Dinkins Aquatic Gardens Live Phytoplankton - Six Species Blend

Dinkins Aquatic Gardens Live Phytoplankton is a fresh, refrigerated blend of six marine microalgae, the foundation of the reef food chain. Phytoplankton feeds corals, clams, sponges, feather dusters, and other filter feeders directly, and it fuels the copepods and rotifers that your fish and corals graze on. Dosing live phyto builds biodiversity and adds natural nutrition that dry foods alone cannot match.

Pair it with the rest of our corals and reef livestock, or feed it alongside live copepods to seed a self-sustaining food web.

Why a Six Species Blend

Filter feeders need a range of cell sizes and nutrition profiles, and no single algae covers it all. This blend combines six species so corals, clams, and copepods each find the right particle size and nutrients in every dose.

The Six Species

• Nannochloropsis
• Tetraselmis
• Pavlova
• Isochrysis galbana
• Thalassiosira weissflogii
• Phaeodactylum tricornutum

Each species is cultured separately for quality, then combined at bottling.

Feeding and Dosing

Shake well before each use. Dinkins recommends dosing about 1 mL per gallon of tank water daily. Start on the lower side and increase gradually based on how quickly your corals, clams, and pods clear it. Dosing after lights out, or with the return pump briefly off, gives filter feeders more time to capture the cells.

Dinkins suggests keeping enough phyto on hand for at least a month. A rough guide by tank size:

• Up to 30 gallons: one 16 oz bottle (8 oz for nano tanks)
• 31 to 60 gallons: about two 16 oz bottles
• 61 gallons and up: multiple bottles, or ask us about bulk half-gallon and gallon sizes

Storage and Freshness

Keep refrigerated and give the bottle a gentle shake every couple of days to keep the cells suspended. Stored this way, the blend stays good for about 3 to 4 months. Do not freeze.

Specifications

Recommended Pairings

• Nutramar Tigrio Live Copepods: pods that graze on phyto and become live food for fish and corals.
• Bulldawg Copepod Mix: another live pod option to seed a refugium.
• Seachem Reef Zooplankton: a particulate food that complements phyto for LPS and SPS corals.
• Browse all corals and saltwater products.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does phytoplankton feed?
Corals, clams, sponges, and feather dusters eat it directly. It also feeds copepods, rotifers, and other microfauna that fish and corals then graze on.

How often should I dose?
Daily is ideal. Dinkins recommends about 1 mL per gallon each day. Start small and adjust to how quickly your livestock clears it.

Why is it pickup only?
It is a fresh live culture that has to stay refrigerated. We keep it cold and hand it to you at the store so it reaches your tank alive and effective.

How long does it last?
About 3 to 4 months when kept refrigerated and shaken every couple of days. Do not freeze.