Phytoplankton Information

What are phytoplankton and why are they important in a Reef System?

Phytoplankton are single cell microalgae that exist primarily in the water column. Microalgae is the beginning of the marine food chain and the primary source of essential nutrients for most reef filter feeders. Filter feeders that rely directly on phytoplankton include bivalves like clams, scallops, mussels, and oysters, as well as many corals, feather dusters, sponges, ascidians and zooplankton like rotifers and copepods.

It was once thought that most reef animals do not require microalgae, however, we have learned in recent years that nearly all reef animals that can filter feed do rely on plankton for an essential portion of their diet. This is even true for animals that can use zoozanthellae and photosynthesis for nourishment. With hindsight this is obvious as zoozanthellae only contribute carbohydrates to the host animal, requiring the animal to look elsewhere for lipids, protein, vitamins and other nutrients.

In nature filter feeders rely on a mix of diatoms, golden-brown, green, yellow-green, blue-green and red microalgae for a nutritionally complete diet. These life forms may look similar, but they are so ancient that they have incredible biological and nutritional diversity. Biologically speaking, there is vastly more difference between a green algae and a golden-brown flagellate than between dandelion and a fir tree.

What makes Phyto-Feast the best microalgal feed on the market?

  • Ten years of providing the best larval fish and invertebrate algal feeds to over 500 hatcheries in 67 countries around the world (Instant-Algae.com).
  • Produced at the largest marine microalgae farm in the world.
  • Made from a highly nutritious and unsurpassed mix of microalgae species. The only live microalgae product that provides a complete omega-3 lipid profile.
  • The innovative way Phyto-Feast® is prepared which gives it an enhanced freshness and effectiveness.
  • The superior value we offer our customers by providing a dense, easy-to-use product at a low cost.  One look at Phyto-Feast® and you can tell it is the most concentrated "live" algae product commercially available.

Included in our diet are the green algae Tetraselmis, the brown flagellates Isochrysis and Pavlova, the yellow-green algae Nannochloropsis, the diatoms TW and Amphora, and the super-high protein blue-green algae Synechococcus. It is a wide spectrum feed that is suitable for almost all reef invertebrates.

Is Live Algae Better?

Reef organisms require a phytoplankton (microalgae) feed that provides all the nutrition necessary for full health, vitality, and vibrancy. To ensure maximum nutritional value you must first start with high quality algae, then make sure the cells remain intact so the nutrients don't leak into the water. phytoplankton are very small and any breach of the cell membrane will release the cell’s valuable contents. Intact phytoplankton are able to deliver their nutrients to your animals rather than dispersing them into the water column.

Live Algae Disadvantages - Live phytoplankton need a lot of light and nutrients to stay alive. When algae are stored in the dark, in media without nutrients, they must consume their own proteins, lipids and carbohydrates to stay alive. Depending on the level of metabolic activity, the algae's nutritional value can fall rapidly as the cells starve. Live phytoplankton also respire, consuming oxygen in the dark. Live and biologically active microalgae sealed up in the dark can quickly consume all available oxygen and become anaerobic. When this happens the algae will start to die from a lack of oxygen. At the same time anaerobic bacteria begin to grow, rapidly resulting in the classical smell of decomposition - hydrogen sulfide (smells like rotten eggs).

Summary - Reef organisms are not "smart" enough to differentiate between algae and dead algae, so it's up to you to provide them with the best quality feeds. "Live" algae ensures that the nutrients inside the cells will be available to your to your animals, but does not ensure that there will be any remaining nutrients in the cells. The best quality algae will be harvested at "peak" nutritional profile, then put into hibernation (quiescence) to keep that peak profile.

Suspended Animation / Hibernation (Quiescence)

The best process for obtaining the benefits of live algae without the disadvantages is to place the live microalgal cells in a state of suspended animation (also called quiescence or hibernation). This process reduces the metabolic activity of the live cells to minimal levels, allowing long term storage without the depletion of oxygen or the loss of nutritional value. A commonly used form of suspended animation is cryopreservation in which algal cells are frozen alive and intact and can be revived later.

10 Years of Experience Supplying Commercial Hatcheries

Marine aquariums require quality feeds, but the standards for commercial hatcheries are even higher. Bivalve hatcheries in particular require the highest quality. Millions of dollars and thousand of livelihoods depend on the health and growth of fragile larvae that are so small that hundreds of thousands can fit into 1 milliliter. Reed Mariculture has spent years developing algae products for these hatcheries in a form that matches the highest requirements for nutrition, cell integrity and cleanliness. We are proud that most of the hatcheries in the United States use our algae products to provide their animals the algae they need. Reed Mariculture is the ONLY American producer of marine microalgae concentrates whose products are used in commercial hatcheries.

The Right Microalgae

After decades of research hatcheries and universities around the world have come to agreement on the best algae for filter feeders. At the top of the list are Isochrysis, Tetraselmis, Pavlova and Nannochloropsis. Each are good in their own way, but none on their own provide a complete diet. Brown algae are especially critical to your filter feeders because in addition to sterols and pigments they are the ONLY algae that produce the fatty acid DHA (required for complete omega-3 nutrition). Phyto-Feast® is the ONLY live algae concentrate that contains 100% of the nutrition needed by your animals - proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, and essential fatty acids.

Quiescent, Live processing for the Best Product

Phyto-Feast® uses the best harvesting and shipping practices coupled with a highly innovative "quiescenc" process to deliver the best product for your filter feeding animals. Our process provides intact, nutritionally complete algae that maintain their original high quality for several months (see “Pyto-Feast FAQ” for more information).

    1. All the microalgae that goes into Phyto-Feast® are grown at our farm in California and are harvested live and packed and shipped "farm fresh" every week.
    2. Once harvested the algae are induced to become "quiescent".  At the time of packaging 95% or more of the algae are alive.
    3. In this quiescent state metabolic activity and respiration are reduced to minimal levels, preserving the nutritional value of the algae and the integrity of the cell membranes. In concept, the process is similar to cryopreservation where alga can be frozen live for years and remain viable.
    4. Not all of our algae species are equally hardy and after a few weeks some of the more delicate cells will begin to expire. However, due to our quiescence process, the cells lose none of their functional qualities or nutritional value. Many of the cells will remain viable for several months.
    5. Because of the unique quiescence process that is applied to the algae the cells remain intact and they retain their full nutritional value long after they have ceased metabolic activity. The quiescence process delays any biological decomposition of the product for many months. Properly stored, a bottle of Phyto-Feast® will provide the same value at two-plus months that it did on the first day.