Which Species of Phytoplankton to buy?

PoggiPJ

Premium Member
I am getting ready to place an order for phytoplankton starter culture disks. www.florida-aquatics-farms.com offers the following types (and sizes). Which um size would you reccommend for feeding my Flame Scallop and could I also feed them to my brine shrimp culture?

AA-NCP _ Nanochloropsus (Japanese Chlorella) green, non-motile 6 Ã"šÃ‚µm ( I think this is what DT's contains)
AA-PYR _ Pyramimonas green, motile, 7 x 10 Ã"šÃ‚µm
AA-TET _ Tetraselmis green, motile, 10 x 14 Ã"šÃ‚µm
AA-ISO _ Isocrysis golden brown, motile, 8 Ã"šÃ‚µm dia
AA-CHA _ Chaetoceros diatom, non-motile, 12 to 14 Ã"šÃ‚µm

Thanks!
 
I have 3 different Phytoplankton products I use, but dont know which I SHOULD be using. All three list that they contain nannochloripsis. The Kents is a combo of 5 different phyto' s though.

ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¢ DT's (which is live and everyone seems to reccomend, but it's expensive!)

ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¢ Frozen Instant Algae (superconcentrated ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ only a little feeds the tank but)

ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¢ Kents PhytoPlex. (Unrefrigerated. smells funny)


The frozen instant alga is the easiest and cheapest, but is it appropriate for clams? I have a 3" ultra Maxima blue, and a flame scallop. I've been feeding them all three. :) The scallop seems to be doing pretty good. I've had him for about 4 months now. his mantle is out and tentacles waving... and the ultra maxima in about a month new to my tank. 6" under a 175 halide and attatched to some rock. I need to get Knopps book!

chrismo
 
Chris,
Yes, I do use zooplankton. I'm using SweetWater brand Zooplankton, which is a refrigerated (once opened) product - in addition to the Kents and the DTs
 
Isocrysis(T-Iso) is excellent for clam feedings and is used in clam breeding. Rotifers are not recommended for Clam feeding but for sand bed infauna. The particle size of a Rotifer varys up to 80-100+ microns. Clams assimilate phyto particles <10-12 microns. Therefore some types of phyto are not recommended. Nanno and T-Iso are small(<10 microns) with excellent nutrional value. Go with either of these. Read R. Shimeks article at the beginning of this forum. Adam
 
Jm, It should be, but technically I'm not sure if the cryo version is any better or not as good as the live that you receive from DT's. I do know there's another thread on here where that specific question is discussed
 
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