Isochrisis/T-iso identification help please

[Piker]

Hey everyone, I received a 16 oz starter of isochrisis from RUSALTY.COM and I'm not sure I got the correct phytoplankton. Could someone please tell me if I'm not just paranoid? This looks like tetraselmis to me!

The back culture in this image is my Nano on day 4 after being split, and the front is the isochrisis I recieved from rusalty 3 days after being split. I thought it was more green than I expected in the container it arrived in, but this making me nervous. I have a large order of parvo pods being shipped on teusday from reed mariculture and I'm worried that they will starve with this stuff.

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[jack_aubry]

I think you are right Isochrysis is brown/tan Do you have a scope?

 

[Piker]

I think you are right Isochrysis is brown/tan Do you have a scope?

No, I dont unfortunately

 

[Piker]

Can anyone suggest a reliable seller?

 

[jack_aubry]

Isochrysis, Living

Genus and Species: Isochrysis sp. Optimal Medium: Soil Seawater Optimal Temperature: 22° C Optimal Light: High (200 to 400 foot-candles) Motility: Flagellum Classification: Golden-Brown Algae

www.carolina.com

 

[Skydvr]

Have you tried contacting the vendor?
They may be willing to correct their error.

 

[Piker]

I've written and e-mailed with no reply. I was browsing their limited sales on amazon.com and it appears that I am not alone.

 

[Skydvr]

That's a shame.
I think I purchased from them once, I don't recall having issues. With as specialized as their market is, you would imagine the responsiveness would be better.

Are the lower reviews more recent and related to the current pandemic, or is it more of a long running issue?

 

[Piker]

Honestly, I'm not sure. I think they've just started selling on amazon from the look of things, there are only 4 reviews. I went with...


I kind of wish reed mariculture offered phyto so I could get almost everything in one shipment.

 

[User]

there are a few cases of this happening, one right now is pretty prominent on the Tube. no idea what source it was, but it definitely not what is described. i communicated that to him but hes been kinda quiet on the issue

best you can do is email them and hope they correct the mistake.

 

[taricha]

T-Iso definitely not green!
I've gotten a few bottles from various places that were either wrong or didn't work for me.
This did though. Phycopure copepod blend.
https://www.liveaquaria.com/product...pepod-blend?pcatid=3059&c=3753+3818+6868+3059

It's a mix of chaetoceros gracilis (diatom), and T-Iso. Both are good foods for parvocalanus pods and, when cultured up, the T-Iso outcompete the diatom. For me it turned into a t-Iso culture every time.

 

[ThRoewer]

T-Iso definitely not green!
I've gotten a few bottles from various places that were either wrong or didn't work for me.
This did though. Phycopure copepod blend.
https://www.liveaquaria.com/product...pepod-blend?pcatid=3059&c=3753+3818+6868+3059

It's a mix of chaetoceros gracilis (diatom), and T-Iso. Both are good foods for parvocalanus pods and, when cultured up, the T-Iso outcompete the diatom. For me it turned into a t-Iso culture every time.

Yes, for that reason copepod or algae blends are always problematic because one species will quickly outcompete the others and it becomes a monoculture. In this case, it may be precisely what you want but generally, those kinds of blends, especially if they claim to be culture starters, are kind of a scam.

 

[taricha]

yeah, it's just branded as a live food. But I found it cultured up what I was looking for reliably (for me at least).

 

[Piker]

Thanks for all of the advice guys, also the support from rusalty is horrid. Blamed me for cross contamination, I can see a swig in the bottom of my sample bottle... its nanno.

Whatever!

 

[SaltBabies]

Poisden's reef sends good t-iso. I have had t-iso turn green and still be motile. It's possible that it became tetraselmis (mine not necessarily yours) but at the time when it turned green I had read some t-iso does that. But if it is motile parvo will eat it.

 

[Piker]

Just a note to anyone paying attention, don't get Isochrisis shipped anything other than 2nd day. Algae research and supply sent me the product twice, the first one took 9 days and the second took 4. Both were dead.

I'm trying the Carolina link above. This is my 3rd attempt at getting my hands on this dang phyto.