Reef Bugs---proving interesting.

[Sk8r]

I have a damsel reef---starting over after a major tank change; and lps corals AND damsels like to pick up chance bits that come along. Feeding once or twice a day will do it, but I happened on the Reef Bugs stuff, which, once I began putting it into my system, may either be enlivening or reproducing in my pretty cruddy fuge (live rock, sand, big mass of cheato). Several times a day now my pump giveth forth a surge of particulate, and the fish in the tank dive about in great interest, and the corals (starting over with those, since I sold off all my corals during the switch) are looking interested too.

The stuff is supposed to produce 'marine snow' and snow it does seem to. It's encapsulated plankton. I'm pretty happy with the activity of the fish (damsels aren't remotely cranky if there's enough food to keep them busy) and the look of the corals.

Any experience out there with this stuff? You put it in a couple of times a week and if you don't mind 'dust' in the water, it seems to provoke a lot of fish interest and activity.

 

[slief]

Interesting... I just ordered a couple package of it after reading your post and some reviews from the net.. I've never fed my corals and they grow like weeds. Granted they are primarily soft corals but given I have pipe fish and lots of smaller fish and critters, it will be interesting to try this stuff. I should have them Friday so I will post an update sometime this weekend.

 

[doctorwhoreefer]

Use as little as possible. Its not exactly encapsulated plankton, its bacterial strains on a matrix of yeast or rye, or barley, something like that.
I used it for awhile, but it really does take awhile to break down. This was my error and after several weeks, HA exploded.

I hadn't used it for awhile, got all the various types still in my fridge. The corals do enjoy it, cant say it ever helped growth but coloration seemed to improve from the boost to ambient plankton levels.

If you want to see another product kinda like it, perhaps more efficient, check out nutricell by new life spectrum. Seems to be less fluff(barley) and it wont sink like the Reef bugs.

 

[slief]

Use as little as possible. Its not exactly encapsulated plankton, its bacterial strains on a matrix of yeast or rye, or barley, something like that.
I used it for awhile, but it really does take awhile to break down. This was my error and after several weeks, HA exploded.

I hadn't used it for awhile, got all the various types still in my fridge. The corals do enjoy it, cant say it ever helped growth but coloration seemed to improve from the boost to ambient plankton levels.

If you want to see another product kinda like it, perhaps more efficient, check out nutricell by new life spectrum. Seems to be less fluff(barley) and it wont sink like the Reef bugs.

Interesting. Thanks for the feedback. I just got mine today and have the boxes sitting in front of me on my desk. I'm almost reluctant to use the stuff. I did open the package and was a bit surprised as it looks like saw dust but smells like meal worms!

 

[Sk8r]

I've used it sparingly and not had any problem: I think the key may be to start small, and increase gradually until you don't feel comfortable increasing any more. I dose to the sump, which is a rock/sand/moss fuge with a lot of life down there.

Thank you for the Nutricell recommendation. I'll give it a look.

I like to keep my tank a little on the 'live and rich' side of the spectrum because there are times I have to leave it to fend for itself for a few days unexpectedly.

The Reef Bugs in dry form do smell a bit like meal worms.

 

[mwminer]

You're talking about the Marc Weiss product?

 

[slief]

You're talking about the Marc Weiss product?

Yes

 

[m0nkie]

So this is basically fish food that may last a few days?

 

[Whiterabbitrage]

Used Reef Bugs for about a year. I add it directly to the tank. I shut off the pumps and the skimmer, then I add the bugs. I let the tank sit for an hour or two then turn everything back on. Usually the water is clear by then.

 

[slief]

So this is basically fish food that may last a few days?

Not really fish food although there is stuff in it that the fish may eat. I think it's really intended for a coral food. I tried it the other day. I can't really say anything good or bad about the stuff as I really didn't notice anything different with my corals after using it. My corals always look healthy and I suspect it's one of those things that needs to be repeated a bunch of times to formulate an opinion. As such, I will repeat it in a few days or so.

 

[doctorwhoreefer]

Ya it's intended as more of a coral food. Reef bugs is the mix between, then there's 'sps grow' and 'soft coral grow', Bacterioplankton mixes.
It's definitely a decent quality for the price if you don't dose any other plankton type foods.

I feel the 'it cleans up the aquarium too!' statement a bit of a stretch, though valid to some extent as it's introducing bacterial populations.. The matrix it's on could be smaller, one enjoyable thing about the sps grow.

 

[OnceTrueFalseBr]

does adding that stuff do anything to cause a spike in phosphates or nitrates?

 

[philosophile]

In FW aquaria, lots of people grow bacteria and microorganisims creating an "infusoria" that they feed to their tanks. I've always wanted a SW equivalent, and reef bugs is marketed as that equivalent. I've never used the stuff. But I'm interested in the kinds of results people are seeing or not seeing.

 

[Piper27]

I set up a friends tank, we run biopelets on it. Low nutrients and its a mixed reef. The sps got much better polyp extension and corals started growing better and getting a little better color. Probably because it was to low on nutrients and the reef bugs are adding what it needs. But the tank is doing much better now than without. I use it every now and then but i run a high nutrient tank that gets filtered and exported very well so all I see is a good feeding response by the acropora. I am sure its good for all the other life in the tank. Oyster feast gives me better feeding responses so I switch between which I use each time.

 

[doctorwhoreefer]

I can't recall when I used it heavily if phos/nitrates were an issue. I think it's really relative to how much you feed. But don't make the mistake I did, give it a few days for the matrix to decay if it's not filtered out, otherwise you'll have issues.

I would consider this stuff a cheap version of perhaps zeobak? Introducing a lot of bacteria, the corals dig it, but be careful because it's easy to overfeed. And it turned all the filters/etc brown as well..(matrix material again) Take purigen out especially if you use it, one dose of the reef bugs soured mine iirc.

 

[thewookie]

Does anyone know if scooter blennies make use of the supposed "live' bugs in this culture ??