Tigger copepod culture with only Isochrysis?

[Levinson]

Can I culture Tigger copepods by only feeding live Isochrysis galbana? Has anyone done this before?
I've recently received some Tigger pods and Iso is the only live phyto I'm culturing at the moment.
If not, what else should they be fed with? (Other than other different strains of phyto because I don't want to do the extra work of culturing more phyto, unless I really really have to).

 

[Doctorgori]

FWIW you can “sometimes” make your own DIY “wild” phyto from just aquarium water …
I forget the exact size micro sleeve to run it through but you basically want to remove the larger “bugs”, add F/2 , add air, light et

Anyway just reading all of the “green water” threads scattered about makes me believe phyto is in every/most tanks anyway

 

[Levinson]

FWIW you can “sometimes” make your own DIY “wild” phyto from just aquarium water …
I forget the exact size micro sleeve to run it through but you basically want to remove the larger “bugs”, add F/2 , add air, light et

Anyway just reading all of the “green water” threads scattered about makes me believe phyto is in every/most tanks anyway

That'd be interesting to try but my guess would be some type of macro algae spore from the tank water (like hair algae) would make it and start to grow?

 

[Doctorgori]

That'd be interesting to try but my guess would be some type of macro algae spore from the tank water (like hair algae) would make it and start to grow?

yes and no….
Absolutely no way to isolate a mono culture like you get from a commercial outfit,
but OTOH over fertilized tank water in a vessel is almost guaranteed to go green, from there not hard to decant phyto cells…
added: almost guaranteed..
from that point green water will surely outcompete whatever else is in the water under the right culturing setup …

..the time water filling up a 2l bottle and adding f/2 can’t possibly be that much effort, again worth a shot

…also think of it this way, if you dumped f/2 into your display what would you think are the odds of nothing happening vs your tank water turning green?
…basically the causes of hair algae vs “green water” has some overlap but obviously both don’t always occur in tandem
I know you gotta clean your cultures eventually but there is some time between a clean phyto culture and nasty hair algae coated vessels

 

[Levinson]

yes and no….
Absolutely no way to isolate a mono culture like you get from a commercial outfit,
but OTOH over fertilized tank water in a vessel is almost guaranteed to go green, from there not hard to decant phyto cells…
from that point green water will surely outcompete whatever else is in the water under the right culturing setup …

..the time water filling up a 2l bottle and adding f/2 can’t possibly be that much effort, again worth a shot

…also think of it this way, if you dumped f/2 into your display what would you think are the odds of nothing happening vs your tank water turning green?
…basically the causes of hair algae vs “green water” has some overlap but obviously both don’t always occur in tandem
I know you gotta clean your cultures eventually but there is some time between a clean phyto culture and nasty hair algae coated vessels

Interesting idea. I guess one could even try adding some silica along with the f/2 to the tank water sample and make diatom out compete whatever else that's in there. If one wanted to.

 

[Doctorgori]

yeah, I think also it’s hard to not get “phyto eaters” in with the culture …
…didn’t think about diatoms & adding silica….clever

.I shouldn’t have said guaranteed but almost

 

[Levinson]

yeah, I think also it’s hard to not get “phyto eaters” in with the culture …
…didn’t think about diatoms & adding silica….clever

.I shouldn’t have said guaranteed but almost

Let's say I managed to culture some random phyto from my tank, what do you think the chances of that phyto not being suitable food for the pods?
Do you reckon they'd eat pretty much most kind of phyto?

 

[Doctorgori]

Let's say I managed to culture some random phyto from my tank, what do you think the chances of that phyto not being suitable food for the pods?
Do you reckon they'd eat pretty much most kind of phyto?

Not sure, I do know the different phyto strains have different profiles. Just guessing but I’d bet run-o-mill tank phyto would work but “wild”. phyto is more crash prone just because of purity I. suppose…
I tried tigger pods twice, 1st try I “think” I used the powdered stuff (I think) …any it resulted in insane numbers, couldn’t duplicate it twice, no clue why

 

[topjimmy]

I grow pods in a shallow tub outside on my porch. Just some tank water sunlight, the occasional bug or leaf. Sometimes I add a little fertilizer if I think of it and the water isn't as green as I think it should be.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Can I culture Tigger copepods by only feeding live Isochrysis galbana? Has anyone done this before?

I know I'm late to the party here, but to answer this original question - it has reportedly been done before, so yes, it seems you can; most reports I've read used a blend of Iso with another phyto though.

The source that discusses this in depth is only available as a download, but it's called "Sensitivity of the Marine Copepod Tigriopus californicus to Ultraviolet-B (290-320 nm) Radiation" - it's Linda Kay Chalker's thesis.

 

[Levinson]

I know I'm late to the party here, but to answer this original question - it has reportedly been done before, so yes, it seems you can; most reports I've read used a blend of Iso with another phyto though.

The source that discusses this in depth is only available as a download, but it's called "Sensitivity of the Marine Copepod Tigriopus californicus to Ultraviolet-B (290-320 nm) Radiation" - it's Linda Kay Chalker's thesis.

Thank you for the info! I'll check it out.