wasp Posted May 7, 2008 Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 Like many things in this hobby, there will be some benefits & some cons. So for example it will be of benefit to clams, which eat phyto. That is, assuming they are already lacking in food, which may not be the case in many tanks. A few years ago I read an article by (i think) Shimek, where they had watched under magnification, scleractinian corals ingesting and then regurgitating phytoplankton, as Reef said. To me, I don't see any reason for a zooxanthellae symbiotic coral to ingest phytoplankton as the zooxanthellae will already be doing the same thing as the phyto. However this would not always be the case as demonstrated by clams, which host zooxanthellae but still feed on phyto. So feeding phyto is the same principle as anything else we feed, there are some things it will benefit such as obviously clams and pods and likely much more. But like all plant material the phyto will contain phosphate. The anecdotal evidence from many is they have seen "improvements" to their tank from feeding it, and there are a number of possible reasons put forward for this. There could be both direct & indirect benefits. On a US site I read a lot of people have felt phyto feeding polluted their tank, so it probably relates to the needs and ecological balance of each tank. My humble opinion! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted May 7, 2008 Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 I should also add that i visit Reef from time to time (yes we are good buddies despite online appearances :lol: ), and for quite a long period he had a fancy gizmo on his tank that fed a constant drip feed of phyto to the tank, so it has to be said Reef has given this fair trial. (Not phyto from Ocean Dose though). In his case he did not see enough benefit to justify it and in fact felt it was negative. But I've also seen other tanks that improved with phyto feeding so there is probably a host of factors involved. Bear in mind that scleractinian corals may not benefit directly, but it is not impossible that there could be an indirect benefit if for example the phyto released beneficial trace elements. Or it might even absorb and assist skimming undesireables. Could be a whole heap of causes and effects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCEANDOSE Posted May 7, 2008 Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 Well done Reef, the tank looks awesome, as do the goniopera. Well i guess nature got phytoplankton wrong, it obviously doesn't do anything........ Wonder what would happen if you removed all traces of phytoplankton from the oceans...sounds like you have discovered the polution problem. Fact is phytoplankton is natures way of passing on all nessecary amino's(EPA, DHA), vitamins and trace metals ect, that the coral or animal cant get from the water column or light. It may not directly benefit all of coral/animal species you have, but indirectly phytoplankton additions will benefit all life in the tank. As a matter of interest, what phyto product were you using to dose your tank, as it sounds like it wasn't the best. Also i'd be interested in that gizmo you have to continously drip feed your tank since its useless to you. PS/ While there are disputes at present with the ability of some SPS and LPS corals to directly use phyto, currently by far the majority is pointing to no, but within the next few years i think a few new ideas will arise, on the reaction the coral has to phyto. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted May 7, 2008 Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 As a matter of interest, what phyto product were you using to dose your tank, as it sounds like it wasn't the best. Also i'd be interested in that gizmo you have to continously drip feed your tank since its useless to you. Used DT products, http://www.dtplankton.com The gizmo is a container to grow brine shrimp/algae and roiters,. Had some phyto which i was feeding the rotifers. Is was not for my tank other than if i had surplus i would throw it in. Well i guess nature got phytoplankton wrong, it obviously doesn't do anything.. No one said that it does no do anything,. as above. Sure their will be some indirect benefits to these corals from the increase in other microfauna resulting from the feeding of the phytoplankton. Like anything in marine keeping, Balance. also on the DT site Phytoplankton often causes coral polyps to extend, but it does not directly feed most stony corals. The benefit provided to stony corals by phytoplankton is to increase the amount of zooplankton available for the corals to feed on. Although copepods do not need to feed on live phytoplankton, the fats that they store are determined by the fats that they consume (in other words, they are what they eat). Therefore; higher quality phytoplankton will produce more nutritious copepods. Feeding live phytoplankton will also cause the mysid population to bloom by increasing the population of copepods that they feed on. so it has to be said Reef has given this fair trial. (Not phyto from Ocean Dose though I am all for trials. i am the trial king. always like to keep a open mind. You Need quite a lot of phyto for a 2000L tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tangtastic Posted May 7, 2008 Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 Someone might like to let Julian Sprung know that corals don't benefit from phytoplankton feeding as in his book (Corals - A Quick Reference Guide) every coral is listed with phytoplankton as a food source. I use a variety of coral foods and dont overdo it. How can feeding an artificial phytoplankton food be better than feeding live phytoplankton? The only real downside I see with phytoplankton is that it is more labour intensive, takes up more space and requires more equipment. One of the most sadly misunderstood characteristics about coral reefs is summed up in the phrase, “The water over the reefs is nutrient-poor.†This is taken by most aquarists to mean that the water over reefs is low in food and, consequently, that they should not feed their animals any appreciable amounts of food. What that statement means, however, is that coral reefs are in water that has little dissolved nutrient. The water that bathes most coral reefs is exceptionally rich in all sorts of plankton. This is the whole article http://www.dtplankton.com/articles/filterfood.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puttputt Posted May 7, 2008 Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 Couple of things I'd like to add.... - I dose phyto from Ocean dose. I do not believe my sps eat it. I do believe though, that the whole tank benefits, clams glow, sponges grow, pods and mysid populations increase and breed faster and sps eat the result of that!! - I believe reef is correct in that everything should be in balance and I only dose for 1 week out of 4 in MY TANK. In other systems with different stocking I'd be happy to dose the recomended amounts daily. - Oceandose didn't just stumble on a green bucket of water and decide to sell it. He is a very clever cookie, knows exactly what he is doing and is offering a very very good product to reefers at a very resonable price. This is something we should be applauding him for, not bagging him. Finally someone is offering a quality live plankton (yep, he's working on zooplankton) and we should be jumping for joy. This is his system for those that want to culture there own, and ther are some very good reefers using this system. Pretty bloody impressive, and I'm just happy he's doing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tHEcONCH Posted May 7, 2008 Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 How muchy for that setup? PM me if that is more appropriate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puttputt Posted May 7, 2008 Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 Pm Oceandose Conch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tHEcONCH Posted May 7, 2008 Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 I have - looks pretty cool, eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puttputt Posted May 7, 2008 Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 yep, very smart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCEANDOSE Posted May 8, 2008 Report Share Posted May 8, 2008 Thanks for that. Reef and i have made an arrangement, please see new topic called phyto. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilson Posted May 8, 2008 Report Share Posted May 8, 2008 where is that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scales & tails fishfa Posted September 13, 2008 Report Share Posted September 13, 2008 Hi Oceandose guy Do you also sell marine rotifers? Who baby percula clownfish eat zooplankton? What is the difference between normal plankton, pyhtoplankton and zooplankton? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCEANDOSE Posted September 15, 2008 Report Share Posted September 15, 2008 Hi Oceandose guy? Hi scales & tails fishfa Guy I can sort you out, but suggest you do alot of reasearch on clown breeding, as it ain't as easy as you may think, you will need a heck of alot of phytoplankton and rotifers to start with, and thats the easy part. "Kiwikid" and "cookie extreme" have had sucess in breeding clowns, mabey they might be able to offer you some advice What is the difference between normal plankton, pyhtoplankton and zooplankton? Normal Plankton , I don't even know what that is Simple version is phytoplankton is plant and zooplankton is animal Really suggest you do a little more homework before trying to take on this chestnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted September 15, 2008 Report Share Posted September 15, 2008 Who baby percula clownfish eat zooplankton? What is the difference between normal plankton, pyhtoplankton and zooplankton? You want to breed clownfish and you are asking these questions? :-? No offence but it is not an easy task! Read up on it first! If you do want to breed them and the question is, do we have the capabilities to do so here in NZL, then yes there are people with green water, rotifiers etc to do this. Oceandose is your man (or "guy" ) Really suggest you do a little more homework before trying to take on this chestnut :lol: "Kiwikid" and "cookie extreme" have had sucess in breeding clowns, mabey they might be able to offer you some advice For starters, a local example of this here, an introduction to breeding fish here and breeding clownfish article here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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