astaxanthin + oto a + selcon

[EMBRYOGUY]

started to give batch 1, astaxanthin today.

added small amt of astaxanthin + oto a + 4 drops of selcon on a spoon. took a fork and mixed very well. it formed pellets very well.

to feed, took mixing fork and shaked pellets onto the surface. the babies loved it. the pellets were bright red so good sign it absorbed a little. also the astaxanthin did not spread on water surface. it seemed to stay attached to the oto pellets.


well see if this makes a diff in color.

 

[Kathy55g]

It will. But you may have the wrong proportions. Took about a week to color up my juvies.
I use 1% of the food as Naturose.

 

[EMBRYOGUY]

yeah i knew you and others used a more exact proportion. i just kinda mixed it up until i got a paste than i mixed it until it dried up. its in the frig now. but the oto seemed to color up really well and like i mentioned, the astaxanthin didnt disperse on the water surface off the oto pellets. the oto stayed red. the babies were devouring it immediately.

yeah i just kinda mixed it up until i got the oto a red. i dont think its an exact science as long as you can get it to stay on the oto pellets.

 

[Kathy55g]

Actually there was a study that showed that more than 1% produced a color that was less intense.

 

[EMBRYOGUY]

really kathy? i find that hard to believe. we ll find out in a couple weeks. i can not imagine that the physiology behind color dev. would be that black/white. either way, i only believe about 5% of the studys published anyway. ie. wilkeson though very very informative, i know of a few breeders that are very succesful do not follow some of the "key" principles in her book. there are just so many potential variables.

if im wrong ill be the first to admit it.

the reality is that there are many ways to do things.

kathy, i very much appreciate all the info youve shared. i would not be at this point if it was not for your help and this forum.

 

[Kathy55g]

You are right not to believe everything published, but in the absence of data to the contrary, I place more weight on experiments over anecdotes every time.

There's more than one way to raise a clownfish, that's for sure.

Someone should do a dose response of Naturose or astaxanthin to see what the differences are, and confirm or disprove that previous study.

cheers,
K

 

[Kathy55g]

To support the 1% result:

Sometimes in biology there is a U shaped dose response curve. Increasing concentrations of a substance produces an increasing effect until a threshold is reached and a compensating mechanism takes over and reverses the effect.

I don't know if this is the case with astaxanthin, but it is possible, and the phenomenon, although somewhat rare, has been seen, and explained, before.

 

[EMBRYOGUY]

honestly kathy. im lazy ! i prob. would of followed the 1% formula, based on your pics/observations etc. i was trying to justify not doing it, but in reality i was just lazy at that moment

im so lazy that im thinking of buying a minifrig so i can put it next to the larvae tanks i still cant get over how much color it puts on the clowns in the short time frame.

if there color devs. even more, please post pics.

 

[EMBRYOGUY]

good point! ill find out in a week or so. i just have to remember to use this mixture only and not anything else

 

[Kathy55g]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8926546#post8926546 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by embryoguy
...im so lazy that im thinking of buying a minifrig so i can put it next to the larvae tanks ...

I just did that 2 weeks ago! A mini fridge/freezer! That's not lazy, that's efficient! Also keeps peace with the cook in our house (husband).

 

[David M]

I have talked about this with Ed Ramirez of LiquidLife USA. He is the West Coast distributor for Argent (Cyclops-Eeze). There was no mention of "diminishing returns" but the point he made was that the fish can only uptake, process and utilize a finite amount of the nutrient, feeding more is at a minimum pointless. In the case of CE possibly even harmful as some seem concerned about the fat content. Could the color actually get worse at some level? Interesting thought, I'm guessing it would have more to do with the overall health of the fish rather than a direct result of the caratenoid. IOW an excess of any nutrient could posibly cause the fish to fade as it's health deteriorated.

I still want to try the NR, Kathy can you post a link to that thread with the recipe for "top dressing" ?

 

[Kathy55g]

Will do when I get a chance.

Here is the recipe, as I remember it:

Otohime food, or whatever. Weigh out an amount, say 100 grams.
1 gram NatuRose (1%) (the little spoon that comes with the Naturose from BSD measures out about a gram.)

Mix these two very well until the color is uniform.
add:
2 grams fish oil (2%) (This can be found in the vitamin section of food and natural food stores. 1 gram capsules. Poke a hole in the capsule and squirt it out. Do 2 if you have 100 g Otohime.

Mix very well.

I have done it in a weak food processor(so it doesn't chew up the Otohime), one of those 3 oz bottles of Otohime, and larger quantities in a ziplock bag.

That's it.

 

[Kathy55g]

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/s...70&perpage=25&highlight=Naturose&pagenumber=2

At your service....scroll down, it is towards the bottom of the page.

 

[David M]

Thanks, I'll give it a try.