Live Phytoplankton (Tetraselmis) Petri Dish

Descripción

LIVE PHYTOPLANKTON DISK FOR STARTER CULTURE Tetraselmis is a beneficial microalgae found throughout our oceans. This micro algae (Tetra, for short) is a motile algae, comprised of cells that are perfect as a primary food source for feeding your fish fry, and rotifer, artemia, or copepod cultures. Almost all inhabitants of a reef aquarium will also benefit from phytoplankton supplementation, particularly any organisms that feed on the nutrients found in the water column. Tetra has been the predominant species of microalgae used in the aquarium hobby for many decades, particularly with fish breeders. Each disk, or petri dish, contains approximately 1-1.5 billion cells, suspended in nutrient agar. To assure a level of control, these disks contain ONLY isolated Tetra cells, allowing the hobbyist more control over what is fed. Mixtures that include other types of microalgae have their uses, and combining some with Tetra can be beneficial, but why put more in your tank than what is needed/used? The cells on these disks are live and will remain viable up to six months or longer. Micro algae disks are compact, store easily, and remove the need to create/maintain liquid subcultures for backup. Also, disks are much cheaper to ship than liquid starter cultures. Starting a live phytoplankton culture in the home is easy and requires very little space. To successfully use these disks, simply place some culture water on the cells and replace lid of petri dish. Provide room lighting for 12-24 hours. Using sterile swab (included), gently rub cells off the agar and into 250-500ml of culture water. Aerate 24/7 and incubate for 6-9 days with a 16+ hour daily photo period. The resulting dense culture can then be harvested and/or used to inoculate additional/larger cultures.