Blood and your Reef Aquarium

[Logzor]

Does anyone if any or how much blood normally gets washed into a coral reef?

I figure sharks and other creatures create somewhat of a mess.

I am wondering if a few drops of blood would help mimic natural environments. I have read a few people preaching about small iron supplements, as far as I know blood contains a decent amount of iron.

Other than that I am not sure what else is in blood and how it could effect corals and their growth. I just thought that I would throw it out there.

 

[LockeOak]

Utterly insignificant amounts. The biomass of vertebrates in the ocean (mostly fish) itself is very small compared to the amounts of bacteria, plankton and invertebrates, and their blood even more so. Even on a reef, where fish are abundant, they're swimming over and in huge amounts of plankton and the invertebrates that make up the reef itself. Iron is sometimes a limiting nutrient in the ocean, but if you add iron the first thing that will take it up will be algae One scheme I've heard proposed for dealing with atmospheric CO2 levels is to dump iron shavings into remote areas of the ocean, causing a phytoplankton bloom which will then sink to the bottom and take all of the plankton's carbon to the bottom of the ocean (hopefully) for long term storage. I don't think it would work. Interesting thought, though.

 

[Logzor]

Interesting, thanks for the reply.

 

[LockeOak]

I don't doubt that if the next big thing were "Blood is awesome for tanks, poke your finger with a needle and squeeze in as much as you can!" a la Little Shop of Horrors that there would be plenty of aquarists doing it

 

[Logzor]

Haha.

Actually, that is exactly what I was picturing!

 

[bguile]

"You can do it...........feed me Seymour!"

 

[DiscusDan]

My 65 gallon tank just got about an ounce of my own blood in it just yesterday (sort of off topic: Ceramic bulb holders can break and get REALLY sharp) and before going to get my thumb stitched up I watched the fish and my hippo-tang did seem to really get excited over it, swam thru the suspended bloody mess 4 or 5 times before it dissipated. Hopefully he doesn't become a man-eater now...

 

[Tang Salad]

I suggest dripping the blood of a growing teenage male as this helps maximize levels of HGH.















J/K!!!

 

[OranguTang]

Dont go cuttin your wrists now

 

[Poorcollegereef]

LockeOak:
About that Iron dumping, If one does dumo an Fe solution into an Iron limited system, then diatoms population become extremely productive and will, for a time in the study zone, CO2 concentrations did decrease. However, if there is an increase in phytoplankton, then there would eventually be an increase in heterotrophic zooplankton that feeds on the diatom... and the increased zooplankton causes an increase in respiration and an increase in CO2. Really, the iron hypothesis does not do a thing about CO2 concentrations in the long term.

As far as the blood... hemoglobin might not be the best blood supplement. We need to use the copper based Hemocyanin, that is found in mollusks. Afterall, the bluebloods make better sacrifices

 

[LockeOak]

Poorcollegereef:

I agree, though I think the hope was that if it were a truly massive phytoplankton bloom the plankton would sink to the ocean floor, where the cold temperatures and lower oxygen levels would limit their release through consumer respiration. Like I said, probably wouldn't work.

 

[flasher1]

I have read something about using oyster blood as a "steroid" in reef aquariums

 

[tmz]

I donate blood to my reef frequnetly. My nasty large tomato clownfish makes sure I do.

 

[bpoore89]

 

[fishysteve]

I read somewhere a while ago about blood helping clams or something. I remember after reading that, the next time I accidentally cut myself ( which is pretty often ) I squeezed about 10 good sized drops in my tank. All I can say is my sun coral sprung open faster than it ever had before. So, I do it sometimes. I swear I'm not a freak.

 

[jlunde]

That's it. After work I'm going to go give blood and ask to keep the bag. I'll hook up a drip system right into the display. What do you think...about 8 drops per hour? I think I'll turn the skimmer off for a bit too.

 

[fishysteve]

The blood feeding I think was in Daniel Knop's giant clam book.

 

[macreefster]

wow.... my reef has already drained me of all my money, now it wants my blood too? why am i not surprised? worst part is, i'd give it willingly!...lol

 

[Flowmaster]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12210631#post12210631 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by macreefster
wow.... my reef has already drained me of all my money, now it wants my blood too? why am i not surprised? worst part is, i'd give it willingly!...lol

The same thing happens when you get married.

 

[macreefster]

lol.....at least my reef doesn't nag me. why is my wife rolling her eyes?...lol