makes the pods nice and fat :D

I do believe goniopora can absorb phytoplankton though.

That is not to infer that anything you said was wrong. Quite the opposite. I think phytoplankton and cyclopeeze are great things to feed. I would say if you are going to direct feed, then the cyclopeeze would be better suited for this task (at least for LPS).

[Vinnie71975]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11736097#post11736097 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by capn_hylinur
curious why you are buying the phytoplankton. Unless you have a dense population of sps corals then it is not needed---rather buy the frozen cyclopeeze.
In general lps corals eat cyclopeeze, copopods and inverts eat phytoplankton--so it is useful in a refugium not entirely true Many corals will eat Phyto.not just SPS

[McTeague]

I use the phyto to feed christmas tree worms and flame scallop.

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11736963#post11736963 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Vinnie71975
not entirely true Many corals will eat Phyto.not just SPS

Vinnie I agree that's why I didn't make a definitive statement---I said in general;)

We are dealing with living things here and there are always exceptions:smokin:

If you have a mostly LPS tank then IMO you should use cyclopeeze more then phytoplankton

another word for phytoplankton is algae:eek2: :)

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11736680#post11736680 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Mavrk
Like you say, phytoplankton is good for increasing the pod population and therefore indirectly feeding the stoney corals. Plus it makes the pods nice and fat :D

I do believe goniopora can absorb phytoplankton though.

That is not to infer that anything you said was wrong. Quite the opposite. I think phytoplankton and cyclopeeze are great things to feed. I would say if you are going to direct feed, then the cyclopeeze would be better suited for this task (at least for LPS).

you are correct sir:

1. GP Rotifer II Larval Diet: 100-200 microns in size. Analysis: Protein, 60%; Lipids, 8%; Ash, 15%; Moisture, 8%.
Ingredients: Fish meal, crustacean meal, fish oil, phospho-lipids, vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants. Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and Astaxanthin. Available from brineshrimpdirect.com. Keep in the freezer (not frozen though).
2. GP Artemia Diet: 200-300 microns in size. All other ingredients are the same as the GP Rotifer Diet. The Rotifer Diet and the Artemia Diet are like micro-pellet foods. They are very uniform in size and shape. Available from brineshrimpdirect.com. Keep in the freezer (not frozen though).
3. Freeze Dried Copepods: Apocyclops royl copepod species. Approximately 100-250 microns in size(?). Analysis: 45% protein. Available from brineshrimpdirect.com. Keep at room temperature.
4. Concentrated Zooplankton: Anywhere between 50 and 800 microns, depending on type of zooplankton. Available from your local fish store or various online vendors; can be home cultured. Keep in refrigerator or at room temperature depending on product.
5. Cyclopeeze: A larger zooplankton around 800 microns average size. Analysis: Protein, 62%; Lipid, 36%; Ash, 3%; Carbohydrate, 3%; Astaxanthene, Canthaxanthene, High in Omega 3 fatty acids. Comes as a frozen chunk or freeze dried. Available from your local fish store or various online vendors under the name of Cyclop-eeze.
6. Oyster Eggs: 40-50 microns in size. Analysis: Crude Protein (Min.) 7%, Crude Fat (Min.) 2.5%, Crude Fiber (Max.) .2%, Ash 2%, Moisture (Max) 80%. Available from your local fish store or various online vendors under the name of DT's Natural Reef Diet Oyster Eggs. Keep in freezer; product is frozen.
7. Powdered Flake Food: Ideal size would be similar to very small dust. Rub regular flake food between fingers until it is a fine powder. I use a non-herbivore flake food that is high in protein. Available from your local fish store or various online vendors.
8. Raw Shrimp (Shaved): Ideal size would be similar to very small dust. I use frozen raw shrimp. Frozen Brine Shrimp and Frozen Mysis Shrimp also work well. Use a kitchen knife and shave fine particles off while the shrimp is still frozen. The particles form a sticky semi-liquid mass once they thaw. Available from a local grocery store where seafood is sold. Keep in freezer.
9. Concentrated Phytoplankton: 2-15 microns in size. Nannochloropsis, Tetraselmis, and Isochrysis species. Available from your local fish store, or various online vendors; can be home cultured. Kept in the freezer, refrigerator, or at room temperature depending on the product.
10. Cod Liver Oil: (not pictured) Liquid. High in Omega 3 fatty acids, Vitamin A, Vitamin D. Available at pharmacies, health food stores, or just about anywhere you can purchase vitamins. Keep in refrigerator.

from:
http://www.goniopora.org/feeding.htm

[Aquarist007]

I like number 8 for feeding my gonipora---use the kitchen cheese grater when I don't get caught :)