Breeding Journal: Nannochloropsis

Breeding Journal DataSheet

This first post should be updated regularly to include new information as events take place
or changes are made to your system

General
Species: Nannochloropsis
Social Structure: phytoplankton
Size of Individuals: 2-6 microns
Age of Individuals: 30 days
Date added to Tank: every other day

Broodstock Tank Details
Size of Tank: 5 liters
Substrate Details: none
Filtration Details: none
Water Changes: none
Water Temperature: room temp
Lighting: exo terra CFL and 18" t-8 plant bulb
Lighting Cycle: 24/7 occasional respiration period
Other Tank Inhabitants: none

Broodstock Feeding Details
Food Types: miracle grow
Feeding Schedule: once at start of culture

Spawning Details
Date of First Spawn: Dec 2011
Spawn Time of Day: when i have the time
Dates of Consecutive Spawns: every other week
Courtship Details: none
Egg Size: none
Egg Color: none
Egg Count: none

Hatch Details
Hatch Date: none
Hatch Time of Day: none
# Days after Spawn: none
Larvae Description: none

Larval Tank Details
Temperature: room temp
Size of Larval Tank: none
Substrate Details: none
Other Tank Decor: none
Filtration Details: none
Lighting: same
Lighting Cycle: same
Water Changes: none

Larval Feeding Details
Food Types: miracle grow
Feeding Schedule: same

Metamorphosis/Settlement
Date of Settlement Start: none
Days after Hatch: none
Date of Settlement End: none
Description of Fry: green

Grow-Out Tank Details
Temperature: same
Size of Grow-Out Tank: same
Substrate Details: none
Other Tank Decor: none
Filtration Details: none
Lighting: same
Lighting Cycle: same
Water Changes: none
Size at Transfer: none
Age at Transfer: none

Grow-Out Feeding Details
Food Types: same
Feeding Schedule: same

Additional Information
Miscellaneous Information: well since december i have been culturing phytoplankton. i lost one culture due to contamination in febuary 2012, but since then i have had one continual culture and its been going strong. so heres how i do it.

i bought a Nanno disc from Florida Aqua Farms.

http://i1225.photobucket.com/albums/...1331350981.jpg

http://i1225.photobucket.com/albums/...1331479558.jpg

then i let it soak in fresh water overnight, scraped half of the disc and added it to a 200 ml starter culture, then added it to a one liter culture, and now i use 5L cultures. my culture media is old tank water that has been diluted down to a SG of <1.019 and sterilized by boiling for 10 min. after it cools i add 5 ml miracle grow per 1L media. i put it on a stir plate with a sterile stir bar and aerate the media using sterile ridged tubing. to serilize misc materials i use 70% ethanol ( no, 100% is not better, nor is methanol).

so how about some more pics.

http://i1225.photobucket.com/albums/...3-16082134.jpg

http://i1225.photobucket.com/albums/...3-19191608.jpg

http://i1225.photobucket.com/albums/...1332619632.jpg

current setup

http://i1225.photobucket.com/albums/...6-17104122.jpg

http://i1225.photobucket.com/albums/...7-11200408.jpg

so thats how its been going for the past 6 months, i make lots of phytoplankton. after harsesting i save a small portion of the culture and add it to fresh media and let it grow. typically it takes about 10 days to get to max density. the portion that is then harvested is allow to settle, all of the excess media is then poured out and i add a small amount of nutrient deficient media to help extend its shelf life and prevent nutrients from making their way into the tank.

any questions just ask.