Culture Journal, Species: Tetraselmis

So, I have had ongoing issues with my Tetraselmis not darkening.  This issue has been going on since April.  I haven't been able to get a culture to darken anywhere near splitting.  I figured the problem was temperatures.  So I added fans.  This seemed to help very minimally, and only temporarily.  So it popped into my head suddenly that I switched from using Miracle Grow with Kent Essential Elements to FAF Micro Algae Grow right around that same time.  So, experimentally I split one culture, ran it through a 20-something micron sieve and used a MG+KEE medium instead of the MAG.  2 days later...VOILA...green cultures instead of yellow!
 
Here's a pic from July 24 (no change in the two on the left with FAF MAG, the one on the right was sieved and used MG+KEE medium on the 22nd):

Don't let fear and common sense stop you! =]

 
Which is why you want to encourage the growth of cleanup crews of all sizes, especially the little guys. You want as much to be bound up in little bodies as possible.

--Andy, the bucket man.
"Not to know the mandolin is to argue oneself unknown...." --Clara Lanza, 1886

^^ Jim is on the money, you may try going a little higher in your concentrations such as full F as I do when adding to live established tank.... I do not turn off UV or skimmer and just simply add.... thusly I prefer to keep things as concentrate as possible.  I do run phosban in a reactor on a 12/12 timer linked with my UV, so this ultimately reduces my phosphates and a lot of irons locked up in the system.  the goal though is to actually incite algal bloom within the system, thus creating a much more natural filtration unit.
 
truth be told.... since I have automated (thank god) with my feeding pumps and such my system has remained constant and stable despite my busy work habit and ignorance of it.  My last water change was two weeks before the workshop.... levels still test great.  while  there is no real "display" my broodstock still spawn on time (both verts and inverts) and the system stays quite stable. so long as I remember to replace my medium, and double check to ensure top off and skimmer are clean and operating properly.  Probably bad advice... in fact.... definitely bad advice but eh... just a side effect of watching nutrients and balancing them as needed.

Pelagically yours,
~J      

Joe is alllllliiiiiiiivvvvvvveeeeee.
 
We need a zombie smiley. Something like this:

--Andy, the bucket man.
"Not to know the mandolin is to argue oneself unknown...." --Clara Lanza, 1886

Yeah, that all makes sense.  I don't feed the phyto to my reef tanks very often though...maybe once a month.  My reefs also do have GFO and carbon running in reactors of different flow.
 
As a side note, I have found this Tetraselmis to be nearly bombproof.  I have been working out of province for the last couple months and the Tet has had ZERO maintenance.  The bottles have 4-6" of liquid in them and are both green still.  I find that if the cultures crash from density and I just leave them bubbling away they will rebloom on their own.  Since I'm home for Christmas though I will restart them up nice and fresh again.

Don't let fear and common sense stop you! =]

out of curiosity what is the split schedule with any of the cultures?
 
I'm willing to bet that the greener cultures are feeding on the decay of prior dead cells thus self sustaining to a degree where the lighter cultures are just simply running out of nutrients and not being maintained in log state

Pelagically yours,
~J      

 
Have you verified through microscopic examination that the "rebloom" is still, in fact, Tetraselmis?

No Jim, I do not have a microscope powerful enough to identify phytoplankton.  Which brings to mind, exactly what magnification do I need anyway? 

Don't let fear and common sense stop you! =]

most often I use my 20x dissection scope to view a dish of algae, I'm looking for whether or not the algae is motile or not (quick and easy way of spotting nanno cross contamination with other motile species as the nanno will not move unless pushed).
 
For deeper inspection of most species a $99 hobby lobby scope with a 400x power does fine.  It's when we start getting into bacterial issues that we as hobbyists get hosed

Pelagically yours,
~J      

I find that when I do use my compound microscope, I usually use 40x or maybe 100x.  I almost never have a use for 400x.  It is just too much magnification for what I need to see.

Agreed Jim, I tend to sit around 40x most the time even at 100x sometimes the magnification makes spotting things a little unruly at times.
 
A lot of times a simple 30x magnifying glass works great for spot checking, not only are they dirt cheap but quick and easy (and they don't take up table space!)

Pelagically yours,
~J      

Oh, I have 40x, 100x, and 250x.  The phyto I have is motile, but I can't see its shape very clearly even with 250x.

Don't let fear and common sense stop you! =]

motile is a good identifier for most, and don't worry so much it took me a long long time to start to discern cell shapes through the scope.  It's an acquired skill (at least that's what Chad Walter tells me).  It used to drive me nuts when people kept asking questions about the where's and what's when I was trying to get an identification, but after a while it becomes apparent!  When dealing with species so small in this case a single cell identification relies more on source and environmental conditions rather than visible examination.
 
I don't quite remember if it was Hoff, McKillup, or Shimek that told me but when I was actively trying to ID a Nassarius species a noted comment was something along the lines of "Taxonomists are like auditors they have a thankless job, everyone needs their advice but nobody wants it."
 
I remember that comment every time I try and ID something and it makes me laugh because it's true!!  The extreme level of effort put into classifying and documenting species makes me so much more appreciative of those professionals in the field doing the groundwork. 

Pelagically yours,
~J      

So you're sayin I need to stare into the scopes more!  It's hard on the eyes, the little buggers never stay in the field of focus for long.

Don't let fear and common sense stop you! =]

Unless you want to get a specific ID you pretty much answered your question... if they are moving they are not nanno. See Joe's comment #49.

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

Yeah, but this is a Tetraselmis culture journal!

 
Haha, yes!  Joe was saying if I stare long enough into the lenses I may learn to be able to see them better though!  And yeah, as Jim points out...they are supposed to be Tetraselmis. 

Don't let fear and common sense stop you! =]

careful... the ADHD plankton fanatic is on the loose... off with his thread.....
 
FWIW the reason I prefer my konus opal stereo 20x dissection scope is it's comfort, it doesn't kill me to stare through it for a long period.  using most compounds requires one eye.. but then again...Pirates have one eye and are cool... 
 
To sum up, unless you have an identified possible contamination source that you are worried about simply examining based on color and motility will fit in your circumstance!

Pelagically yours,
~J      

I am told in this thread early on that the color looks like Tetraselmis...blueish tint to the green.  It is motile.  I have no other phytoplankton purposefully growing anywhere else...not to say weird crap doesn't fall from the sky (it certainly does!).  I will look at them again and make sure they are still motile.  Interestingly, even though they are (or were?) motile, they will settle after a few hours if I remove the air.  They also have a tendency to clump if I don't have the air turned up high enough.  However, they do move around on their own accord under a microscope.

Don't let fear and common sense stop you! =]