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Phytoplankton

Keeping corals and other planktivorous invertebrates in the home aquarium is easier–and one’s chances of long-term success are better–than ever before. Indeed, aquarists are now breeding species thought to be nearly impossible to keep just a decade ago. So, what’s changed? It’s certainly not as though the animals have changed. What has changed is way we care for them. Among the biggest improvements we’ve made is the greater quality and availability of specialized feeds (such as live, planktonic microalgae) for these species. Maybe the best example of this is coraliculture. Coral foods in the early days of reef aquarium keeping were quite unimpressive. As in, made out of stuff like chicken eggs. The results were generally disappointing. We pretty threw the towel at coral foods altogether until fairly recently. And corals did alright without–certainly better than in the 1990s! But corals were still rather… blah. At least compared to what we see today. Of course, to a huge extent, the mindboggling variety and dazzling colors that aquarists now take for granted have come from decades of selective cultivation by extremely dedicated farmers. That said, much of this happy development owes to our better understanding of coral nutrition. Central to this are live phytoplankton products. There are now a handful of “phyto” aquarium foods on the market nowadays. These vary from one another in several key aspects. Cost, convenience and performance are major considerations by users; arguably, it is the last of these that is most important—at least to your aquarium inhabitants! In terms of quality, the best phytoplankton products are live (rather than dead and preserved), mixed-species products. Moreover, they are completely nutritionally balanced. Products containing intact, living cells are much cleaner than those made of dead stuff. Live products also produce less pollution. Live (and multiplying) phyto actually removes waste products from the aquarium water! Clearly, there is a lot about phytoplankton for the discerning reef aquarist to know! In this section you will learn what role phytoplankton play in reef environments, why they are so nutritious and how use phyto products most effectively to reduce nutrient levels and feed pods, corals, clams and other animals in the reef aquarium.

54 Posts

Feeding Your Hungry Pods

Marine aquarists are really attempting to accomplish several goals when introducing copepods to their systems. These undoubtedly
Read More about Feeding Your Hungry Pods

Fats from Phytoplankton keep your fish healthy!

Fats, Phytoplankton and Aquarium Animal Health

We are often (and should be) concerned about how much food some of our more finicky or delicate aquarium animals are eating—or if they
Read More about Fats, Phytoplankton and Aquarium Animal Health

Mixed Microalgal Feeds for a Balanced Nutrition

Primary producers—those organisms (e.g. plants such as algae) that build new biomass from inorganic sources of energy—form the very
Read More about Mixed Microalgal Feeds for a Balanced Nutrition

Keeping and Feeding the Sun Corals

Reef aquarium keepers are always looking for that one oddball “piece” of coral that will really make their aquarium display shine.
Read More about Keeping and Feeding the Sun Corals

Carnation Coral

Carnation Corals in the Home Aquarium: A New Hope of Success?

Advancements in the reef aquarium hobby have been developing at a dizzying pace. As our understanding of coral reef biota (and how to
Read More about Carnation Corals in the Home Aquarium: A New Hope of Success?

Dinoflagellate ceratium longpipe

Eliminating Nuisance Dinoflagellates with Ocean Magik Live Phytoplankton

Eliminating harmful and ugly dinoflagellates remains one of the most common—and challenging—tasks for the marine aquarist. Not only can
Read More about Eliminating Nuisance Dinoflagellates with Ocean Magik Live Phytoplankton

Choosing the Right Live Phytoplankton Reef Tank Blends

Many common reef aquarium animals are filter-feeding phytoplanktivores. In other words, they eat tiny (usually single-celled) algae
Read More about Choosing the Right Live Phytoplankton Reef Tank Blends

Clownfish hosting an Anemone

Aquariums: The New Medicine

Aquariums: The New Medicine You enter the waiting room of your doctor’s office and you know she’s not going to be happy about your
Read More about Aquariums: The New Medicine

buy copepods, wholesale copepods

The Mighty Copepod

When thinking about crustaceans many creatures come to mind like shrimp or lobster. And while your mind may be wandering toward an all
Read More about The Mighty Copepod

Schedule Copepod Deliveries

Will you be regularly ordering copepods and phytoplankton? As an aquarium owner, you need to be thinking about what’s best for the
Read More about Schedule Copepod Deliveries

Selling copepods and phytoplankton in your store

Selling Copepods and Phytoplankton in Your Store Few realize how beneficial copepods and phytoplankton are for their fish tanks.
Read More about Selling copepods and phytoplankton in your store

Types of Phytoplankton

Buy Phytoplankton Fish Food

Buying Phytoplankton Fish Food Phytoplankton are at the base of the food chain. They are small, microscopic plants that live in the
Read More about Buy Phytoplankton Fish Food

Tridacna Clams love Phytoplankton

About Marine Phytoplankton: Live Marine Fish Food

Buying marine phytoplankton, also known as microalgae, is one of the best decisions you can make for the organisms in your saltwater
Read More about About Marine Phytoplankton: Live Marine Fish Food

Many strains of Phytoplankton being Cultured

Copepod Deliveries

Watch Your Home Aquarium Thrive with Copepod Delivery Maintaining a home aquarium is easy, especially with the right supplies. In
Read More about Copepod Deliveries

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