Some Excellent Reading

MiNdErAsR · #1 03/13/2002, 11:12 AM

A couple of articles from the good Doctor.

Food in Bits and Pieces
Phytoplankton, A Necessity for Clams
Filter-Feeding food, Featherdusters, and Phytoplankton
Feeding Begets Food, 1
Feeding Begets Food, 2

Enjoy!

Special thanks to DT's Plankton Farm and Dr. Ron Shimek for these great articles.

Gary Majchrzak · #2 03/13/2002, 11:24 AM

Hmmmm.... good link.I've NEVER purchased ANY phytoplankton for feeding ANYTHING.I grow it on the aquarium glass and magnet scrape it off.Been doin' that for over 8 years.I'll take that first statement back-I did buy some nanochloropsus for my rotifer cultures,once.Not to change the subject matter,BUT, MiNdErAsR -how is your clam and copperband doing?

MiNdErAsR · #3 03/13/2002, 12:02 PM

Gary,
All clams are doing great. The copperband butterfly ignores them. Unfortunately I haven't had much luck weening him off freshly smashed littleneck clams.

On a side note, I have observed my pair of Gobiodon okinawae violently chase off the cbb if it gets too close to any acropora colony in which they dwell. Kind of funny to see considering how small they are compared to the CBB.

chewie · #4 03/13/2002, 12:08 PM

NICE!!!

Thank you Dr. Ron, and thank you Jim!!! I wonder if Kent has ever read this!!!

mr294 · #5 03/13/2002, 03:38 PM

excellent articles. thanks!

toptank · #6 03/14/2002, 09:11 PM

Jim, thanks for sharing.

Barry

toptank · #7 03/28/2002, 10:23 PM

Yes that was very good reading.

Thanks

Barry

Nishant3789 · #8 06/23/2002, 08:54 AM

so gary, ure saying that you can feed filterfeeders with whatever algea you scrape off the glass of your aquarium?
nishant

AQUAkid · #9 08/03/2002, 05:28 AM

That was excellent reading.

Thanks a lot.

Gary Majchrzak · #10 08/03/2002, 06:42 AM

Nishant: I am indeed saying that I feed filter feeders with those algae scrapings. To what extent they succeed in substituting for real phyto- I don't know. I'd like to find out the answer someday.

MiNdErAsR · #11 08/04/2002, 10:37 AM

I would think that scrapings from the glass would be too large in particle size. But I could be wrong.

Gary Majchrzak · #12 08/04/2002, 11:32 AM

Jim, I'm not referring to the big chunks {"scrapings"} so much as the algal "fuzz" removed with the magnet.This "fuzz" may indeed be much larger than phytoplankton,but I'm wondering if much of my phyto-feeders are utilizing it...?
I believe they are, but I have no proof.

MiNdErAsR · #13 08/15/2002, 08:46 AM

Broken links fixed.

JoJoIndianapolis · #14 08/22/2002, 11:49 PM

Thanks Jim!

I grew a little bit more as a hobbyest...

Great reading!

Gary Majchrzak · #15 04/21/2003, 11:26 PM

The information provided in the above links convinced me to try dosing a phytoplankton supplement. I am happy to report seeing great results in my reef aquarium- especially with my large Tridacna squamosa and numerous filter feeding organisms. Thanks again for the information Ron and Jim!

Fliger · #16 04/29/2003, 02:23 PM

And Gary, you switching based on reading these articles has convinced me to start dosing. Thanks.

THE GIMP · #17 04/29/2003, 09:07 PM

I gotta chime in too! Great reading. Thanks! My 2 maxis thank you.

newkie · #18 06/11/2003, 09:46 AM

Some interesting reading from Reef Invertabrates by Anthony Calfo and Bob Fenner

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/BookMatte...cnids-demo.pdf

Periette · #19 07/13/2003, 12:27 PM

Hi, all. Caught this thread and was wondering your recommended phyto? DT's? That's what I was using but was concerned about overfeeding. Any comments on frequency, etc.?

Thanks!

dragon_slayer · #20 08/10/2003, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Periette
Hi, all. Caught this thread and was wondering your recommended phyto? DT's? That's what I was using but was concerned about overfeeding. Any comments on frequency, etc.?

Thanks!

I feed my tank daily with ESV spray dried phytoplankton, I have two 3" derasa and two 2" gold maximas and all are growing nicely.

I like the spray dried over the live as it seams to be less pollutant on a tank IME.

kc

MiNdErAsR · #21 08/10/2003, 11:09 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by dragon_slayer
I feed my tank daily with ESV spray dried phytoplankton

Actually you might want to rethink this. A couple of MACNA's ago (2001?) Rob Toonen did a presentation concerning the various planktonic foods (iirc DT's, Cryo-pastes, Golden Pearls, Spray Dried Phytoplankton, and Black Powder...there may have been others as well) available to the hobby. As it turned out ESV SDPP tends to clump up into a particle size which is too large for the animals (I forget which) involved in testing. This was the case even if a high speed blender was used.

Clams require a very specific particle size of phytoplankton, otherwise their gills could become clogged. This can be fatal to the clam. The articles on this very subject, linked at the top of this thread, are definitely worth the read.

Live phytoplankton (such as DT's) should not be a cause for concern as a source for pollution. What doesn't get eaten will survive until it does get eaten, or be removed via skimming. I'd be more concerned with uneaten freeze-dried foods polluting the tank.

IMO, IME

Rod Buehler · #22 08/11/2003, 06:30 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by dragon_slayer

I like the spray dried over the live as it seams to be less pollutant on a tank IME.

kc

I cant imaging anything that is live being more "pollutant" than anything that is dead. wether it be fish, coral or phytoplankton.

a.p.17 · #23 09/16/2003, 09:03 PM

great reading and very helpful. thanks

wombat2 · #24 11/12/2003, 06:03 PM

This link is to an article by Rob Toonen where he talks about the differences in the various phytoplankton supplements available:
http://www.reefs.org/library/talklog...en_102500.html
Basically, DTs are best

gcvt · #25 02/07/2004, 07:45 AM

The only link I can get to work is the "Suspension Feeding" one

Anyone else having trouble with them?