microplankton v. phytoplankton

[mikeb]

Are micro and phyto plankton the same thing? And if not which is better for a colt coral, plate coral and yellow gorgonian? And where does zooplankton fall into this?

BTW, I'm starting my own phytoplankton growing station from threads of some who seem to be doing great with it. I'll keep all posted on my results.

[mojoreef]

Hmmm. By micro I am assuming you are refering to bacterial plankton. Most of that concists of bacteria, some larvae, newkton and so on. Photoplankton is basically free floating algae. Most all corals dont eat phyto but your gorgonian will like it. Zooplankton is about the same size as phyto but is an animal (vision a microscopic shrimp/pod) most corals will eat these, but then again virtually all corals eat fish waste and detritus which we all have.


hope it helps


Mike

[mikeb]

Thanks, yeah it does help. But what you mentioned about them eating detritus and fish waste has me raising some more questions. In doing some research on adding plankton in the reef aquarium I came across some debate of its effectivness. I found some groups of people stating that it was useless to add phytoplankton (not sure of their position on zooplankton) to reefs. They said that tests have shown that they didn't do anything benificial to the tank. They said that these plankton were occuring naturally in the tank. [smiley=confused1.gif]

Mike

[mojoreef]

Yea in the hobby thier is some debate, but in science thier isnt really. Thier are certain creatures that require phytoplankton. Ex: some clams, scallops dusters and some gorgonians. Everything else does not use them. Zooplankton is the animal form, Most all corals and critters will take these in.
Zooplankton does naturally occur i most proples reefs, but the demand on them keeps the populations low. SOme folks culture them and add them to the tank. In studies of corals, almost all coral will take detritus and waste if it is the correct size for them to ingest. Remember that when a coral say ingests a small particle of detritus its not only getting the detritus its getting all the bacteria and simular that is trying to reduce that peice of detritus. If you just think about it, the reefs in the wild have the largest fish populations in the world, yet they are the most nutrient free, the waste is going somewhere??
In my opinion all reef tanks have an over abundance of waste and detritus, more then enough to adiquitly feed corals, in most cases to much and it not only feeds the corals but also feeds algae. Adding Phytoplanton to a tank with no critters that can use it is the equal to just pouring it pure Phosphate. Rotifers could be benefical but I dont think required at all.
I have a tank with hundreds of corals and have never feed the corals, just the fish. Now thier are some corals that may require external food. Corals such as the ones with large amounts of tissue (tissue needs nutrient) If these corals show signs of thinning tissue then I would suggest directly feeding them.

Keeping a reef tank is always a battle with to many nutrients, adding more for no reason can prove costly.


Mike

[mikeb]

Thanks for the info. Much appreciated.