Benefits and Feeding Recommendations
of DT's Live Marine Phytoplankton

The direct consumption of phytoplankton provides an important source of nutrition for clams, soft corals, tunicates, sponges and feather-dusters, as well as, zooplankton such as invertebrate larvae and copepods.

Many stony corals do consume phytoplankton as well. However, this does not necessarily lead to the digestion and direct benefit of phytoplankton. There are conflicting results from research regarding this topic. More research needs to be done before the importance or unimportance of phytoplankton consumption by stony corals can be determined. The most compelling evidence showing the direct consumption of phytoplankton by stony corals as being significant is found with Goniopora and Alveopora.

Though stony corals may not benefit from direct feeding, they and many other reef dwelling animals will benefit from the increased availability and enhanced nutritional value of the zooplankton that they prey upon. A deep sand bed and Refugia provide a habitat for zooplankton to populate and provide your corals with an excellent and needed source of nutrition. See the articles: Food Production by Design. Part 1 and Part 2.

Another benefit to feeding phytoplankton is that the increased population of small fauna are themselves quite interesting.

For animals that consume phytoplankton to benefit, the cellular density of phytoplankton in the water must be high enough so that they receive more nutritional benefit from the food than energy used to consume it. By following our feeding directions on the bottle, the levels in your aquarium will allow the animals to feed adequately for a period of time. It is not realistically feasible to maintain a constant level of phytoplankton in a reef aquarium.      

We can only offer a broad suggestion as there are many variables in reef aquariums. Many hobbyists including myself feed at higher levels and more frequently then our recommendations. Any increase in feeding should be done slowly to allow the animals to adjust. Our label instructions will suffice for most reef systems. The more advanced aquarists who want to experiment should be observant of the effects as you would with any food.