When it comes to keeping your aquarium vibrant and healthy, it becomes essential to provide its occupants with all the necessary amenities, which also includes a proper nutritional diet.
Nothing in existence can survive without adequate nutrition, humans, plants, and in this case, fishes alike! However, the fishy diet or coral’s diet is not similar to us humans, making it a bit more complicated to give them everything they need.
Choosing the best source of food for the fishes and the corals becomes vital for you as it can have a significant impact on their color and longevity.
To amend this problem, we present the Seachem Reef Zooplankton review. Here, we shall be highlighting the features and benefits that this product contains.
This way, you can easily assess it and see if the features mentioned match your criteria.
Things to Consider Before Buying
Zooplankton is an excellent source of nutrition for aquatic life in a tank. However, when you are purchasing a product, it is important to bear in mind a few essential things before you buy that item.
· Requires feeding suspension
The zooplanktons present in the product are particulate organic matters. Their sizes are within the range of 12.5 to 500 micrometers. This feature is useful as the dimension of coral’s mouths vary according to their species.
To feed the corals, you need to use a suspension or a turkey baster so that you can sprinkle the food on top of them. This process makes it easier for the reef to grab the food using their polyps.
· Sizes
The Seachem Reef is available in four different sizes- 250 ml, 500ml, 2 L, and 4L. A 250 ml container is sufficient for feeding a reef tank of 2500 gallons. So, you can choose the size of the product according to your needs.
Presenting The Seachem Reef Zooplankton
The Seachem Reef Zooplankton is an optimized combination of marine zooplankton that aims to provide the necessary supplements to the occupants in the aquarium.
It contains amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins, and proteins. Besides, it also contains natural carotenoids that promote the growth of the coral reefs, especially in the case of stony corals.
The ingredients of this product are blended to particulate size ranging from 12.5 to 500 micrometers, and you can use it to feed various types of marine life.
The carotenoids present in the mixture, is a good source of essential proteins and pigmentation, both in fishes and corals. Also, it has antioxidant properties that can provide a lot of benefits.
The product acts as an enhancing agent to ease the energy expended by the reefs on consumption. Therefore, essential nutrients like vitamin B, proteins, and lipids are readily biologically available to be consumed by the corals.
Pros
- A concentrated mixture of marine zooplankton
- Blended size is of the range of 12.5 to 500 micrometers
- Contains carotenoids
- Essential nutrients are biologically available for the marine life
Cons
- Cannot be used on fishes that are consumed by humans
- Solely intended for aquarium purpose
Seachem Reef Zooplankton Review: Features and Benefits
· Carotenoids
Carotenoids affect the pigmentation of the corals. Due to an increase in the temperature of the water, or lack of sufficient natural or ambient light, the corals tend to get bleached.
Therefore, when carotenoids are supplemented to them, you can notice a significant amount of change in the corals. They grow rapidly and have more vibrant colors. Also, they have antioxidant properties that benefit the reefs.
· Amino Acids
When you add amino acids to the diet of the corals, it has several effects on their biology. It increases the growth of tissue cells; a large number of enzymes are secreted, fortifying the skeletal structure of the corals.
· Feeding features
Zooplanktons are a rich source of amino acids. When you feed corals with zooplanktons, it induces a characteristic change in the feeding habit of the corals.
The corals tend to sense the presence of amino acids and extend their tentacles to grab the food. This presence, in turn, triggers the release of filament that helps in the digestion of food.
By this process, corals are able to get the maximum nutritional benefit from their food.
· Skeletal makeup
Amino acids also play a significant role in the formation of the skeletal system of the reef inhabitants. Most reef occupants, like the stony corals, have a rigid structure.
The amino acid helps in the synthesis of the organic matrix present in your corals. The organic matrix is a network of polysaccharides, lipids, glycosaminoglycans, chitin, and proteins, which are necessary for the bio-mineralization process.
Due to this process, a connection is formed between the skeleton and the soft tissue of the coral. This procedure, in turn, increases the amount of calcium carbonate deposits on the skeletal structure, making your corals stronger.
· Particle size
The size of the mouth of the corals varies depending on the species. To accommodate the feeding requirements of different types of corals, the particle size of the Seachem is within the range of 12.5 to 500 micrometers.
This way, a broad range of corals can benefit from getting appropriate food.
· Fatty acids
Fatty acids can be considered as ‘building blocks’ for lipids. Corals store lipids in their matrix as a source of energy. They use it for propagation and capturing prey. About 0.35 percent of crude fat per gram is present in this product.
· No refrigeration needed
Unlike other products that have live zooplanktons or are available in liquid form, the Seachem Zooplankton is sold in particulate form. Since this does not require any refrigeration for preservation, you can easily store it.
Difference Between Phytoplankton and Zooplankton
Final Words
Seachem Reef Zooplankton is a great product when it comes to providing the corals with natural supplements rather than artificial ones. The ingredients of this product are blended in the exact proportions that match the needs of your coral.
It contains essential nutrients such as proteins, vitamins, fatty acids, and amino acids that help in keeping your reef healthy.
Corals that are fed with zooplankton grow much faster than the ones that are not fed with zooplankton. So, if you want your corals to outgrow your neighbor’s corals (you know what we mean), you should get your hands on this product.
We hope the Seachem Reef Zooplankton review marks the end of your relentless search. Finally, we wish you happy reefing!
