Phytoplankton and Brine Shrimp

[MrCrab]

I was thinking of making and breeding Phytoplankton and Brine Shrimp does any one know how I could get started. Has anyone done this if so plez tell me how you got started? And how to hatch brine shrimp and phytoplankton.


Thank You
MrCrab

[cornelious0_0]

I was thinking of making and breeding Phytoplankton and Brine Shrimp does any one know how I could get started. Has anyone done this if so plez tell me how you got started? And how to hatch brine shrimp and phytoplankton.


Thank You
MrCrab

I'd also like to know about breeding phyto...as I need some means of feeding my featherduster, and I can't get phytoplankton locally very easily.

[dustin]

I've never done either of these, but I read about culturing phyto and brine shrimp on www.melevsreef.com (http://www.melevsreef.com/)


Click "Hidden Treasures" link and you'll find the directions under "Food". Hope this helps.

Dustin

[Jon123]

I can't get phytoplankton locally very easily.

There are a number of people in Saskatoon and Regina culturing phyto for very reasonable prices.

Jon

[cornelious0_0]

I've never done either of these, but I read about culturing phyto and brine shrimp on www.melevsreef.com (http://www.melevsreef.com/)


Click "Hidden Treasures" link and you'll find the directions under "Food". Hope this helps.

Dustin

I'll take a look at it when I can, thx for the link.

[scotchy]

I use to use the methods on melev's site for brine shrimp. Works real well. Here's a tip, if you want cheap eggs, look to ebay. You can get 10 times the eggs as at a LFS for the same price. I just used coke bottles for the hatchery.


Scott

[cornelious0_0]

I use to use the methods on melev's site for brine shrimp. Works real well. Here's a tip, if you want cheap eggs, look to ebay. You can get 10 times the eggs as at a LFS for the same price. I just used coke bottles for the hatchery.


Scott

Gotta love ghetto. :)

[sphelps]

If anyone in Saskatoon is looking for live Phyto, just bring a bottle to my place and I'll fill it up, free of charge. I'm currently overstocked, since my rotifer culture crashed. Also I'm in the process of fabricating an auto live brine feeder with auto live phyto culture to keep my new pipefish happy and healthy, I will document and post my design and fabrication when finished if anyone is interested. Should be pretty basic and easy to make.

[cornelious0_0]

If anyone in Saskatoon is looking for live Phyto, just bring a bottle to my place and I'll fill it up, free of charge. I'm currently overstocked, since my rotifer culture crashed. Also I'm in the process of fabricating an auto live brine feeder with auto live phyto culture to keep my new pipefish happy and healthy, I will document and post my design and fabrication when finished if anyone is interested. Should be pretty basic and easy to make.

You have PM.

[MrCrab]

i still dont know what PM stands for

[Crumm]

PM stands for private message.

[MrCrab]

ohh thank you

[dustin]

Sphelps - I look forward to your auto-feeder plans, I've been looking for something to make myself.

Dustin

[cornelious0_0]

ohh thank you

Look forward to hearing from you.

[Adam NS.]

Just buy from Sphelps, Hes da man,

Adam

[davidschimmers]

I forget where I was reading about it, but I know that there's some way to hook up a brine shrimp hatchery type thing to the side of your tank so that as the young develope, they are taken to your system.

-Dave

[Ivy]

Sphelps, if I got some phyto from you and dumped it into my tank (33g, 50lb rock cycling tho' 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, about 10 nitrates), would it become a happy culture and reproduce on its own? Would rotifers?

tia
ivy

[stinga]

I forget where I was reading about it, but I know that there's some way to hook up a brine shrimp hatchery type thing to the side of your tank so that as the young develope, they are taken to your system.

-Dave
like this?
http://www.aqua-medic.com/products/images/planktonunits/planktonreactorsw.jpg http://www.aqua-medic.com/design.images/spacer.gif Plankton Reactor and Plankton Light Reactor

The importance of an appropriate feed web within a captive reef system has become clearer every year, as we better understand the complex ecosystem that we are all here to recreate. The prevalence of bottled plankton solutions for sale in this hobby is a testament to the understanding that photosynthetic corals are healthiest when they receive the natural balance of energy, both from light and from plankton predation. And in this new era of breeding marine fish in captivity, sources of appropriately sized and sufficiently high-quality food for newly hatched larvae and juvenile fish is proving to be the limiting factor for success. There is no substitute for fresh, high-quality plankton reared at home; never refrigerated, frozen or processed. Aqua Medic offers two solutions (most often run together) to develop your own quality phytoplankton and zooplankton cultures.



The Plankton Light Reactor is a 2.5 liter system for producing phytoplankton, the bottom rung on the food chain and an essential first stage culture for rearing larger zooplankton. The resultant micro algae can be fed directly to many filter-feeding invertebrates, offering a more consistently high quality food and at an enormous cost savings over using expensive, refrigerated, bottled solutions. The Plankton Light Reactor includes an 18 watt fluorescent light that, when teamed with a source of CO2 and a starter culture of phytoplankton, will ensure an impressive culture within days of set-up. Direct a portion of this phytoplankton culture directly to the aquarium and another portion into a Plankton Reactor to support a culture of zooplankton for the feeding of fish and invertebrates seeking a larger meal.



The Plankton Reactor is an identical 2.5 liter cultivation unit to the Plankton Light Reactor, without the light. When you supply the Plankton Reactor with phytoplankton from the Plankton Light Reactor and an air bubble source, you can double the number of rotifers in a culture in as little as four days. Rotifers (Brachionus) are an excellent small zooplankton food source and a common zooplankton used in this second stage culture. Using a second Plankton Reactor you can feed a portion of your rotifers into a third culture of larger zooplankton or ‘pods to further enhance your ability to supply natural food items from across the food web, on demand.



Plankton Reactor

Plankton Light Reactor

[cornelious0_0]

Sphelps, if I got some phyto from you and dumped it into my tank (33g, 50lb rock cycling tho' 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, about 10 nitrates), would it become a happy culture and reproduce on its own? Would rotifers?

tia
ivy

I'm also wondering the same thing, as it couldn't hurt to get something going for feeding for my little featherduster until the tank gets torn down when I move.

[sphelps]

Sphelps, if I got some phyto from you and dumped it into my tank (33g, 50lb rock cycling tho' 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, about 10 nitrates), would it become a happy culture and reproduce on its own? Would rotifers?

tia
ivy

The phyto will definitely not reproduce for long in an ordinary tank, even the bacteria from the air can consume phytoplankton, not to mention the huge colonies that will be in your water, rocks and substrate. Rotifers would a little more but if a large number was introduced they would quickly use up all there resources (phyto) and probably parish before being consumed. To keep rotifers alive they basically need to be kept in pure phyto, of course not completely pure, but the water must always have a good green tint. Trust me you don't want to try and culture rotifers in a display tank. Also just so you have an idea, my rotifer culture has a volume of about 2 gallons, and requires about 1L of live phyto per day to stay healthy at 80 degrees (this also means I need to harvest 1L of rotifers per day).

[sphelps]

However the phytoplankton would speed up the cycling process, as the bacteria would feed on it and multiply, also phytoplankton is the primary food source for all micro-organizes and zooplankton such as pods. While rotifers a small type of zooplankton is best for larger filter feeders and most corals. Keep in mind rotifers are just empty shells that you enrich with phytoplankton, so basically rotifers are basically just a larger source of phyto for easier ingestion by corals and other filter feeders.

[cornelious0_0]

However the phytoplankton would speed up the cycling process, as the bacteria would feed on it and multiply, also phytoplankton is the primary food source for all micro-organizes and zooplankton such as pods. While rotifers a small type of zooplankton is best for larger filter feeders and most corals. Keep in mind rotifers are just empty shells that you enrich with phytoplankton, so basically rotifers are basically just a larger source of phyto for easier ingestion by corals and other filter feeders.

Wow, really nice to see this kind of knowledge on behalf of some users...good to know I've got somewhere to turn if need-be.