Thank you very much! We like to think ourselves as the Johnny Appleseeds of PNS bacteria haha.
haha you should write titles for the tabloids!
You're so welcome! It was actually an idea originally put forth by users.
It's not chitosan. It's an entirely natural, whole, untreated form of chitin (two, actually).
Yes, I kept a Dendronephthya for (if I remember right) about seven months in a plain, no-rock, barebottom, filterless (just pumps) 10-gal. Only fed ProBio and YelloSno for the most part (some very occasional OceanMagik phyto or Coral Feast dry food). The reason it died was because of an admittedly stupid water change mishap. Will probably try this genus again after we expand our facility this winter. Originally got the idea of using PNS bacteria for Dendronephthya from Sprung and Delbeek's The Reef Aquarium vol. 3 (pages 585-586). The only other similar coral I've tried under this feeding regimen is Nephthyigorgia (still have it, different tank, about a year and a half now).
How much is difficult to say. I do feel pretty certain that there has been 'some' benefit. You're totally correct in pointing out that the benefits (if any) may be peripheral. For example, maybe these bacteria are promoting the growth of protists that the coral is eating. And yes, certainly could be some probiotic effects there, too. Maybe something like this https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19719665/ or this https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1978301916301589. My guess is that both are the case; these bacteria (Rhodopseudomonas palustris) and very similar rhizobia have been observed to be consumed as a food and also utilized as a probiotic/symbiont in wild corals.
Thanks for the update! Cheers and happy holidays!
The initial yellowish green color (sort of a yellowy Mountain Dew color) is from the B vitamins in the mix, otherwise the starting color would likely just be clear. Those vitamins appear to get used up or altered in some way pretty quickly, and as you noted, the color gradually changes to a reddish orange hue. That's from the bacteria themselves, which produce copious amounts of carotenoids under illuminated anaerobic conditions such as this. So, looking good! Hi mdb_talon,
Yes, that's exactly what you should see.
It's not necessary to keep the cube under light post-incubation, but I'd suggest leaving it there so long as it isn't a great inconvenience. The light will provide the living cultures with a constant input of metabolic energy which may help to extend their shelf life and maintain the highest possible cell densities. It may also keep them rich in those nutritious, color-enhancing carotenoids. On the other hand, no need to refrigerate. In fact, it's preferable that you continue to maintain them at room temp. I'd just add that during the growth phase, it's best to elevate the temp to around 82F-85F (upper 70s at a min) for R. palustris for fastest growth and best results; after that, room temp is fine.
First a HUGE thank you for helping me through getting this to work. Just posted the photo of the second culture on Instagram and it looks great.Hi mdb_talon,
Yes, that's exactly what you should see.
It's not necessary to keep the cube under light post-incubation, but I'd suggest leaving it there so long as it isn't a great inconvenience. The light will provide the living cultures with a constant input of metabolic energy which may help to extend their shelf life and maintain the highest possible cell densities. It may also keep them rich in those nutritious, color-enhancing carotenoids. On the other hand, no need to refrigerate. In fact, it's preferable that you continue to maintain them at room temp. I'd just add that during the growth phase, it's best to elevate the temp to around 82F-85F (upper 70s at a min) for R. palustris for fastest growth and best results; after that, room temp is fine.
That's awesome! No problem storing the finished cultures in cooler temps. You just need the warmer temps during the growth phase (around 86 F is best, so really warm!).
Thank you! It certainly seemed very happy this time. I'm giving it another week or so because it's not "officially" at the 30 day mark and then it will go into storage.
