happy as a ...

[tdwyatt]

Man...


I cannot believe there are not any threads in this forum...

OK, to start, I am feeding my little electri blue Maxima (sounds like something you'd get at an adult toy store... ) DT phytoplankton by taking a 1 litre pop bottle and cutting the bottom out of it, placing the bottle over the clam, and pouring enough DT in through the neck of the bottle (with an extension tube to take it above the surface of the water column) to turn the water slightly turbid green. I leave the bottle in place, the clam will clear the water in about 30 to 45 minutes...

Just a helpful little feeding hint, this should be done for ALL smaller clams (up till they are around 2" in size (across the narrow part of the shell, not the length...)) Although they can supply a good portion of their nutrition via autotrophic means, clams in general are primarily filter feeders, and in reef tanks in particular may have problems getting enough nitrogen to be completely autotrophic without some filter feeding.

just My 2 Cents...

[Minnreefer]

Thanks Tom

[Casey]

Definately agree with Tom feed them babies

[Mrs Smith]

Great minds think alike, I guess... I have a similar contraption connected via airline tubing to a 100ml syringe. Not very graceful, but gets the job done. Now that the maxima is getting close to 3.5" I don't use it as often, but it's handy to have - just in case I bring home another.

Which reminds me, I need to go feed some DTs.

[galleon]

Does anybody know the size fraction of DT's on average?

[galleon]

Assuming that its Nannochloropsis (which I will for the moment, unless someone knows what DT's actually is), the size fraction is around 1.5-2.5 um, DT's makes an ideally sized food source for Tridacna and Hippopus clams. The trick is to feed with a high dilution (ie, no direct target feeding). When in high concentrations, foods of normally ideal food sizes will be captured, clumped and rejected by the animal. Tom's method sounds pretty good to me

[Casey]

I just bowl feed em and it works fine.

[MontanaRocknReefer]

I agree clams need to be fed as well! I have three with maybe one more to round them out!!

[Rick O]

Originally posted by tdwyatt
Man...


I cannot believe there are not any threads in this forum...

I just found this forum yesterday. I guess I should read Brooke's memos.

I was bowl feeding DT's to my Maxima but it didn't look like it was taking any in so I've been lax lately.

[Casey]

Rick once they get over 3 inch like yours they dont eat it much just light

[tdwyatt]

Originally posted by Casey
I just bowl feed em and it works fine.

heh!

My take on this is that so long as they get fed (the small ones) then it doesn't matter what particular technique you use. The whole reason for using this contraption originally was to target feed without target feeding, to get it where it needed to be without worrying about things like skimmers removing the DT's or moving the clam. Handling them may become an issue if you're taking them in and out of the tank, in particular when they get some size or they actually attach to a large solid piece of rock. (heh, I am big on making sure NOT to keep my hands in the tank long for SEVERAL reasons ) Using the bottle to feed them is just another way of not moving the clams once they find a place to be "Happy as a clam"...

BTW, Chris is correct, the alga is Nannochloropsis oculata, and although the DT product does not contain the following, I would think that Isochrysis spp. would be nutritionally adequate and of the correct size, with the added benefit of being motile in addition to the correct nutritional density. I just found an article that states that juvenile clams do not have enough mantle area to supply their metabolic needs and will require filter feeding of sufficient nutritional density to supply 65% of their total nutritional needs until mantle size becomes adequate (I would suppose that the 65% drops gradually as mantle size surface areas increases with growth, but the article did not state that.)

I think that if I had unlimited time, I would culture my own DT's, but unless you're willing to spend the time required to keep good culturing technique going, you're most likely to end up culturing Cyanobacteria spp.. I think I'll just let Dennis to all the work...

[galleon]

Hey Tom, I've heard of hatcheries using Isochrysis spp. to buffer their seawater concentrations of nanoplankton, as the juvies are in such high concentrations in the tanks as to need supplementation.

Chris

[LongShot]

At the risk of exposing the true extent of my ignorance on the topic, what is a "DT"?

Is this an off-the-shelf product, or an acronym for some creature you culture?

Thanks....

Bert

[MontanaRocknReefer]

Phytoplankton is a primary source of nutrition for a multitude of colorful and interesting inhabitants of live rock. Regularly feeding with DT's Marine Phytoplankton will promote the growth of the incredible variety of live rock fauna, while providing additional nutrition for the other fine filter feeding marine invertebrates in the mini-reef aquarium. Examples: Sponges, Corals, Anemones, Bi-Valves, Tube Worms, Sea Apples and Micro-organisms that Make up Zooplankton, Including Rotifers.

This is a live culture.

[Stoney Reef]

DT is short for DT's Phytoplankton. It is a live culture of nanochlorist. The DT's part is the initial's of the company's owner. Currently Dennis is working on a new blend of DT's with three types of phyto in it to get several different sizes.