DISTRIBUTION:

Found mostly in marine environments, however it is also able to be grown in freshwater.

HABITS:

In the environment, the alga is part of the phytoplankton community. As others in the Genus, it is small unicellular algae with very simple morphology; unique in that they do not contain any photosynthetic pigments other than chlorophyll-a. Optimum ranges for temperature, pH, and salinity are 15-30º C, 7.0-8.4, and 22-25 ppt, respectively.

SPAWNING:        

GROWTH:

USES:

The alga is mainly cultured as feed for zooplankton cultures (rotifers, artemia, etc.) which are then fed to larval or grow out finfish; sometimes it is grown for directly feeding larval finfish. It is also an important species used in the production of biofuels, due to its high lipid content. This high lipid content, specifically EPA, has made the alga a possible commercial source for dietary supplement of omega-3 fatty acids.

CULTURE:

This species is very forgiving in its culture, tolerating a wide range of environmental conditions. It can be grown at home for the aquarium hobby in ‘DIY’ setups, using 2L soda bottles, air stones and supplemental lighting. However, large commercial ventures usually use sophisticated conical vessels, with computer-controlled lighting, coupled with strict water quality standards and nutrient supplementation.

REFERENCES:

Renaud, S. M., D. L. Parry, Luong-Van Thinh, C. Kuo, A. Padovan and N. Sammy. 1991. Effect of light intensity on the proximate biochemical and fatty acid composition of Isochrysis sp. and Nannochloropsis oculata for use in tropical aquaculture. Journal of Applied Phycology 3:45-53.

 Zhukova, N. V., and N. A. Aizdaicher. 1995. Fatty acid composition of 15 species of marine microalgae. Phytochemistry 39:351-356.